Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4O-03991

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many women in the last year have been treated with mesh or tape products to treat pelvic prolapse or stress urinary incontinence.

Question reference: S4W-23950

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to social enterprises in each year since 2007.

The Scottish Government published its Enterprising Third Sector Action Plan in 2008, which continues to provide the context for a holistic programme of support for social enterprises. Since 2007 the Scottish Government has provided significant support and investment in the growth and development of the sector and in strengthening its infrastructure, capacity, skills, market and investment readiness and its international reach. This support forms part of the Scottish Government’s support to the wider third sector and includes:

£31.8 million to the Scottish Investment Fund between 2008-09 and 2011-12, resulting in investments in nearly 70 enterprising third sector organisations across Scotland as at 31 March 2014.

Recycled income of up to £8 million from the Scottish Investment Fund is being reinvested in the Social Growth Fund, which has attracted additional investment of £8 million from Big Society Capital. The Social Growth Fund provides loan funding to ambitious enterprising third sector organisations.

Support for learning and development and an extensive schools programme promoting social entrepreneurship through the Social Enterprise Academy.

Just Enterprise business support contract which has supported over 5000 enterprising third sector organisations, including social enterprises, across Scotland since 2011.

Ready for Business contract, has since November 2011 encouraged the use of community benefit clauses in public contracts, the delivery of social value through the commissioning process, and has helped to promote and improve understanding of the delivery competence of the third sector, including social enterprise, and the added value it can offer.

Support for social enterprise infrastructure and investment in networking.

Support for international social enterprises to headquarter in Scotland and promotion and support for social enterprise in Scotland to have international influence.

Social enterprises benefit from the investment and support to the local third sector interfaces.

In addition direct support to support growth and sustainability has been made available through the following funds:

Fund	Amount allocated (£million)	Financial Years	Number of Social Enterprises or individuals supported to date
Third Sector Enterprise Fund	10.9	2009-10 to 2010-11	186
Enterprise Growth Fund	6	2011-12	64
Enterprise Ready Fund	6	2013-14 to 2014-15	129
Social Entrepreneurs Fund	3	2009-10 to 2014-15	285

Social enterprises are also eligible for a range of Scottish Government funded support available to businesses more generally.

Question reference: S4W-23949

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many new social enterprises have been created in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S4W-23948

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 26 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed in the social enterprise sector and how many have been employed in the sector in each year since 2007.

Information about the number of people employed in the social enterprise sector and the number of new social enterprises created is not held centrally. This is partly because there is no universally accepted definition of social enterprise.

However, there have been a number of reports in recent years which have provided some degree of analysis of the social enterprise sector, though they do not provide a complete analysis for all social enterprises in Scotland. These include:

1. EKOS Social Enterprise Mapping report - commissioned by Big Scotland http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/-/media/Files/Research%20Documents/er_eval_social_enterprise_mapping_study.pdf

2. Social Enterprise in Edinburgh – commissioned by Edinburgh City Council:

http://www.edinburghsocialenterprise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ESEN-Report-18-June-2013-Email-Version1.pdf

3. Social Enterprise in Dundee – commissioned by Dundee City Council and Dundee Social Enterprise Network:

http://dundeesen.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dundee-SE-Mapping-Report-Final.pdf

4. Social Enterprise in Glasgow – commissioned by Glasgow Social Enterprise Network:

http://www.se-networks.net/downloads/GSEN-Scale_as_well_as_Substance.pdf

5. Highlands and Islands Enterprise Social Enterprise Sector – commissioned by Highland and Islands Enterprise:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hie.co.uk%2Fcommon%2Fhandlers%2Fdownload-document.ashx%3Fid%3Ded18a091-fd25-4821-be58-a8de86f30974&ei=ycC_VMmqKPGP7Ab3ioDoBQ&usg=AFQjCNGmpDOmT3tTiykE-bw4FxsxSTkrHw&sig2=X-j0vg35Xl2SctYLHAA9mg&bvm=bv.83829542,d.ZGU

The Scottish Government is committed to creating the right environment for social enterprise to flourish, and recognises the need for improved data. This issue is currently being considered with the sector.

Question reference: S4W-23957

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 23 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many modern apprentices are paid the basic apprentice rate.

The UK Apprenticeship pay survey 2014

(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387319/bis-14-1281-apprenticeship-pay-survey-2014.pdf) was published on 18 December 2014. The survey showed that for level 2 and 3 apprentices in Scotland, 87 per cent had a gross hourly wage at or above the appropriate national minimum wage.

I have written to Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, to ask him what action the UK Government is taking to ensure that all apprentices are paid at least the minimum rate to which they are entitled.

Question reference: S4W-23942

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 22 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) cooperative and (b) employee-owned businesses there are; how many have been established in each year since 2007, and what (i) financial and (ii) other support it provides to them.

There are 663 co-operatives in Scotland of which 73 are employee owned/ worker co-operatives

Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) has supported the establishment of:

	Co-operatives	Employee Owned
2006-08	27
2008-09	15
2009-10	16	2
2010-11	30	2
2011-12	27	4
2012-13	29	3
2013-14	30	6
2014-15	31	7

Advisory services are delivered by CDS staff and its specialist advisory framework, which are experts in co-operative models. Clients may receive up to three days advisory support fully funded. In addition, businesses wishing to adopt an employee ownership structure may be eligible for up to 30% of eligible implementation costs.

Question reference: S4W-23938

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have not been in education, employment or training in each year since 2007, broken down by age.

The Annual Population Survey provides the preferred measure for not in education, employment or training (NEET) for the population in Scotland. The latest headline NEET estimates are published annually by the Scottish Government and cover the period from January to December 2013.

The following table provides the number of people not in education, employment or training, broken down by the 16-24 year olds age group, in Scotland from 2007 to 2013.

Levels of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET), by year of age, Scotland, 2007-2013

Year	16 year olds	17 year olds	18 year olds	19 year olds	16-19 year olds
2007	5,000	8,000	8,000	8,000	29,000
2008	5,000	6,000	11,000	9,000	30,000
2009	5,000	9,000	9,000	11,000	33,000
2010	6,000	7,000	11,000	12,000	36,000
2011	4,000	5,000	13,000	10,000	32,000
2012	5,000	5,000	11,000	12,000	33,000
2013	5,000	5,000	10,000	10,000	29,000

Year	20 year olds	21 year olds	22 year olds	23 year olds	24 year olds	20-24 year olds	16-24 year olds
2007	9,000	11,000	12,000	10,000	13,000	55,000	84,000
2008	10,000	12,000	13,000	13,000	10,000	59,000	88,000
2009	10,000	13,000	12,000	16,000	13,000	64,000	98,000
2010	11,000	13,000	16,000	13,000	15,000	68,000	104,000
2011	10,000	12,000	12,000	17,000	12,000	63,000	95,000
2012	10,000	10,000	13,000	10,000	15,000	57,000	90,000
2013	13,000	13,000	15,000	12,000	12,000	64,000	93,000

Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December 2007 to 2013, Office for National Statistics.

Notes:

1. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.

Question reference: S4W-23965

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) public sector and (b) private employers publishing details of their pay ratios.

In the private sector, the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 require that the directors’ remuneration policy of large and medium-sized UK companies must contain a statement of consideration of employment conditions elsewhere in the company and group where relevant. Specifically, this must set out ‘whether any remuneration comparison measurements were used and if so, what they were, and how that information was taken into account’. Such comparison measurements could include the use of pay ratios or similar.

In relation to the public sector, the UK Government’s Financial Reporting Manual requires central government bodies to disclose the ratio between the median remuneration of the public body’s staff and the mid-point of the banded remuneration of the highest paid executive director. The Scottish Government and health boards disclose this information in the accounts published annually.

Pay for local government employees is a matter for local authorities. The regulations for the remuneration reports for local authorities are set out in the Local Government Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1985 (as amended by the Local Authority (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011. We believe it would be beneficial for pay ratios to be published.

Question reference: S4W-23939

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2015

Question reference: S4W-23967

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have taken part in adult learning courses in each year since 2007.

Data on adult learning participation rates are collected by the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education which has undertaken surveys since 1996 which include a Scottish sample.

The 2014 survey is available at:

http://shop.niace.org.uk/media/catalog/product/2/0/2014_headline_findings_final_web_2.pdf states that 35% of adults in Scotland have participated in learning. Although high by international standards engagement in learning is not evenly distributed across society. In 2014, as in all previous years since 1996, the survey clearly shows that participation in learning is determined by social class, employment status, age and prior learning.

The Scottish Government aims to improve rates of participation in adult learning by implementing the Adult Learning Statement of Ambition, which was published in May 2014. http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/AdultLearningStatementofAmbition_tcm4-826940.pdf. The Adult Learning Statement of Ambition aims to increase engagement with adult learning across Scotland.