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: S6W-00126

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much of tje revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme has been retained by each local authority since its inception, broken down by year.

The Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS) was introduced in in 2012-13 in recognition of the fact that the Scottish Government guarantees the combined General Revenue Grant (GRG) and distributable Non-Domestic Rates Income (NDRI) funding thereby reducing the incentive for local authorities to try and maximise their NDRI. The BRIS is focussed on incentivising local authorities to maximise their existing NDRI and also to grow their local business tax base. This is achieved by the Scottish Government setting annual locally based targets. All local authorities that exceed their annual target retain half the extra income achieved from growth in their tax base until the next NDR revaluation assuming they maintain the extra income in the subsequent years. The amounts to be retained are calculated from local authorities’ audited annual non domestic rates returns. The information requested is set out in the following table.

Local Authority	2012-13	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
Aberdeen City		533,291	3,370,582
Aberdeenshire	188,983	471,198	932,087	79,448	241,742
Angus			70,615
Argyll & Bute				38,799		101,983
Clackmannanshire	1,231,686
Dumfries & Galloway					1,481,766	1,592,095
Dundee City					233	517,668
East Ayrshire						307,944
East Dunbartonshire
East Lothian	544,319					723,912
East Renfrewshire	173,278	187,702		124,893
Edinburgh, City of					387,292
Eilean Siar	57,384		71,571			17,707
Falkirk				272,112
Fife	2,483,663	891,764
Glasgow City			1,513,758
Highland	1,295,595	213,923	370,902		1,095,060	227,963
Inverclyde				59,075
Midlothian	365,758			111,361	176,277
Moray	1,267,263	136,837	16,243	299,153		1,858,975
North Ayrshire	860,843			239,573
North Lanarkshire
Orkney Islands
Perth & Kinross	148,371			42,276
Renfrewshire		68,427
Scottish Borders	385,084
Shetland Islands
South Ayrshire			30,166		163,086
South Lanarkshire					8,568
Stirling				118,841		291,594
West Dunbartonshire					55,313
West Lothian					144,494
Scotland	9,002,227	2,503,142	6,375,925	1,385,531	3,753,831	5,639,841

Following the introduction of the scheme the Scottish Government and COSLA agreed to undertake a joint review of the scheme to take into account the lessons learned from the first year of operation, as a result the amounts to be retained in 2012-13 were provided as one-off retention sums and as a result could not be retained in subsequent years.

The Deputy First Minister announced details of the revised BRIS to the Scottish Parliament on 11 December 2014. The details of the revised scheme together with the 2014-15 targets and the provisional 2015-16 targets were published in the Local Government Finance Circular 9/2014 published the same day.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 on Non Domestic Rates Income, the operation of the BRIS has been temporarily suspended.

Question reference: S6W-00125

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party's manifesto commitment, whether it will set out further details of its proposal to bring the higher property rate for non-domestic tax rates in Scotland in line with that in England.

Alongside the most generous relief package, the Scottish Government has delivered the lowest poundage in the UK for the third year in a row, and over 95% of properties pay a lower rate of tax than anywhere in the UK. The Scottish Budget 2021-22 took the unprecedented step of reducing the poundage mid-revaluation, saving ratepayers £120 million compared to what an inflationary increase would have delivered.

We have already demonstrated our commitment to the recommendation to bring the Large Business Supplement into line with the aggregate rate set in England when we reduced the rates liabilities for around 9,500 medium-sized properties by introducing the Intermediate Property Rate for properties with a rateable value between £51,001 and £95,000.

Decisions on taxation are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.

Question reference: S6O-00001

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide support with the phasing out of gas-fired boilers in homes.

Question reference: S6W-00130

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of Gaelic medium education in Edinburgh will have on the (a) funding and (b) timing of the proposed New Liberton High School.

Question reference: S6W-00129

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a high street voucher scheme, as is being implemented in Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-35182

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much in total was allocated from its Budget in 2019-20 to non-governmental organisations, including those designated as charities.

Question reference: S5W-34349

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its plan for the provision of second-dose COVID-19 vaccinations, and what the expected average time will be between the first and second doses.

Our planning assumption is predicated on ensuring everyone that receives the first dose will receive their second dose within 12 weeks from the first dose. Health boards are prepared and ready with vaccine supply for second doses.

Second doses started on the 29 December last week and will be a feature of the programme from now on.

On the basis of the forecast supply information we have received from the UK Vaccines Taskforce, we are therefore confident we have adequate supply to support delivery.

Question reference: S5W-34547

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making police officers an immediate priority in the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine.

To save lives, it is essential that vaccination be given to the first priority groups as set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), these being residents in a care home for older adults and their carers, people over the age of 80, and frontline health and social care workers.

Prioritisation by sector is not bring considered for the following reasons :

Criticality of service is not an indication for priority vaccination because clinical risk is the overriding concern. This is influenced most greatly by age, not occupation.
Currently there is no sectoral prioritisation of any workers other than frontline health and social care workers. This is because we don’t know if the vaccine prevents spread, but it does reduce the harm to those most at risk should they catch the virus.
Individual police officers will be called forward for vaccination according to their position on the priority list, if they are eligible within the JCVI Cohorts regarding their age and/or underlying medical conditions (e.g. All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality).

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.

Question reference: S5W-34816

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to allowing (a) GPs and (b) pharmacies to order COVID-19 vaccine supplies directly, bypassing NHS boards.

As supply is limited, the current model under which Health Boards direct where supply goes is the best approach to ensuring vaccine supply is targeted to locations in line with vaccination priorities

Vaccines are being delivered on a weekly delivery schedule. Every GP practice has a weekly order cut-off time and a weekly delivery day.
Boards have tried to target practices based on the local practice populations.
Our Chief Pharmaceutical Officer wrote on to all GPs on 22 January, explaining in more detail the mechanism of supply, ordering and delivery, with suggested solutions at local board level that can also assist them.
Also, we are in regular contact with boards to ensure GPs have the most up to date information on when supply is available and what our expectations are for them.

Question reference: S5O-05056

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of teaching and education unions.