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: S4W-29239

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government who invited the delegation of MPs and MSPs on the recent Scottish Enterprise trade mission to Iran; on what basis they were selected, and who paid their expenses.

Question reference: S4W-29237

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what companies attended the recent Scottish Enterprise trade mission to Iran and what the cost of the mission was.

The recent Scottish Development International visit to Iran was not a trade mission. Two officials visited Iran from 7-9 December 2015 to discuss possible future opportunities for Scottish companies in the oil and gas sector.

The visit to Iran undertaken later in December 2015 by SNP MPs and an MSP was a separate visit with no Scottish Enterprise or Scottish Government involvement. It will be for the delegation to decide whether its report on the visit will be published.

Question reference: S4W-29238

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when the delegation of MPs and MSPs on the recent Scottish Enterprise trade mission to Iran will report to the Scottish Ministers and whether the report will be published.

Question reference: S4W-29346

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the reason is for the cash reduction in its 2016-17 draft budget in light of HM Treasury allocations suggesting a rise in cash terms.

There is a cash reduction in the total DEL resources available to the Scottish Government in 2015-16 compared to 2016-17, taking into account the HM Treasury allocation and factors such as the reduction in the ring fenced non-cash DEL budget that covers the costs of student loans and the addition in 2015-16 of resources carried forward by the Scottish Government through the budget exchange arrangements.

Question reference: S4W-29348

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it continues to forecast an oil price of around $70 a barrel between 2016-17 and 2019-20, as set out in the Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin - June 2015.

Question reference: S4W-29342

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what areas of spending it plans to (a) protect and (b) increase in real terms in the future.

Question reference: S4W-29347

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has planned a real-terms increase or decrease in the education and lifelong learning budget in 2016-17.

Question reference: S4W-29341

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will set out its detailed longer term plans regarding income tax.

Question reference: S4W-29343

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will set out detailed plans for the reform of local government funding.

As I set out in my 2016-17 Draft Budget statement to Parliament on 16 December 2015, the Scottish Government will bring forward plans for reform of the present council tax, reflecting the principles of the Commission on Local Tax Reform’s report; enter into a consultation with local government about the possible future assignation of a proportion of income tax receipts, thereby giving local authorities an incentive to boost economic growth in their areas; and launch a review of the non-domestic rates system in Scotland, before the end of the current parliamentary term.

Question reference: S4W-29308

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 January 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in meeting the target of ensuring that ministerial public appointments are more diverse and reflective of the population, as set out in its Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report 2015.

The following table sets out the comparison between the figures for the year to December 2014 compared to the figures for the year to January 2013:

Regulated appointments

Year to 31 Jan 2013 %

Year to 31 Dec 2014 %

	Applicants	Appointed	Applicants	Appointed
Women	30.5	39.2	38.2	45.8
Disabled people	14.1	12.4	10.4	7.5
Minority ethnic people**	4.9	6.2	4.7	*
Age under 50	21.2	22.7	29.8	24.9
LGB	2.6	6.2	4.0	*
Christian	50	not known	49.9	50.8
Non-Christian	3.9	not known	3.5	*

*Values for less than five have been supressed to decrease the risk of disclosure of information about individuals.

**'Minority ethnic' covers the non-white broad ethnic groups: African, Caribbean or Black; Asian, Asian Scottish and Asian British; mixed or multiple ethnic group; other ethnic group.

The ‘Delivering Diversity’ section (pp. 35-41) of the 2014-15 Annual Report of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland sets out further analysis of the figures and a commentary on progress. It is available here: http://www.ethicalstandards.org.uk/publications/publication/770/cespls-annual-report-201415

Figures for the 12 month period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 are currently being collated and analysed; a progress report will be available by the end of February 2016 on the Appointed for Scotland website: www.appointed-for-scotland.org