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-27235

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how VisitScotland allocates funds to local tourism bodies, and what criteria it uses.

VisitScotland provides support through its growth fund. The growth fund is a marketing fund available for well researched, collaborative marketing campaigns to groups of tourism businesses operating at a local or national level. The fund enables these groups to undertake inspiring new marketing activity, or further develop current activity, which will generate additional visitors to Scotland.

Applicants to the fund should demonstrate the following key criteria:

Alignment with the tourism industry’s Tourism 2020 Strategy and, where relevant, the National Events Strategy Scotland the Perfect Stage. Golf groups must also show alignment with Scotland’s Golf Tourism Strategy Driving Forward Together.

Fresh ideas, new developments and approaches such as new promotional themes, collaborations, packages, or markets, that will inspire customer engagement and additional visits.

Collaboration and business engagement demonstrating how businesses are coming together to help support the marketing campaign, through e.g. special offers, itineraries, competition prizes.

Growth in terms of awareness, visitor numbers and tourism spend, and strength/membership of the tourism group.

Sustainability of activity post funding. In this groups must demonstrate how the outcomes of the marketing campaign will help sustain and build marketing activity in future years and how activity will address periods which have capacity to increase the number of visitors and occupancy levels.

The fund is open to constituted groups of three or more independent tourism businesses, including destination organisations and sectoral groups. Applications are welcome from both new and existing partnerships.

Full criteria, conditions and guidelines for the VisitScotland growth fund against which applications are assessed are available on its website at:

http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/GrowthFundCriteriaConditionsDec2013.pdf

Question reference: S4W-27234

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) agencies and (b) projects are supported by the tourism budget.

The 2015-16 Scottish Budget states:

“The Tourism budget supports VisitScotland to promote Scotland as a tourism destination, both within the UK and in key overseas markets.”

Table 6.07 of the 2015-16 Scottish Budget sets out the level 3 detail of the tourism budget, shown in the following table with level 4 data.

	2015-16 Budget (£ million)
Tourism
Level 3	50.580
Level 4
VisitScotland (Resource)	48.000
VisitScotland (Capital)	0.700
VisitScotland (Non cash)	1.480
Tourism special projects	0.400

As the lead public body on the visitor economy in Scotland a wide range of projects are supported by VisitScotland and these are set out in the VisitScotland Corporate Plan which may be accessed using the following URL:

http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/Final%20Corporate%20Plan%202015%20revision.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-27276

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 16 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the 2015 single farm payments will be made.

The Single Farm Payment Scheme has been replaced by a range of new schemes or direct payments including the new Basic Payment Scheme and Greening payments.

Under EU rules the payment window for 2015 direct payments runs from 1 December 2015 to the end of June 2016. The new common agricultural policy (CAP) is far more complex than the previous CAP, which has been a significant challenge for administrations and farmers alike right across Europe. In addition to delivering the new IT system, there are also additional tasks to be completed for the first time this year such as greening inspections, regionalisation of land parcels, and calculating and issuing new entitlements.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the pressures facing the farming industry at present, and is striving to start making payments at the earliest possible time. It remains the case that we are aiming to start making payments by the end of December 2015 if at all possible. As we have said previously, we are also considering the option of partial payments.

We will of course continue to keep the farming industry, and the banking sector on which they rely, fully informed of progress with these issues, over and above the steps already announced.

Question reference: S4W-27277

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 16 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the proposed by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Question reference: S4O-04586

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the final decision on the merger of Police Scotland's L and K divisions will be announced.

Question reference: S4W-27220

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of exports is from Scottish companies to China.

Question reference: S4W-27221

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to help Scottish companies affected by the economic slowdown in China.

At this early stage, Scottish Development International (SDI) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) are maintaining close links with account managed companies trading in China to monitor potential impacts. SDI and SE are already assisting Scottish companies trading with China and will remain on hand to provide guidance and support for Scottish companies as required. As the pace of growth in China remains faster than most western economies, SDI and SE will continue to encourage Scottish businesses to remain focussed on the potential that China still offers and to take a long term approach to the opportunities which the market presents.

Question reference: S4W-27218

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the economic slowdown in China will have on the Scottish economy.

As the chief economist’s latest State of the Economy report highlighted, slowing growth in the Chinese economy represents a key headwind for global economic conditions and the Scottish economy. Whilst China accounts for only a small share (2%) of Scottish international exports, slowing Chinese growth could affect the Scottish and UK economies by several channels: via exports with weaker global demand; via lower commodity prices; via company returns on overseas investment; and via financial market volatility. However, slowing growth in China must be viewed against improving conditions in Scotland’s main trading partners, the UK, US and Europe. Furthermore, the continuous growth over the last three years has demonstrated the Scottish economy’s underlying resilience given the external and domestic challenges that we have seen during this period. Latest forecasts expect Scottish economic growth of around 2.4 per cent this year, broadly in line with the expected performance of the UK economy.

Question reference: S4W-27219

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of inward investment is by companies based in China.

Question reference: S4F-02948

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2015

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will bring forward revised proposals for greater independence of the Scottish Fiscal Commission following the recent consultation.