Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has announced funding of £13.5 million to develop a dedicated support service for survivors of in care abuse. We are working with survivors to determine the detail of how this service will operate.

It will be for the Inquiry to decide how to fulfil its terms of reference and what recommendations it will make.

The Scottish Government committed to scoping a survivor support service in its response to the Scottish Human Rights InterAction on 27 October 2014. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning recently announced funding of £13.5 million over the next five years to develop this service. Survivors continue to be at the centre of our development of this service which we aim to have in place by October 2015.

The Scottish Government has not yet set a date for publication.

The Scottish Government announced in the Draft Budget 2015-16 that it would be seeking to borrow up to £304 million in 2015-16 in some combination of a) the National Loans Fund b) from banks on commercial terms and c) through issuing bonds. We will continue to evaluate these borrowing options and will in due course take a decision on which method or methods to use based on the prevailing economic conditions and once the fiscal framework and changes to the Scottish Government’s borrowing powers arising from the Smith Commission recommendations are agreed with HM Treasury.

Membership of the EU provides the best international framework within which Scotland can make economic and social gains. The EU is the world’s largest economy and trading area, capable of competing with the most advanced economies in the world.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from countries in the European Union is substantial – with 20% of Scotland’s FDI in 2014 from France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. (Ernst and Young Attractiveness Survey 2015). Investors frequently cite access to European markets as a factor in their decision to invest in Scotland and any prospect of this access being removed could affect both business confidence and inward investment.

Exports from Scotland to the EU are also significant – in 2013 the Global Connections Survey estimated that just under half of all international exports from Scotland were destined for countries within the European Union (estimated at £12.9 billion, 46%).

The Scottish Government will continue to evaluate each of the options for capital borrowing and will in due course take a decision on which method or methods to use based on the prevailing economic conditions. A revised fiscal framework and enhanced capital borrowing powers are currently subject to negotiation with the UK Government. Once the detail of the revised fiscal framework is known, and changes to Scottish Government borrowing powers are made clearer, a decision on the timing of any potential bond issue will follow.

The Scottish Government’s capital borrowing plans were outlined on 9 October 2014 in the Scottish Draft Budget 2015-16.

The Scottish Government will make a statement on the 2014-15 provisional outturn on 18 June 2015.

The Scottish Government has set out its annual revenue forecast for residential transactions for 2015-16 with Revenue Scotland producing a detailed monthly report of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax received.

Analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 estimated that in 2011 around 336,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with exports to the EU. Estimates on the number of jobs in Scotland dependent on exports are not currently available.