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-25916

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it considers leaving the EU would have on Scotland's economic performance, and what analysis it plans to publish.

The Scottish Government firmly believes that exiting the EU would have a deeply damaging impact on Scotland’s economy.

Membership provides a range of economic benefits including: access to the world’s largest single market, with over 500 million potential customers; the range of trade deals secured by the EU, and a major source of international investment in Scottish jobs and companies. Europe is a vital market for Scottish businesses, accounting for 46% of Scotland’s international exports, worth £12.9 billion to our economy.

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.

Such jobs and economic activity in Scotland would be at risk if the UK left the EU.

The Scottish Government has published analysis on the economic, social and cultural benefits of EU membership for Scotland (March 2015). The publication can be found via the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00473833.pdf

Question reference: S4W-25915

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs in Scotland it considers depend on the EU single market.

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.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) to Scotland from other European Union member states is also an important way in which jobs in Scotland are linked to the EU single market. Scotland has been ranked in the top two UK regions outside of London for FDI in each year since 2006 (Source – Ernst and Young Scotland Attractiveness Surveys).

Question reference: S4F-02888

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-25889

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 15 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is giving to private sector tenants affected by the so-called bedroom tax.

<>The bedroom tax applies to working age households in the social rented sector. The amount of housing benefit or housing element of universal credit paid to tenants in the private sector is determined by local housing allowance rates. Private sector households experiencing financial hardship may apply to their local authority for a discretionary payment from the Scottish Welfare Fund or for a discretionary housing payment.

Question reference: S4W-25888

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 15 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make up the shortfall in discretionary housing payments caused by the Department for Work and Pensions' announced 25% reduction in funding for 2015-16.

<>There has been a 12% reduction (£1.9 million) in the overall funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for discretionary housing payments (DHPs) in Scotland in 2015-16. The element of funding for the bedroom tax has not been reduced and the Scottish Government has added a further £35 million in DHP funding to cover all bedroom tax losses in 2015-16. There is no commitment to cover the DWP’s reductions in the other elements of DHP funds i.e. core, local housing allowance and benefit cap.

Question reference: S4O-04477

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-25783

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish and distribute printed copies of the recent joint statement signed by the Scottish Ministers, the Lord Advocate and Police Scotland opposing female genital mutilation as awareness-raising material.

This month the Scottish Government will be printing 2000 copies of the joint female genital mutilation statement, some of which will be used for Police Scotland’s ‘Operation Atlas’ commencing 26 June 2015. Others will be distributed to service providers and community-based organisations.

This statement is also available to download at: www.fgmaware.org, www.onescotland.org and a number of local authority and violence against women partnership websites, as well as Police Scotland and a number of NHS intranets. Police Scotland has also distributed electronic copies to all Scottish airports to download and print off as part of the planned ‘Operation Atlas’.

Question reference: S4W-25821

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4F-02821 by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 May 2015 (Official Report, c. 20), what assessment has been made of the cost of forestalling in relation to the land and buildings transaction tax and the specific sum sought from the UK Government.

Scottish Government officials continue to work with the UK Government colleagues to estimate the likely impact of forestalling on UK Government revenues from Stamp Duty Land Tax in 2014-15 and on Scottish Government revenues from the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in 2015-16. The Scottish Government’s estimates will be subject to review by the Scottish Fiscal Commission. This analytical work will form the basis of a negotiation and agreement between Scottish and UK Ministers on the additional funding to be transferred to the Scottish Budget in 2015-16.

Question reference: S4W-25785

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the House of Commons research paper published on 20 May 2015 that found that Scotland received almost £1,600 per head more in public spending than England in 2014-15 as a result of the Barnett formula.

The House of Commons research paper demonstrates the strengths of the Scottish economy. Scotland’s employment rate is higher than the other three countries of the UK, and even when North Sea revenue is excluded, Scotland’s output per head is close to the UK average and ranks third of the 12 UK regions behind only London and the South East. Furthermore, Scotland has generated more tax per head than the UK as a whole in each of the last 34 years.

All parties have signed up to the continuation of the Barnett formula as part of The Smith Commission agreement. The Scottish Government has no control over the operation or design of the Barnett formula but with the current structure of the formula, Scotland has already seen real terms cuts to its fiscal DEL budget of 9 per cent over the five years to 2015-16 and faces the risk of further cuts being announced in the emergency UK budget next month.

Question reference: S4W-25727

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much was or has been raised in Landfill Tax in (a) April and (b) May 2015 and how many transactions this relates to for each month.