- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 19 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24356 by Stewart Stevenson on 10 June 2009, what percentage growth in patronage was assumed when planning the procurement of rolling stock.
Answer
Patronage growth for the Airdrie to Bathgate route was assumed to be 3% year-on-year when planning the procurement of rolling stock. In addition, Transport Scotland has taken account of modelling work which allows for a further 750 passengers per day at the peak times between 7 am to 9 am.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 19 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-24353 by Stewart Stevenson on 10 June 2009, what type of rolling stock will be deployed for services west of Airdrie to Helensburgh Central station.
Answer
The current assumption is that class 334''s will be used between Airdrie and Helensburgh from the commencement of services in December 2010.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it costs the Accountant in Bankruptcy to administer the low income, low assets (LILA) scheme.
Answer
The low income, low asset (LILA) route into bankruptcy came into force on 1 April 2008, the same date from which debtor applications for bankruptcy were made directly to the Accountant in Bankruptcy rather than to the courts as previously.
LILA is an additional route into the bankruptcy process, not a separate scheme in itself, and the Accountant in Bankruptcy does not split the administration costs of the debtor application process.
The total administrative costs of the team dealing with debtor applications are estimated at £928,700 per annum.
This figure does not include fees payable to third parties associated with debtor applications which are beyond the Accountant in Bankruptcy''s direct control; principally the costs of advertising the award in the Edinburgh Gazette and registering the award with the Registers of Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) applied for and (b) received support to purchase a home in (i) Dunbartonshire and (ii) Argyll and Bute under the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers and what the value of that support is.
Answer
The Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) established in October 2007 brings together a range of Scottish Government initiatives to help households get onto the housing ladder.
This includes the New Supply Shared Equity scheme and Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme; shared ownership; Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs); and GRO grants for owner occupation (grants to private developers to build low cost housing for sale).
In response to (a), the only centrally held information on applications under LIFT relates to the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme. Since the temporary expansion of the pilot scheme on 31 March 2009 the following people have applied from Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire:
| Grant Type | Local Authority | Number of Applications Received at 31.5.09 | Number of Completed Applications Returned at 31.5.09 | Number of Purchases at 31.5.09 |
| Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme | Argyll and Bute | 20 | 8 | - |
| West Dunbartonshire | 38 | 8 | - |
In response to (b), with regard to New Supply Shared Equity and Rural Home Ownership Grants, please see below the number of people in Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire who have received support to purchase a home and the value of that support.
| Grant Type | Local Authority | Number of Households Supported | Value of Support |
| New Supply Shared Equity scheme | Argyll and Bute | 67 | £3,146,806 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 35 | £1,585,809 |
| Rural Home Ownership Grant | Argyll and Bute | 15 | £760,137 |
| West Dunbartonshire | n/a | n/a |
We do not centrally hold information on shared ownership or GRO sales. However we can report that in West Dunbartonshire 25 shared ownership and 50 GRO grant properties have been completed and made available for purchase initially marketed at first-time buyers.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whom it consulted on the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SS1 2009/234).
Answer
There was no formal consultation on the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SS1 2009/234). The Accountant in Bankruptcy did however run a series of workshops with stakeholders and met regularly with the money advice sector at various stages during the regulation making process.
Stakeholders included representatives from:
| HM Revenue and Customs |
| Eversheds |
| Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation |
| Lloyds TSB |
| The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
| Money Advice Scotland |
| Citizens Advice Scotland |
| Glasgow City Council |
| South Lanarkshire Council |
| North Lanarkshire Council |
| Highland Council |
| Dumfries and Galloway Citizens Advice |
| Argyll and Bute Council |
| Fife Council |
| North Ayrshire Council |
| Accountant in Bankruptcy |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual (a) staffing and (b) operational costs are of the office of the Accountant in Bankruptcy.
Answer
The Accountant in Bankruptcy publishes their staffing and operational costs annually in their annual report which is available on their website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans for trust deeds to be administered by the Accountant in Bankruptcy and, if so, how much this will cost.
Answer
The trust deed process was discussed as part of the work of the Debt Action Forum (DAF). There has not been any policy decision to change trust deeds at this time. Work is ongoing with stakeholders to consider the whether changes are required to trust deeds.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost the Accountant in Bankruptcy to administer the Debt Arrangement Scheme.
Answer
The estimated cost of developing the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) case management system to meet the immediate demands of changes to regulations is £32,000.
This figure also provides for an assessment on the future suitability of the DAS IT system which, in technology terms, is aging. This work would be required irrespective of any changes to DAS.
Based on 3,000 DAS applications per annum, the estimated costs to operate the DAS scheme will be around £500,000 per annum. That figure is based on total cost and includes all support costs, a proportion of accommodation, management, governance and control etc.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it anticipated would apply for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA).
Answer
Based on the findings of a working group on debt relief and Citizen''s Advice Scotland figures, it was estimated that between 4,500 and 6,500 debtors who were stuck in the debt cycle and urgently requiring debt relief would apply for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA) route.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2009
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 18 June 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average debts are for people who have applied for bankruptcy through low income, low assets (LILA).
Answer
A review of the low income, low asset (LILA) route into bankruptcy, published in October 2008, is available on the Accountant in Bankruptcy website at
www.aib.gov.uk.
Based on a sample of 2,011 debtors who became bankrupt between 1 April 2008 and 31 July 2008, the report found that the average LILA debtor has around £17,288 of debt and the majority of debtors owe between £5,000 and £19,999.
A further review of the LILA route into bankruptcy is currently underway and is due to report findings by August 2009.
