- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a real-terms public spending increase of 2.4% will lead to a fall in the level and quality of services financed through central funding initiatives.
Answer
Strategic SpendingReview 2007 will focus on achieving the Government’s purpose and five strategicobjectives. We will work with our partners to deliver the best possible public serviceswith the available resources.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the delay in the comprehensive spending review will not adversely affect the delivery of essential services.
Answer
We will publish ourspending plans as soon as possible after the announcement of the UK ComprehensiveSpending Review. However, there will be an impact on the notice we can give deliverybodies of their allocations for 2008-11. We will work with delivery partners tominimise disruption and ensure the on-going smooth delivery of services to customersin circumstances that are outwith the control of the government.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Government’s position is on £90 million extra revenue for alcohol retailers per year resulting from a 40p minimum price.
Answer
This is a decisionfor South Lanarkshire Council which has a statutory responsibility to provide andmaintain school buildings.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed Housing Support Fund will assist all first-time buyers or a specific group.
Answer
The government’s intentionbehind the work to create a Scottish Housing Support Fund, which I announced duringthe housing debate in Parliament on 21 June 2007, is to attract private investmentto enable additional help to be provided for a wide range of people who struggleto afford a first home of their own. The targeting of assistance to first-time buyerswill be informed by the outcome of the current spending review and subsequent discussionswith private sector lenders and investors.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 59 recommendations from the Homelessness Task Force report have been fully implemented.
Answer
The last progressreport on implementation of the recommendations of the Homelessness Task Force isavailable on the Scottish Government website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Housing/homeless/H-M-G/HMG23HTFandHMGprioritiesandhttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Housing/homeless/H-M-G/HMG23HTFandHMGprioritiesa.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how current housing policies will allow the creation of sustainable mixed communities.
Answer
A housing supply comprisinga mix of different tenures that meets the housing needs of a range of householdsis one of the many conditions required to create sustainable mixed communities.The Scottish Government’s forthcoming consultation on social housing will includeproposals aimed at improving the integration of social housing and other tenures.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that there are no reductions in services as a consequence of its commitment to freeze council tax levels in the next financial year.
Answer
Discussions areon-going with local government on how best to deliver a council tax freeze. Throughoutthese discussions I have made it absolutely clear that we are working towards astrategic agreement on a range of measures that will enable local authorities todeliver a council tax freeze while maintaining and improving frontline services.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to consult the public and public bodies in determining where proposed reductions in public spending should be made.
Answer
Along with my CabinetSecretary and ministerial colleagues, I will be in dialogue with a range of stakeholdersover the summer to gather evidence and views on how we can use the strategic spendingreview to set plans that will enable us to fulfil our purpose and achieve our strategicobjectives.
Parliament will playits role in scrutinising the government’s spending plans after we have announcedthem later in the autumn.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed timetable is for the completion of new school buildings to be financed under PPP schemes.
Answer
The timetable (actualand estimated) for the completion of new school buildings under PPP schemes canbe found on the Scottish Executive Financial Partnerships Unit’s website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/futuredealsfor those schools PPP projects in procurement and at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/donedealsfor those schools PPP projects which have reached financial close.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will mitigate the effect of the lower budgetary growth anticipated in future spending settlements.
Answer
The government willexercise financial discipline and deliver a programme of efficiency and reform toaddress the effects of the lower Budgetary growth that is anticipated in futurefunding settlements received from the UK Government.
