- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2016
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of the special advisers in post; what their responsibilities are; what their pay bands are; how many special advisers there are in each pay band, and what the total salary cost of employing special advisers was in 2015-16.
Answer
Special advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a special adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.
The *total cost of the team of 14 special advisers employed during the financial year 2015-16 was £1,140,104.
There are currently 10 special advisers in post and a further one will be appointed with effect from 1 July 2016. From 1 July 2016 the 11 special advisers and their specific responsibilities will be as follows:
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Name
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Role
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Liz Lloyd
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Chief of Staff to the First Minister including the co-ordination of the Special Adviser team.
Responsible for the First Minister’s Strategic Programme in Government.
Special Adviser for Finance and the Constitution (jointly with Colin McAllister) and Inter-governmental relations.
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Stuart Nicolson
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Head of Communications.
Senior Political Spokesperson for the First Minister.
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Colin McAllister
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Head of Policy and Senior Special Adviser to the Deputy First Minister.
Special Adviser for Education and Skills.
Special Adviser for Finance and the Constitution (jointly with Liz Lloyd).
First Minister’s Questions, Programme for Government.
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Ross Ingebrigtsen
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Communications Special Adviser.
Deputy Spokesperson for the First Minister.
Strategic communications planning.
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John MacInnes
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Political Research.
Support for First Minister’s Questions and parliamentary debates.
Support to Communications and Policy Special Advisers.
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Davie Hutchison
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Special Adviser for Health and Sport and for Broadcasting.
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John McFarlane
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Special Adviser for Justice, Transport and the Economy.
Parliamentary Business.
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Jeanette Campbell
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Special Adviser for Communities, Social Security, Equalities, Jobs and Fair Work.
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Kate Higgins
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Special Adviser for Rural Economy and Connectivity. Support to the Head of Policy.
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Katy Bowman
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Support for the First Minister and the First Minister’s Private Office.
Outreach and stakeholder engagement.
Special Adviser for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs and policy support to the Chief of Staff.
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David Miller
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Special Adviser for Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform.
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The special adviser pay bands and ranges and the number of special advisers within each pay band currently in place are:
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Pay Band
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Current Pay Range
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Number of Special Advisers
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1
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£39,445 - £52,904
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7
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2
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£51,041 - £67,709
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1
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3
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£65,017 - £83,963
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3
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3 (premium)
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£83,549 - £100,942
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0
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4
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£86,965 - £104,462
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0
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*Total cost includes all salary costs, earnings-related national insurance contributions and employer pension contributions.
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2016
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many parliamentary liaison officers have been appointed; to which ministers, and what their responsibilities are.
Answer
The First Minister has appointed 13 parliamentary liaison officers (PLOs), listed as follows, to assist in developing and maintaining a positive and constructive relationship between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government and to take account of the views of the Parliament and of Scotland as a whole. PLOs are unpaid, are not members of the government and are not, therefore, bound by collective responsibility.
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Parliamentary Liaison Officer
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Portfolio
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Ben Macpherson MSP
Gail Ross MSP
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Office of the First Minister
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George Adam MSP
Mairi Evans MSP
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Communities, Social Security and Equalities
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Ash Denham MSP
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Culture, Tourism and External Affairs
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Ivan McKee MSP
Gillian Martin MSP
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Economy, Jobs and Fair Work
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Jenny Gilruth MSP
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Education and Skills
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Angus McDonald MSP
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Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
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Kate Forbes MSP
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Finance and Constitution
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Tom Arthur MSP
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Health and Sport
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Fulton MacGregor MSP
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Justice
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Emma Harper MSP
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Rural Economy and Connectivity
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- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on calls to revisit its position on the principle of universalism in public service provision.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2016
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 December 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the independence referendum.
Answer
The Scottish independence referendum resulted in an encouraging increase in interest in political issues among young people. Over 109,000 young people aged 16 and 17 in Scotland were registered to vote at the referendum and 75% of those surveyed after the poll said they had voted. In addition, 97% of those 16-17 year olds who reported having voted said that they would vote again in future elections and referendums.
Building on the example of the independence referendum, The Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill will extend the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections to all 16 and 17 year olds. The legislation is expected to be in force in time to allow young people to register for the May 2016 Scottish election.
The Scottish Government has been following analysis conducted by a range of academics to understand the impact and experience of the extended franchise for the 2014 independence referendum. Findings to date support the view that those 16 and 17 year olds who voted in the referendum do intend to continue to exercise their right to vote in future elections. Research indicates that young people in Scotland were more politically engaged after the referendum than their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Scottish Government analysts will continue to follow and distil findings from academic research examining a range of impacts from the extended franchise, and the referendum itself.
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 December 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the uptake of grants was from the Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund in 2014-15.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 December 2015
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on jobs and Scotland's economy of the reported Ministry of Defence plan to reduce the number of Type 26 frigates being built in order to pay for the replacement of Trident.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 19 November 2015
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the impact on employment in Glasgow of the city council's plans for its City Building subsidiary.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2015
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 October 2015
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 30 October 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords.
Answer
I have today (30 October 2015) laid the first report in the Scottish Parliament on the use of the powers to extend coverage of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation to bodies carrying out public functions.
The report notes the strong opinions expressed by tenants, Registered social landlords (RSLs) and others on the issue of whether RSLs should be subject to FOI legislation. Therefore, in order to fully explore the complex issues involved, I intend to formally consult the RSL sector next year with a view to extending coverage of FOI legislation to RSLs – linked to the review of the Scottish Social Housing Charter.
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the possible impact on its finances of English votes for English laws.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2015
- Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 17 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the impact on public transport users in Glasgow of plans by First Glasgow to reorganise its bus services.
Answer
So long as the statutory notice periods and other regulatory requirements are complied with, including those related to punctuality and passenger information, bus services such as those being changed by First Glasgow are a commercial matter between the operator and its customers. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has powers and funding to secure additional services to meet social needs where this does not happen on a commercial basis.
