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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-31263

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what target it will set for public procurement spend with small local businesses as part of its plan to make it easier for local businesses to bid for and win contracts as set out in its Economic Recovery Implementation Plan.

Figures published in the Public Contracts Scotland Summary Report https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Guides/Guide_Download.aspx?id=2898

for 2019-2020 reveal that 79% of suppliers awarded contracts in 2019-20 were SMEs, and 63% were SMEs located in Scotland.

Public sector contracts are awarded following open and fair competition and spend fluctuates due to numbers of contracts, their size and nature. So, we do not set targets for SME spend in Scotland. Instead, our approach is to improve access to public contracts for SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses as a key part of meeting our sustainable procurement duty obligations.

This includes developing and signposting sources of support to enable SME and third sector organisations who wish to tender for public contracts to engage with the public sector and to be more successful in winning contracts. For example, we invest in the Supplier Development Programme which assists businesses to become tender ready for public procurement and improves their prospects of success when competing for contracts. Our approach provides practical support to enhance the opportunities for smaller firms that might otherwise not be able to bid.

Question reference: S5W-31266

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what measures its proposed talent attraction service will feature for building Scotland’s reputation as a career destination in the rest of the UK.

It is essential that we grow our working age population to support our economy and society now and into the future as people live for longer. NRS projections indicate that in the next 25 years Scotland’s population growth will be reliant on inward migration, with 49% of migrants coming from the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government is working with partners including SDS, the enterprise agencies and CosLA to develop proposals for a talent attraction service for Scotland, to promote Scotland as an attractive and competitive place to work and to provide welcome and integration support for individuals and their families.

Question reference: S5W-31265

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether applications to its proposed Transition Training Fund will be restricted to those having worked in specific sectors and, if so, which ones.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of upskilling and retraining individuals to mitigate the labour market challenges causes by Covid-19. As the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture announced on 16 July, we will bring forward proposals for a new transition training fund to help people develop the skills they need to enter into sectors or occupations where we are most confident of a strong recovery, high demand, or tangible job opportunities.

Question reference: S5W-31267

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of its £50 million support package for youth unemployment will be ringfenced for rural communities.

During the debate on 12 August I announced that the level of funding to support the Youth Guarantee would be increased by a further £10m to a total of £60m. The precise detail of this £60m cannot be finalised until we have the detail of the implementation plan being developed by Sandy Begbie, as well as fuller detail of how DWP’s KickStart scheme will operate in Scotland. We will work with local authorities and other partners to ensure this investment supports local pressures and is directed towards the most vulnerable and this will include how we best support those in rural communities.

Question reference: S5W-31253

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it has established for determining whether to take ownership stakes in private businesses.

Question reference: S5W-31255

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to second business leaders or delegate officials to manage potential ownership stakes in private businesses.

Question reference: S5W-31254

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what independent expert advice it has identified as being necessary to include in its forthcoming working group to assess the capability to manage ownership stakes in private companies.

Question reference: S5W-31258

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how small and micro business representation will be included in plans to invite business leaders to engage with senior officials as set out in its Economic Recovery Implementation Plan, and what proportion of overall engagement has been targeted for those sectors.

Question reference: S5W-31252

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Investment Bank will (a) open and (b) be ready to make investments.

We are on track to establish the Scottish National Investment Bank later this year. We will capitalise the Bank with £2 billion over ten years, with a primary mission to support the transition to net zero carbon emissions. Work is underway to identify and develop a pipeline of investment propositions in which the Bank could invest, and we will shortly consult on the Scottish Government’s proposed missions for the Bank.

Question reference: S5W-31163

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 24 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with other devolved UK administrations regarding public-facing digital technology for returning containers via a smart phone or app, as part of a deposit return scheme for Scotland.