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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.

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Question reference: S4W-15779

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware that the interim chief executive officer of the Scottish Police Authority would announce to staff on 11 June 2013 that she had resigned.

The interim chief executive of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has not resigned.

The SPA advised the Scottish Government on 11 June 2013 that the interim chief executive would be informing her staff that she would be not be applying for the permanent chief executive’s role. Scottish Government officials then advised the Cabinet Secretary for Justice of this information.

The SPA has outlined its organisational vision and governance arrangements as we embark on a new phase of reform, following a successful transition on 1 April 2013 and is working on the detail in close partnership with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-15762

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government further to the tweet by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development on 10 June 2013 that “International development based on justice rather than charity could create lasting progress in developing world”, whether it will (a) confirm its position on this matter and (b) set out what previous analysis of UK international development policy it has undertaken.

The conceptualisation of international development as a question of justice rather than charity is based on an understanding of the negative impacts of particular global economic and financial policies on the world’s poorest nations and people. Examples include the tax losses to developing countries from multi-national companies operating in those countries while taking advantage of international tax secrecy; and the reported net transfer of $5,740.6 billion from developing economies to the developed over the period 1998-2010 (United Nations General Assembly A/65/189, July 2010, International Financial System and Development, Report of the Secretary-General). These flows include e.g. trade, debt, intellectual property rights and the “brain drain”. A truly effective approach to development must address these issues.

Analyses of UK development policy are available from a variety of sources, including for example the Organisation for Economic Development - Development Assistance Committee peer reviews. These include analysis of approaches to aid, but also of “policy coherence for development” across government policies. The Center for Global Development’s “Commitment to Development Index” seeks to rank governments according to the extent to which their policies in the round help poor countries, that index includes aid; trade; investment; migration; environment; security and technology components.

The tweet related to an article in the Guardian on 10 June 2013 on the human rights based approach and, summarised this sentence from it “international development based more on justice and rights than charity and aid has the potential to create lasting progress in the developing world.”

Question reference: S4W-15780

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware of the date that the interim chief executive officer of the Scottish Police Authority will leave the organisation.

Question reference: S4W-15778

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware that the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Scottish Police Authority had chosen (i) not to be considered for the permanent CEO vacancy and (ii) to resign from the organisation.

The Scottish Government and the Cabinet Secretary have been aware for some months that the Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) did not intend to apply for the position on a permanent basis and that she would step down in September 2013.

The SPA has outlined its organisational vision and governance arrangements as we embark on a new phase of reform, following a successful transition on 1 April 2013, and is working on the detail in close partnership with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-15760

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15210 by Humza Yousaf on 10 June 2013, whether it will set out its understanding of the identification document requirements for visitors travelling from Scotland to Ireland by (a) air and (b) ferry.

The Home Office website states that within the Common Travel Area (CTA) “passengers are not required to carry a passport or national identity document for immigration purposes”.

Further information can be found on the Home Office website:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/customs-travel/Enteringtheuk/arrivingatukborder/travellingtocommontravelarea/

and the Irish Citizens’ Information website:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_abroad/freedom_of_movement_within_the_eu/common_travel_area_between_ireland_and_the_uk.html

Question reference: S4W-15749

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15478 by John Swinney on 12 June 2013, for what reason its analysis on page 11 of the publication, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy, does not set out the "immediate negative impact on the revenues collected by that tax" over a similar time period to the chart on the percentage change in gross domestic product included on the same page.

The Scottish Government report, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of cutting corporation tax and focuses on the impacts on key economic variables, such as output, employment and investment.

As outlined in the paper, whilst a lower tax rate can reduce revenues for a given level of profits, by stimulating economic activity it can grow the tax base which can in turn lead to higher tax revenues. The potential economic benefits from the policy are significant, with the additional activity generated by cutting corporation tax estimated to create 27,000 jobs and boost GDP by 1.4% after 20 years.

Question reference: S4W-15747

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15478 by John Swinney on 12 June 2013, for what reason the answer did not include a chart showing the loss of government revenues arising from a reduction of 3% in corporation tax in a similar format to the charts contained in its publication, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.

Question reference: S4W-15750

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the results of its modelling work on a reduction in corporation tax of 3% on the same basis as Figure 4.2 in the Economic Advisory Group report, The Impact of Reducing Corporation Tax on the Northern Ireland Economy, which was cited as a source in its paper, Devolving Corporation Tax in the Scotland Bill, to show (a) the year in which a break-even point for government revenues is modelled to occur and (b) an estimate of loss of government revenues in each year until a break-even point is modelled to occur.

Question reference: S4W-15746

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15478 by John Swinney on 12 June 2013, whether the information needed to produce a chart of the loss of government revenues resulting from a reduction of 3% in corporation tax over a 50-year period can be obtained from the simulation model used to create the other charts in its publication, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.

Question reference: S4W-15748

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15478 by John Swinney on 12 June 2013, whether the simulation model used in its publication, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy, has an output indicator of the change to government revenues arising from policy changes input into the model.