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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: S4T-00686

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the National Review of Asthma Deaths, which suggests that some deaths from the condition arise because of complacency among both medical staff and patients.

Question reference: S4F-02068

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2014

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

Question reference: S4W-20669

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assumption in the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, that the £250 million figure in its white paper on independence that was attributed to a simplified tax system, is the result of changes in the corporation tax system.

This government plans to design a simple and transparent tax system after independence. As set out on page 121 of Scotland’s Future, the government will work with Revenue Scotland to simplify the tax system to reduce compliance costs, streamline reliefs and help to reduce tax avoidance, with the aim of generating additional tax revenues of up to £250 million per year by the end of the first term of an independent Parliament.

As recognised in the Oxford Economics report, this commitment is separate to our plans to set out a timescale for reducing corporation tax in Scotland by up to 3 percentage points below the prevailing UK rate.

Question reference: S4W-20668

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what information it provided to Oxford Economics to inform its report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-20666

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, whether it will reconsider its decision not to publish the cost of its policy on corporation tax for the first years of implementation.

The Scottish Government has published detailed modelling of the potential impacts of corporation tax policy equivalent to a reduction in the headline rate by 3 percentage points.

The report which is available by following the link below, outlines the impact of such a policy in terms of boosting output, employment and government spending, amongst other variables, and, where appropriate, breaks them down by time period. The analysis indicates that the level of GDP in Scotland could increase by 1.4% and employment by 27,000 after 20 years.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0038/00388940.pdf

Question reference: S4W-20667

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assessment in the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, that its policy on corporation tax would take 10 to 15 years to pay for itself.

Question reference: S4W-20509

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it will set out the figures underlying the assertion that “the vast majority of any higher tax revenues following any expansion in economic activity flow to Westminster” which was stated in the paper, Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis.

Under the current constitutional framework the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament only have limited control over fiscal policy. The Scottish Parliament is only responsible for around 8 per cent of taxes raised in Scotland when including a geographical share of North Sea revenues. With the new tax powers of the Scotland Act 2012 this figure will only increase to around 16 per cent.

Under the Scotland Act, if revenues in Scotland were to increase by 1 per cent across the four main taxes and spending on key benefit to fall by 1 per cent, only 12 per cent of the total net gain in revenues would be retained by the Scottish Government. More detail is available on pages 6 and 7 of Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis paper.

Question reference: S4W-20503

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) a list of its estimates of the component tax revenue streams that contribute to the £700 million.

Question reference: S4W-20500

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, what estimate it has of the contribution to the £700 million from increases in receipts from (a) income tax, (b) national insurance, (c) VAT, (d) fuel duty, (e) excise duties and (f) other taxes.

The Scottish Government estimates that the revenues from the specific taxes identified in the question would increase if Scotland’s female participation rate was to match Sweden’s. The total increase in all revenues would be expected to amount to £700 million in the long-term. Further detail is provided in the Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis paper which can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0044/00441783.pdf.

Question reference: S4W-20507

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether the Council of Economic Advisers has been asked to consider the component revenue streams of the £700 million to ensure that the basis for the calculations is robust.

The Council of Economic Advisers considered the economic and social importance of improving childcare provision in Scotland at their meeting on 30 August 2013. The council’s discussion was informed by a presentation by the late Professor Ailsa McKay on the economic and social importance of access to childcare. The minutes of this discussion are available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/Meetings/30-08-2013

The council also received an update on childcare at their meeting on 7 March 2014. Minutes of this meeting will be published online in due course.

The analysis informing the council’s deliberations will be reflected in the Annual Chair’s Report of the Council of Economic Advisers. It is anticipated that the chair’s report will be published in spring 2014.