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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: S5W-17368

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5O-02127

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government in light of the Parliament's decision to not consent to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Question reference: S5O-02066

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its mental health strategy.

Question reference: S5F-02308

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2018

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will seek the devolution of all immigration powers.

Question reference: S5W-15842

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 27 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been employed in the software and electronic publishing sector in each year since 2008.

Table 1 shows the estimated level of total employment within Scotland’s software and electronic publishing sector from 2009 to 2017. January-December 2017 is the most recent Annual Population Survey data available.

Table 1: Total employment in software

and electronic publishing, Scotland, 2009-2017

Year	Employment (000s)
Jan-Dec 2009	23,000
Jan-Dec 2010	20,000
Jan-Dec 2011	24,000
Jan-Dec 2012	30,200
Jan-Dec 2013	31,800
Jan-Dec 2014	29,100
Jan-Dec 2015	35,000
Jan-Dec 2016	41,900
Jan-Dec 2017	42,500

Source: Annual Population Survey

*Figures rounded to nearest 100.

1. The ‘software and electronic publishing sector’ is defined as including the following Standard Industrial Classification 2007:

58.29 Other software Publishing

62.01/2 Business and domestic software development

62.02 Computer consultancy activities

This definition is consistent with the Scottish Government’s Growth Sector definition of ‘Digital Industries’. More details can found in the Growth Sectors Database at the link shown below:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Publications/GrowthSectors/2

2. The industry classification SIC 2007 was introduced to the Annual Population Survey in 2009. It is therefore not possible from this source to produce a consistent estimate of employment in this sector for 2008.

Question reference: S5W-15841

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to the software and electronic publishing sector since 2008.

Scottish Enterprise can provide data for the past 5 years which shows that over that time period (to the end of the financial year 2016-2017) they have invested just under £28 million (£27.9 million) in software and electronic publishing.

During this period Creative Scotland has supported projects that align with their stated priorities and involve businesses in the software and electronic publishing sector as partners in creative projects. However, they have no specific funding schemes for digital businesses, nor do they routinely capture SIC codes of applicants in order to report against sub-sectors of the creative industries. All Regularly Funded Organisations are expected to describe how they engage with this sub-sector as part of their Digital Connecting Theme and Creative Scotland has in the past also run time-limited programmes that were open to applications from the sector, i.e. The Innovation and Light Bytes programmes.

Question reference: S5W-15840

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many registered software and electronic publishing enterprises there have been in each year since 2008.

The number of VAT and/or PAYE registered software and electronic publishing enterprises, for 2008 to 2017, in Scotland are provided in the following table. Note that these figures refer to all registered enterprises operating in Scotland regardless of where the enterprise is based.

Number of registered enterprises in Scotland, 2008-2017:

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Software and Electronic Publishing	3,805	3,830	3,905	4,365	4,880	5,195	5,725	6,220	6,940	7,265

Source: Growth Sector Statistics Database, Businesses in Scotland 2017, Scottish Government.

Note:

1. These figures exclude enterprises classified as both central or local government.

2. Software and Electronic Publishing is defined as the following Standard Industrial Classification 2007 codes:

SIC 58.29 – Other software publishing
SIC 62.01/2 – Business and domestic software development
SIC 62.02 – Computer consultancy activities

Question reference: S5O-01791

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 22 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its mental health strategy.

Question reference: S5F-02068

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2018

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on negotiations regarding Scotland’s place in Europe.

Question reference: S5O-01720

Asked by: Mairi Gougeon, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 24 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its Mental Health Strategy.