Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-11776

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of growth rates in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK, and of the implications for the allocation of the block grant as part of the fiscal framework.

The Fiscal Framework guarantees a fair and transparent mechanism to adjust the block grant to reflect the new fiscal powers that have been devolved. The agreement ensures the Scottish Government’s overall level of funding is not affected if tax receipts per head grow at the same rate in Scotland and the rest of the UK. The Scottish Government remains committed to doing all it can to generate sustainable economic growth, which is important for protecting and growing tax receipts. As part of its financial management, the Scottish Government monitors performance of both the UK and the Scottish economy, updating assessments at key UK Fiscal events to inform Budget decisions.

Question reference: S5W-12006

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, whether it plans to repay this and, if so, (a) by what method, (b) on what dates and (c) by what date it will have been repaid in full.

European Structural Funds were subject to checks and audits throughout the lifetime of the programmes and these were concluded in March 2017. The £31 million liability was finalised only once these checks were complete since it is the result of deducting the total eligible expenditure for the programmes from the total funds paid by the European Commission to the Scottish Government. The EC are currently undertaking their own checks on the £31 million and an invoice is anticipated after March 2018 following which a payment decision and timing can be made. Not all of the 72 project sponsors from whom a recovery is being sought were overpaid: some have been penalised due to errors particularly in procurement where an EC prescribed level of penalty has been imposed. Invoices totalling £12.3 million covering overpayments and penalties have been issued and are being pursued in line with Scottish Government policies.

Question reference: S5F-01701

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2017

To be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-12005

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 10 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, what monitoring of the programme it carried out and at what frequency; when the error was first noticed, and for what reason this was not noticed earlier.

European Structural Funds were subject to checks and audits throughout the lifetime of the programmes and these were concluded in March 2017. The £31 million liability was finalised only once these checks were complete since it is the result of deducting the total eligible expenditure for the programmes from the total funds paid by the European Commission to the Scottish Government. The EC are currently undertaking their own checks on the £31 million and an invoice is anticipated after March 2018 following which a payment decision and timing can be made. Not all of the 72 project sponsors from whom a recovery is being sought were overpaid: some have been penalised due to errors particularly in procurement where an EC prescribed level of penalty has been imposed. Invoices totalling £12.3 million covering overpayments and penalties have been issued and are being pursued in line with Scottish Government policies.

Question reference: S5W-12007

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 10 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, whether it will provide a breakdown of which project sponsors were overpaid, and by how much, and what plans it has to recoup this money.

EC are currently undertaking their own checks on the £31 million and an invoice is anticipated after March 2018 following which a payment decision and timing can be made. Not all of the 72 project sponsors from whom a recovery is being sought were overpaid: some have been penalised due to errors particularly in procurement where an EC prescribed level of penalty has been imposed. Invoices totalling £12.3 million covering overpayments and penalties have been issued and are being pursued in line with Scottish Government policies.

Question reference: S5W-12363

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chief executive of Prestwick airport, Ron Smith, is receiving any payment from (a) it or (b) the airport and, if so, for what reason.

Question reference: S5W-12280

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11880 by Keith Brown on 26 October 2017, when the annual accounts for (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise were finalised.

The annual report and accounts are considered finalised when Scottish Government receives the final audited set of accounts; auditor’s report and letter from the Auditor General for Scotland under Section 22(3) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 confirming whether there are any issues which should be brought to the attention of Parliament.

The Scottish Government received the above confirmations from the Auditor General for Scotland on the following dates:

Scottish Enterprise – 11 July, 2017
Highlands and Islands Enterprise – 19 September, 2017

Question reference: S5W-12188

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what equity stakes in businesses have been held by (a) (i) Scottish Enterprise and (ii) Scottish Investment Bank in each year since 1999 and (b) the Scottish Investment Bank in each year since it was established.

Question reference: S5W-12186

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 8 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the disability employment gap has been in each year since 1999.

The following table provides the estimated Disabled Employment Gap for Jul 2004-Jun 2005 to Jul 2016-Jun 2017, sourced from the Annual Population Survey. There are discontinuities in the disabled employment gap series between Jul 2009-Jun 2010 and Jul 2011-Jun 2012 and again from Jul 2012-Jun 2013 onwards.

The main discontinuity from Jul 2013-Jun 2014 was when the definition of disability was changed to reflect the Equality Act 2010 legal definition of disabled, measured according to the Government Statistical Service Harmonised Standard. Further smaller discontinuities exist between Jul 2009-Jun 2010 and Jul 2011-Jun 2012 due to a change to questionnaire format and between Jul 2011-Jun 2012 and Jul 2012-Jun 2013 due to a change in coding of survey non-responders.

Disability Employment Gap, Jul 2004-Jun 2005 to Jul 2016-Jun 2017, Scotland

	Disabled Employment Rate	Not Disabled Employment Rate	Disability Employment Gap (percentage points)
Jul 2004 - Jun 2005	43.1%	80.4%	37.3
Jul 2005 - Jun 2006	44.0%	80.3%	36.3
Jul 2006 - Jun 2007	46.6%	80.7%	34.1
Jul 2007 - Jun 2008	46.1%	81.1%	35.0
Jul 2008 - Jun 2009	45.4%	79.4%	34.0
Jul 2009 - Jun 2010^‡	47.4%	77.4%	30.1
Jul 2010 - Jun 2011	46.4%	77.9%	31.5
Jul 2011 - Jun 2012^T	46.2%	78.0%	31.8
Jul 2012 - Jun 2013**	-	-	-
Jul 2013 - Jun 2014	40.8%	78.7%	37.9
Jul 2014 - Jun 2015	41.2%	79.7%	38.5
Jul 2015 - Jun 2016	42.9%	80.0%	37.1
Jul 2016 - Jun 2017	43.4%	80.7%	37.3

Source: Annual Population Survey, July-June datasets, ONS

Notes:

1. Employment rates cover those aged 16-64.

2. Proportions are calculated on unrounded figures.

3. The disability employment gap is calculated as the Not Equality Act Disabled Employment Rate minus the Equality Act Disabled Employment Rate.

4. The Annual Population Survey data collection started in 2004.

‡ - In January-March 2010 there was a change in the reporting behaviour of survey respondents, mainly reflecting a change in the wording of the survey questionnaire, which is believed to result in more accurate estimates. Consequently data pre and post Jan-Mar 2010 are not directly comparable.

T - In January-March 2012 there was a change in the way those who did not respond to the question on disability were recorded, with those who did not respond no longer being automatically coded "not disabled".

** - In Apr-Jun 2013 there were significant changes to the questions relating to disability and long-term limiting health conditions to reflect the Equality Act 2010 legal definition of disabled. This has led to a discontinuity in the series and no data is currently available for Jul 2012 - Jun 2013 due to the change mid-year.

Question reference: S5W-12252

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to appoint a new chief executive of Prestwick airport.

Chamber and committees