Chamber and committees

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-05491

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children with learning disabilities are being taught in special schools, also broken down by each year since 2007.

The percentage of children with learning disabilities being taught in special schools broken down by each year since 2007 is as follows.

Pupils in Scotland with a Learning Disability - 2007-2016

Learning Disability	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Special Schools	3388	4134	4097	4126	4266	4421	4604	4601	4569	4311
All Schools	7399	8956	9232	11534	14673	15979	15859	15600	15324	14608
Percentage Special	46%	46%	44%	36%	29%	28%	29%	29%	30%	30%

All pupils with an ASN	36,510	38,716	44,176	69,587	98,523	118,034	131,621	140,542	153,192	170,329
of which special school pupils	6,709	6,756	6,673	6,800	6,973	6,976	6,984	6,981	6,920	6,735
of which mainstream school pupils	29,801	31,960	37,503	62,787	91,550	111,058	124,637	133,561	146,272	163,594

All special school pupils	6,709	6,756	6,673	6,800	6,973	6,976	6,984	6,981	6,920	6,735
All mainstream school pupils	685,506	674,817	670,067	666,333	663,538	664,242	666,546	669,974	673,087	677,680
All pupils	692,215	681,573	676,740	673,133	670,511	671,218	673,530	676,955	680,007	684,415
Percentage ASN	5%	6%	7%	10%	15%	18%	20%	21%	23%	25%
Percentage of ASN pupils that are at Special schools	18%	17%	15%	10%	7%	6%	5%	5%	5%	4%

Percentage of Special school pupils with a Learning Disability	50%	61%	61%	61%	61%	63%	66%	66%	66%	64%

Question reference: S5W-05574

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05398 by Keith Brown on 14 December 2016, when the vacancy will be advertised for the position of chief executive of (a) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and (b) the Scottish Funding Council.

Question reference: S5W-05552

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it requires recipients of (a) Regional Selective Assistance and (b) other grants to (i) adopt fair work practices and (ii) pay the living wage.

Question reference: S5W-05551

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid to Amazon in (a) Regional Selective Assistance and (b) other grants for each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-05553

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which companies in receipt of Regional Selective Assistance do not pay their employees the living wage.

Question reference: S5W-05616

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government when there will be an expansion of hubs to encourage exporting beyond Europe.

Scottish Development International already provides a range of products and services to Scottish companies seeking to export through its existing global network of 29 field offices and over 200 exporting professionals. In response to global trade and investment opportunities, since 2012 SDI has expanded its presence to new locations in Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Canada, Brazil, China and India. Most recently, we announced grant funding of up to £400,000 to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, to support new business-led trade missions and forge new trading alliances between Chambers both here and abroad. This will complement the work of SDI and contribute to our shared efforts to increase business exports and internationalisation activity.

Question reference: S5W-05615

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spends on encouraging exports through its network of hubs in (a) the UK, (b) Europe and (c) the rest of the world.

Through its existing global network, Scottish Development International (SDI) provides a range of products and services to attract inward investment to Scotland and to support companies in Scotland seeking access international markets. As set out in answer S5W-03968 on 16 November 2016, SDI has allocated £30.3 million in 2016-17 to support these trade and investment activities in its UK, European and international locations.

To complement the work being led by SDI, the Scottish Government has allocated £3.5m in 2016-17 for the development of the Innovation and Investment Hub programme. These hubs will play a critical role in attracting investment to Scotland, helping businesses to trade internationally, raising Scotland’s international profile and, crucially, protecting Scotland’s relationship with the EU.

The Dublin Hub opened in January 2016 and is in its first full year of operating. It provides dedicated support to enhancing high-value economic, academic and innovation partnerships between Scotland and Ireland.

The London Hub, which will open early in 2017, will bring together the Scottish Government, our enterprise agencies and VisitScotland under one roof and provide a ‘touch down’ and meeting space for Scotland’s businesses and other organisations.

Plans for the Brussels Hub are being taken forward as part of wider post referendum planning. Plans to establish a Berlin Hub are currently in development and details will be made available in due course.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-05631

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the outcome of its enterprise and skills review, what it considers the advantages to be of a statutory board compared with a non-statutory Strategic Forum.

Our agencies and their staff already carry out excellent work and as Audit Scotland have noted, they have been successful in their respective roles, with clear strategies and good governance. However, we need to step up our performance to achieve our ambitions to rank in the top quartile of Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development countries for productivity, equality, wellbeing and sustainability.

To achieve this aim, we believe that we need to increase coherence and focus by creating a single board which is able to facilitate greater alignment between the various agencies and simplify the system for the user while also enhancing and measuring the collective activity of these bodies against a set of shared outcomes.

Question reference: S5W-05630

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the proposed new Scotland-wide board arising from its enterprise and skills review will have (a) a chief executive and (b) other support staff and, if so, what the estimated cost is.

In our report on phase one of the Enterprise and Skills Review we have committed to work with agencies and other partners to strengthen our enterprise and skills system by consulting on the strategic board, including the best distribution of functions between the agencies underneath it and the associated legislative requirements.

As part of this work, we will also consider what support staff are required to properly support the new board to deliver its functions.

Question reference: S5W-05488

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00356 by Keith Brown on 17 November 2016, (Official Report, c. 2), when the agencies involved in developing the business case for the national manufacturing institute (a) have met and (b) will publish the case; what locations are being considered for the institute, and by what date it will be established.

The Scottish Government is working closely with Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Funding Council, Skills Development Scotland and Highlands & Islands Enterprise to develop the business case for the national manufacturing institute for Scotland. Officials meet regularly to take this forward, including work to better understand the private sector needs and demand and how best to maximise the economic impact of the institute, including possible locations. Wherever the institute is located, it will serve the whole of Scotland.

This is a significant proposal with the potential to support step-changes in the efficiency and productivity of Scotland’s manufacturing sector. Decisions on its establishment and location(s) will depend on the business case, which will be published later this year.