Chamber and committees

It is not clear what estimate of the Barnett formula the parliamentary question refers to.

The Barnett formula determines the size of the Block Grant from the UK to the Scottish Government and is based on the funding of services in England and Wales.

From 2015 the block grant is subject to adjustment to take account of the devolution of a limited amount of autonomy over taxation in Scotland. The proposals set out by the UK Government in response to The Smith Commission highlight the need for further adjustment to take place and for a new mechanism to consider the contribution of individual taxes to the Block Grant.

The Scottish Government has previously referred to estimates by Lord Holtham of the cost to Scotland of a reduction in the block grant that would flow from the proposals put forward by Westminster parties prior to the vow to conduct a needs based assessment using the Holtham methodology, which is the methodology preferred by the Welsh Government. It is not an estimate of the value of Barnett or of Scotland having full fiscal powers.

As the Scottish Fiscal Commission is operationally independent of the Scottish Government, the commission is not required to notify the Scottish Government of the dates on which it plans to meet.

Scottish Government officials last met with the Scottish Fiscal Commission on 28 January 2015.

In its submission to The Smith Commission, the Scottish Government outlined its proposals for ‘more powers to the Scottish Parliament.’ These proposals included full fiscal autonomy which, if implemented, would have led to all tax revenues being retained in Scotland. The Smith Commission published its recommendations on 27 November 2014, and subsequently the UK Government published an overview of its proposals on 22 January 2015. The Smith Commission did not recommend full fiscal autonomy, and currently there are no plans to legislate for full fiscal devolution to the Scottish Parliament. While The Smith Commission recommendations did not go as far as the Scottish Government recommended, and do not live up to the ‘vow’ made before the independence referendum, the Scottish Government welcomes further powers, and they must now be delivered. The Scottish Government is focused on making Scotland a more prosperous country, tackling inequality and protecting our public services, and the new powers being delivered must help deliver those goals.

Scotland has a strong fiscal base; in every one of the last 33 years, tax receipts have been higher per head in Scotland than the UK. Even when oil revenues are excluded, tax revenues per person in Scotland are broadly in line with the UK.

Under full fiscal autonomy, Scotland would still remain part of the UK and would negotiate its share of reserved spending and the operation of payments towards these.

In its submission to The Smith Commission, the Scottish Government outlined its proposals for ‘More Powers for the Scottish Parliament.’ These proposals included full fiscal autonomy which, if implemented, would have led to all tax revenues being retained in Scotland. The Smith Commission published its recommendations on 27 November 2014, and subsequently the UK Government published an overview of its proposals on 22 January 2015. The Smith Commission did not recommend full fiscal autonomy, and currently there are no plans to legislate for full fiscal devolution to the Scottish Parliament. While the Smith Commission recommendations did not go as far as what the Scottish Government recommended, and do not live up to the ‘vow’ made before the independence referendum, the Scottish Government welcomes further powers, and they must now be delivered. The Scottish Government is focused on making Scotland a more prosperous country, tackling inequality and protecting our public services, and the new powers being delivered must help deliver those goals.

All organisations are advised that they should not become solely reliant on Section 10 funding nor expect it to be renewed following a subsequent application.

They are advised of the importance in seeking alternative sources of funding and must have adequate financial management controls and systems in place when applying for Section 10 funding.

In 2014-15 there were 32 applications received, 14 of which were funded from Section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. They were:

CALL Scotland University of Edinburgh

Deafblind Scotland

Hearing Link

Pain Association Scotland

Partners in Advocacy

Scottish Accessible Information Forum

Moira Anderson Foundation

UPDATE Disability Information Scotland

Shared Care Scotland

The Coalition of Carers in Scotland

MECOPP

Penumbra

Support in Mind Scotland

The Food Train (subsequently their bid was withdrawn)

These 14 new successful applications were in addition to 43 existing recipients of Section 10 funding in 2014-15.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission has been allocated an indicative annual operating budget of £20,000. The Scottish Government will however ensure that the commission has access to the necessary resources to enable it to fulfil its functions.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission published its first report on the Scottish Government’s forecasts of devolved tax revenues and on the economic determinants which underpin the Scottish Government’s forecasts of non-domestic rate income on 9 October 2014. The commission’s report can be accessed at:

http://www.scottishfiscalcommission.org/

The Scottish Fiscal Commission will be required to report on any future devolved tax forecasts published by the Scottish Government.

It has taken longer than initially estimated to complete the process, due to both the number of applications received and the overall amount requested by third sector organisations.

When it became clear that the appraisal and decision would require more time, officials wrote to all applicants on 28 November 2014 and subsequently 7 January 2015 to apologise for the delay and to keep them informed of progress.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23932 on 20 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx