- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 29 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to establish a future generations fund.
Answer
Plans for the Scottish Futures Fund are a matter for the Spending Review, which will report in autumn 2011.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to roll out its Life Begins at 40 scheme and how much this will cost.
Answer
The national roll out of Life Begins at 40 commenced in February 2011. The service will cost approximately £285,000 in the 2011-12 financial year.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the DirectScot portal will be fully launched in 2011.
Answer
Our aim is to launch an experimental prototype of the DirectScot portal in 2011 in order to gain valuable feedback from users. We are committed to improving access to public services and information.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will provide to low-income families to help meet the costs associated with school in this parliamentary session.
Answer
This is a matter for education authorities. However, we will look to work with local authorities to identify steps we can take in the future to improve support for low income families to help meet the costs associated with school, for example, school uniforms and school trips.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional money it (a) is providing to the Export Support Package in 2011 and (b) plans to provide in 2012.
Answer
The Scottish Government has provided an additional £2.5 million for a new Export Support Package for 2011-12. The new Export Support Package funding is complementary to the support already provided through Scottish Development International.
Funding to the Export Support Package for 2012 will be subject to future spending allocation decisions.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs there are in the low-carbon economy, broken down by sector.
Answer
The Scotland Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services Sector study estimated that there were 73,960 people employed in the low carbon economy in 2008-09.
These are broken down as follows:
Sector
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Employment 2008-09
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Environmental Sub Sectors
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18,375
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Renewable Energy Technologies
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22,160
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Low Carbon Technologies
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33,425
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Total
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73,960
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Further sectoral and regional breakdowns are available in the consultant’s report at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/344829/0114756.pdf.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it will give from its overseas aid budget to supporting the Maldives in this parliamentary session.
Answer
There are currently no plans to provide funding to the Maldives from the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to establish, and what funding it will provide for, its proposed Scotland Exchange.
Answer
The Scotland Exchange has been in beta testing mode since 2010. On 24 March 2011 members of the Global Friends of Scotland were invited to join the new Scotland Exchange network. The network is still being developed and new members are welcome.
Scotland Exchange sits on the Ning platform, at an annual cost of $500 (£321 at current exchange rates). Additional start up costs for branding and developing the site were £10,000.
Future funding will be set on an as needed basis.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will cost to deliver 100 community sports hubs across Scotland by 2014.
Answer
Community sports hubs will reflect the shape and needs of sport in the areas in which they will be situated. Following the publication of A games legacy for Scotland, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49208), in September 2009, we have committed £7.5 million of additional funding to help support local authorities develop their plans to ensure that 100 community sports hubs are delivered by 2014. Since September 2009 we have invested almost £19 million in facilities across Scotland some of which will feature in plans for the roll out of community sports hubs.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2011
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 24 June 2011
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to introduce a one-stop finance information service.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently considering how best to take this commitment forward with the aim of ensuring that Scottish businesses have straightforward online access to the financial information and support they need to grow and create jobs.