Questions and answers

Question reference: S4O-01531

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase access to college courses for senior school pupils.

Question reference: S4O-01523

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans that the Scottish Energy Skills Academy, as stated by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, will be anchored in the north east of Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-09993

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers have met the chief executive or other senior representatives of the Health and Safety Executive since 2007 to discuss matters affecting the energy industry in Scotland, given the potential impact on costs and employment, when the last meeting took place; what issues were discussed, and whether ministers will hold regular such meetings.

Contact between Scottish Ministers and the HSE is maintained through the membership of different industry groups.

Senior Scottish Government officials meet with senior representatives of the HSE in relation to gas industry matters as part of the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) and as part of the NEPLG, Scottish Nuclear Emergency Group and the local site liaison groups. The HSE are also represented on the Carbon Capture and Storage programme board chaired by the Scottish Government.

In the oil and gas sector Scottish Government liaise with HSE as necessary in reaction to incidents. This includes Scottish Government representation along with HSE, and other government interests, on the Government Interest Group established in response to the Elgin incident earlier this.

In addition to membership of industry groups the HSE are also embedded as consultees in the processes, operation and planning of offshore oil and gas industry and in the wider energy sector.

Question reference: S4W-09874

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with universities and colleges in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire regarding the creation of an energy skills academy in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen College, Banff and Buchan College, the Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen have indicated an interest in developing energy skills in the north-east through aligning the curriculum they each offer to support the training needs of the Oil and Gas industry through the provision of a one-stop shop. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are fully supporting of this approach, given the importance of these institutions to that industry.

John McClelland, Chair of the SFC and SDS, and the SFC have held discussions with Robert Gordon University and Aberdeen College recently, and as a result the four institutions in Aberdeen have been invited to submit a more detailed proposal to the SFC and SDS setting out what they consider the future training needs of the industry will be, and the potential impact that this may have in terms of changing or increasing the collective capacity across the four institutions.

In addition my officials are due to meet with representatives from the four institutions in early November, along with the SFC, SDS, Scottish Enterprise and the Energy Technology Partnership to discuss this proposal and alignment of this with development of the Scottish Energy Skills Academy announced in the budget on 20 September.

I also intend to engage with them, and other relevant stakeholders, as plans for the Scottish Energy Skills Academy progress.

Question reference: S4W-09992

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers have met the chief executive or other senior representatives of the Health and Safety Executive since 2007 to discuss matters affecting the offshore oil and gas industry, given the potential impact on costs and employment in Scotland-based companies supplying the industry, when the last meeting took place; what issues were discussed, and whether ministers will hold regular such meetings.

Contact between Scottish Ministers and the HSE is maintained through the membership of different industry groups.

Senior Scottish Government officials meet with senior representatives of the HSE in relation to gas industry matters as part of the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) and as part of the NEPLG, Scottish Nuclear Emergency Group and the local site liaison groups. The HSE are also represented on the Carbon Capture and Storage programme board chaired by the Scottish Government.

In the oil and gas sector Scottish Government liaise with HSE as necessary in reaction to incidents. This includes Scottish Government representation along with HSE, and other government interests, on the Government Interest Group established in response to the Elgin incident earlier this.

In addition to membership of industry groups the HSE are also embedded as consultees in the processes, operation and planning of offshore oil and gas industry and in the energy sector.

Question reference: S4W-10308

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government which tax incremental financing applications the Scottish Futures Trust recommended to ministers for selection as pilot projects following the scoring exercise.

Question reference: S4W-10304

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria the Scottish Futures Trust used to assess the applications for tax incremental financing pilot projects.

<>The details of the assessment criteria for Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) applications are contained within the TIF Chief Executive Process letter that was sent to Local Authorities in June 2011. This is available on the Scottish Futures Trust’s website at: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/publications/tif-chief-exec-process-letter/. This makes clear that the role of the assessment panel comprising Scottish Futures Trust and Scottish Government officials was to make recommendations to Ministers, and that “final approval for TIF pilots rests with Scottish Ministers”.

The assessment panel’s scores and comments on the applications can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/FOI.

Scottish Futures Trust recommended to Ministers that the three highest scoring Councils (Falkirk, Fife and Argyll & Bute) should be invited to prepare full TIF business cases for Ministers’ consideration.

Whilst Ministers took account of the recommendations of the assessment panel and, indeed, chose to invite the three highest ranking local authorities to submit full TIF business cases, they also considered wider factors that were not addressed by the panel.

Ministers invited Aberdeen City Council to submit a full TIF business case, provided that public support for the Union Terrace Gardens project could be demonstrated. Aberdeen’s project was chosen to ensure good geographical spread of TIF pilots. It was also selected because of the potential of the scheme to lever in £55 million of private funding immediately, representing 40% of the estimated total cost of the City Garden Project (£140 million). The potential to lever in such levels of guaranteed private funding for the creation of the assets made this project unique amongst those for which bids had been received.

Ministers wrote to Aberdeen City Council on 1 November 2011 inviting the Council to develop further its plans to use TIF for the Union Terrace Gardens project if public support for the project could be demonstrated. Aberdeen City Council was advised to contact Scottish Futures Trust if they required any further information or assistance in relation to the business case.

Scottish Futures Trust was informed about the proposals that Ministers wished to take forward shortly before the announcement of the successful applications in November 2011. The progress of the TIF pilot scheme, including Aberdeen City Council’s project, has been discussed during routine meetings between Ministers and the Chairman and Chief Executive of Scottish Futures Trust.

Question reference: S4W-10309

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) chairman and (b) chief executive of the Scottish Futures Trust regarding Aberdeen City Council's tax incremental financing application and when.

Question reference: S4W-10314

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Futures Trust grouped the applications for tax incremental financing pilot projects according to scale or content and how the shortlisted applications were grouped.

Question reference: S4W-10313

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback each local authority received regarding the criteria used to select the tax incremental financing pilot projects.

Chamber and committees