Chamber and committees

<>The purpose of devolving powers is to allow future Scottish Governments and parliaments to pursue their own policies aimed at Scottish circumstances and priorities at the time. The Scottish Government has set out proposals for a set of powers that would provide future Scottish Governments and Parliaments with the opportunity to design and deliver coherent approaches to issues such as promoting economic growth, supporting people into employment and addressing inequality. Specific policy proposals will depend on the powers that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the choices of future Scottish Governments. Appropriate economic, revenue and impact assessments will be undertaken in developing those policy specifics.

As set out in Further Devolution beyond the Smith Commission, the Scottish Government considers that full responsibility for corporation tax would allow the Scottish Government to tailor the tax system to reflect the specific competitive strengths and challenges in the Scottish economy. Specific policy proposals will depend on the powers that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the choices of future Scottish Governments. Appropriate economic, revenue and impact assessments will be undertaken in developing those policy specifics.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26213 on 7 July 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

The Scottish Government would like to see a reduction in the burden of employer national insurance contributions particularly for small businesses. One way of introducing this is to make the employer’s allowance more generous or linked to companies paying the living wage. Any changes in employer national insurance contributions would be part of a cohesive package of measures to boost sustainable economic growth in Scotland. Appropriate economic assessment will be undertaken once the policy specifics can be set out following the devolution of these powers.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S4W-26228 on 7 July 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.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the importance of fair work and understands that for both employees and employers, flexible working is an important part of this.

In line with this we have established the independent Fair Work Convention which will promote key fair work principals – including flexible and innovative working practices.

The Fair Work Convention will provide independent advice to the Scottish Government on matters including progressive workforce policies which improve productivity and innovation, greater workplace democracy, employee voice and commitment and an increased focus on workplace equality issues across the private, public and third sectors.

The Low Pay Commission makes recommendations on a UK basis. Its recommendations to the UK Government are not specifically tailored to the needs of Scotland. Any national minimum wage introduced in Scotland would take account of Scottish circumstances, and would be informed by the commitment this government places on supporting inclusive growth and tackling inequality.

The Scottish Government believes that with responsibility for the minimum wage the Scottish Parliament could address low pay and in-work poverty and give employers and workers incentives to invest in skills, increasing productivity.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is funded by a combination of grant in aid received from the Scottish Government and charging income recovered from regulated activities. The Scottish Government regularly monitors SEPA’s performance against its corporate plan targets and assesses resource needs to implement environmental legislation and other objectives as part of this dialogue.

The role of the Scottish Government is to provide policies and frameworks to support NHS boards in the provision of healthcare services. It is for NHS boards to develop and deliver services based on the needs of their resident populations. This includes the delivery of wheelchair services in Scotland which is co-ordinated by five centres. These centres carry out specialist assessment and provision of wheelchairs in their designated areas. In addition wheelchair centres provide on going maintenance, servicing and repairs as part of a weekday service.

The Wheelchair & Seating Services Quality Improvement Framework suggests that 75% of urgent repairs should be completed within one day and 90% of routine repairs completed within five days. We expect that all urgent repairs are carried out as quickly as possible. In addition all users of powered wheelchairs are provided with a backup manual wheelchair in the event of a breakdown or malfunction.