Chamber and committees

NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that adequate information is available to patients on “money advice” and for the provision of training to its staff within their board areas.

The Scottish Government provides funding and support for initiatives which help deliver “money advice” and support to patients. We have provided £1 million to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to develop the Healthier Wealthier Children (HWC) project which is designed to deliver money and welfare advice to pregnant women and families with children at risk of, or experiencing poverty.

We also fund a number of projects that help to ensure the most vulnerable people are able to maximise their income through accessing benefits to which they are entitled.

We also provide funding to third sector organisations to support the capacity of frontline agencies across Scotland to deliver advice on welfare and benefits.

Tourism is a key sector of the Scottish economy and tourism related industries are estimated to have contributed around £2.9 billion to Scottish GVA in 2010.

There was a 3 per cent increase in domestic (GB) tourism visits to Scotland, involving an overnight stay, in the year to June 2012 compared to the previous 12 months and a 13 per cent increase in domestic expenditure in the corresponding period in Scotland.

The Great Britain Tourism Survey 2011 estimates that around 60 per cent of trips involving an overnight stay within Great Britain by Scottish residents are within Scotland (7 million out of 11 million GB visits by Scottish residents).

VisitScotland continues to build upon its domestic marketing campaigns to maintain and increase these markets. In particular 2013 has been designated as our Year of Natural Scotland, a year in which we will celebrate Scotland’s reputation as a place of outstanding natural beauty. In the run up to, and during, the year we will focus on promoting the activities available in Scotland’s natural tourism attractions and will inspire the people of Scotland to rediscover their own country and visitors to come and experience and participate in Scotland’s natural festivals and events, natural tourism attraction and outdoors locations.

As I indicated in my earlier answer to S4W-05902 on 12 March 2012, the Scottish Government does not provide specific funding to support seaside destinations for tourism purposes.

The Scottish Government works closely with a wide range of organisations including Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Development International, Skills Development Scotland, VisitScotland, local authorities, the third sector, financial institutions and other specialist sectoral advisory bodies to promote sustainable economic growth throughout Scotland.

The Coastal Communities Fund aims to support projects in Scotland’s coastal communities that promote sustainable economic growth and jobs in tourism. In addition to this, VisitScotland supports local initiatives through its growth fund and provides business support for individual tourism businesses and tourism groups.

The economic development agencies of Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland continue to contribute to economic intelligence and growth opportunities and actively engage, via local authority partners, to ensure that opportunities are identified and supported wherever possible. In addition, VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise collaborate to provide a range of tourism specific resources which may be accessed http://www.tourism-intelligence.co.uk/.

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 National Debtline advisers provide specialist advice to callers, which is backed up with written self-help materials. Payday loans will be considered as part of a holistic approach, which would take into account all factors relevant to the caller’s circumstances.

Where National Debtline advisors identify the caller requires some form of debt management or debt relief they would refer the caller to a local money adviser for face to face advice.

The Debt Advice and Information Package (DAIP) booklet produced by the Scottish Government provides important information to individuals who may be subject to diligence or bankruptcy.

The DAIP booklet is designed to provide individuals with information about various types of enforcement, and the consequences of non-payment of debt. It also indicates where the individual may receive local, free money advice.

The DAIP was developed to encourage individuals to seek advice as early as possible, and is pertinent to all types of credit and debt. Therefore, there are no plans to include a specific reference to payday loans.

<>The Scottish Household Survey 2011 annual report, at table 6.10, shows whether respondents had a loan, including from a payday lender. However, as there was such a small proportion of respondents who had taken a payday loan, they did not appear on the final table due to rounding of figures. The Scottish Household Survey 2011 report is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0040/00403747.pdf

Through its agency, the Accountant in Bankruptcy, the Scottish Government can profile those who have accessed statutory debt management or debt relief products, such as the Debt Arrangement Scheme, to assess borrowing trends including payday loans.

The triage system developed by Accountant in Bankruptcy and the Money Advice Service will be used by experienced money advisers to advise individuals of the range of options open to anyone struggling with debt, including consumer credit such as short term loans.

The triage tool is currently being tested by advisers, which is the first step in trying to achieve consistency and transparency in money advice across Scotland. The long term goal is to ensure that those who seek guidance on a debt solution have information on which debt solution best fits their circumstances.

Advisers will provide advice on priority debts and where appropriate specific advice on short-term, high-interest loans.

The Scottish Government did not conduct impact assessments on the increase in payday lending on consumers prior to its draft budget 2013-14.

The Scottish Government launched a joint commitment with COSLA on 29 March 2012 to deliver at least two hours of PE in primary schools and at least two periods of PE in secondary schools for pupils in S1 to S4, by 2014. We expect all schools to deliver this target by 2014.

There have been no meetings between Scottish Government ministers or officials with representatives of Wonga in the period since May 2011.