Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-15526

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the (a) responses to and (b) analysis of the responses to its Safeguarding Scotland’s Resources consultation.

Question reference: S4W-15528

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce whether it plans to introduce legislation for a charge for single-use carrier bags.

Question reference: S4W-15479

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update the £384.7 million figure for a loss in revenues caused by a 3% reduction in corporation tax shown at table 2 of appendix A of its paper, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.

The following answer was corrected on 25 June 2013

The paper referred to in the question outlines the impacts of a policy equivalent to a 3 percentage point reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 23 per cent.

The £384.7 million figure referred to in the question is an estimate of a direct static change in corporation tax revenues and does not take into account the indirect impacts of the policy such as the broadening of the tax base. As outlined in the paper, such dynamic effects are estimated to be significant, with the additional economic activity generated by the policy estimated to create 27,000 jobs and boost GDP by 1.4% after 20 years.

Question reference: S4W-15478

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on its revenues would be of a 3% reduction in corporation tax, and whether it will publish this information in the same format and over the same time period shown for capital stock and GDP in its paper, The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.

Question reference: S4W-15436

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in relation to an independent Scotland, it has a position on the statement in Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review that “we should work towards a comprehensive system of congestion charging on the roads, replacing most of fuel duty”.

Question reference: S4W-15422

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Fiscal Commission Working Group’s work in relation to options and opportunities for a tax system for Scotland includes consideration of the extension of VAT to food and children’s clothing.

I refer the member to the minutes of the meeting on 7 February 2013 of the Fiscal Commission Working Group. The minutes can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/FCWG

The Fiscal Commission is considering the principles of taxation not what should be taxed. As the Fiscal Commission Working Group has indicated, a paper will be published in due course.

It will be for all parties in Parliament to set out their plans for taxation in an independent Scotland ahead of the 2016 election.

Question reference: S4W-15425

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Fiscal Commission Working Group’s meeting on 28 May 2013 included instruction from ministers to rule out consideration of the recommendation in Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review to extend VAT to food and children’s clothes.

Question reference: S4W-15424

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers have instructed the Fiscal Commission Working Group to rule out consideration of the recommendation in Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review to extend VAT to food and children’s clothing.

Question reference: S4W-15434

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish a report on its preferred structure of tax in an independent Scotland prior to the white paper on proposals for independence and, if so, when.

Question reference: S4W-15432

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to an independent Scotland, what its position is on applying VAT to (a) food and (b) children’s clothing as suggested in Dimensions of Tax Design: The Mirrlees Review.