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-16247

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4F-01500 by Alex Salmond on 27 June 2013 (Official Report, col. 21759), whether it will set out (a) the evidence that supports the First Minister's comment that “reduction or elimination [of air passenger duty] would result in additional not less revenue”, (b) the levels of air passenger duty to which the statement applies and (c) any assumptions made on which other tax receipts rise as a result of a reduction in air passenger duty.

Question reference: S4W-16246

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its position on air passenger duty was not included in oral evidence given to the European and External Relations Committee on 16 May 2013 by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development when he was explaining the delay in establishing a direct air route from Scotland to China.

The Minister for External Affairs and International Development answered the questions asked by the Committee members. In relation to a direct air service, the Minister was asked what was being done to support the establishment of a direct link to China and the Minister set out the discussions which have taken place. The Minister was not asked to comment on matters which serve to make a direct service more challenging, the UK Government’s handling of Air Passenger Duty being one.

Question reference: S4W-16248

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the oral evidence given by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development to the European and External Relations Committee on 16 May 2013, what discussions it has had with airlines on establishing direct flights from Scotland to China since the First Minister’s announcement of such an intention in 2011.

Question reference: S4W-15778

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware that the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Scottish Police Authority had chosen (i) not to be considered for the permanent CEO vacancy and (ii) to resign from the organisation.

The Scottish Government and the Cabinet Secretary have been aware for some months that the Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) did not intend to apply for the position on a permanent basis and that she would step down in September 2013.

The SPA has outlined its organisational vision and governance arrangements as we embark on a new phase of reform, following a successful transition on 1 April 2013, and is working on the detail in close partnership with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-15780

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware of the date that the interim chief executive officer of the Scottish Police Authority will leave the organisation.

Question reference: S4W-15779

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) its officials and (b) the Cabinet Secretary for Justice became aware that the interim chief executive officer of the Scottish Police Authority would announce to staff on 11 June 2013 that she had resigned.

The interim chief executive of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) has not resigned.

The SPA advised the Scottish Government on 11 June 2013 that the interim chief executive would be informing her staff that she would be not be applying for the permanent chief executive’s role. Scottish Government officials then advised the Cabinet Secretary for Justice of this information.

The SPA has outlined its organisational vision and governance arrangements as we embark on a new phase of reform, following a successful transition on 1 April 2013 and is working on the detail in close partnership with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-15762

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government further to the tweet by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development on 10 June 2013 that “International development based on justice rather than charity could create lasting progress in developing world”, whether it will (a) confirm its position on this matter and (b) set out what previous analysis of UK international development policy it has undertaken.

The conceptualisation of international development as a question of justice rather than charity is based on an understanding of the negative impacts of particular global economic and financial policies on the world’s poorest nations and people. Examples include the tax losses to developing countries from multi-national companies operating in those countries while taking advantage of international tax secrecy; and the reported net transfer of $5,740.6 billion from developing economies to the developed over the period 1998-2010 (United Nations General Assembly A/65/189, July 2010, International Financial System and Development, Report of the Secretary-General). These flows include e.g. trade, debt, intellectual property rights and the “brain drain”. A truly effective approach to development must address these issues.

Analyses of UK development policy are available from a variety of sources, including for example the Organisation for Economic Development - Development Assistance Committee peer reviews. These include analysis of approaches to aid, but also of “policy coherence for development” across government policies. The Center for Global Development’s “Commitment to Development Index” seeks to rank governments according to the extent to which their policies in the round help poor countries, that index includes aid; trade; investment; migration; environment; security and technology components.

The tweet related to an article in the Guardian on 10 June 2013 on the human rights based approach and, summarised this sentence from it “international development based more on justice and rights than charity and aid has the potential to create lasting progress in the developing world.”

Question reference: S4W-15763

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government further to the tweet by the Minister for External Affairs and International Development on 13 June 2013 that “While welcoming UK hosted "Nutrition for Growth" summit is vital we ask critical/probing questions on how UK does aid” whether it will (a) confirm its position on this matter and (b) set out what previous analysis of UK aid policy it has undertaken.

Analyses of UK aid policy are available from a variety of sources, including for example the Organisation for Economic Development - Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) peer reviews and the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI). The Center for Global Development’s “Commitment to Development Index” seeks to rank governments according to the extent to which their policies in the round help poor countries, that index also includes an aid component.

Where appropriate the Scottish Government welcomes the good work of the Department of International Development. However, various non-governmental development organisations have nevertheless this year expressed concern over the risk of securitisation of aid, following comments made by the Prime Minister earlier this year.

Question reference: S4W-15760

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15210 by Humza Yousaf on 10 June 2013, whether it will set out its understanding of the identification document requirements for visitors travelling from Scotland to Ireland by (a) air and (b) ferry.

The Home Office website states that within the Common Travel Area (CTA) “passengers are not required to carry a passport or national identity document for immigration purposes”.

Further information can be found on the Home Office website:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/customs-travel/Enteringtheuk/arrivingatukborder/travellingtocommontravelarea/

and the Irish Citizens’ Information website:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_abroad/freedom_of_movement_within_the_eu/common_travel_area_between_ireland_and_the_uk.html

Question reference: S4W-15750

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 July 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the results of its modelling work on a reduction in corporation tax of 3% on the same basis as Figure 4.2 in the Economic Advisory Group report, The Impact of Reducing Corporation Tax on the Northern Ireland Economy, which was cited as a source in its paper, Devolving Corporation Tax in the Scotland Bill, to show (a) the year in which a break-even point for government revenues is modelled to occur and (b) an estimate of loss of government revenues in each year until a break-even point is modelled to occur.