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: S5W-08663

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 10 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with Ineos prior to the announcement of its plans to purchase the Forties pipeline system.

Question reference: S5O-00951

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address health inequalities.

Question reference: S5W-08878

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the netting of wild salmon and, in order to aid stock recovery of salmon and sea trout in freshwater fisheries, what action it is taking to limit the practice.

The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulation 2016 prohibits the retention of salmon in coastal waters. In practice this means that commercial salmon netting stations can no longer operate in coastal waters. The Scottish Government committed to review the prohibition within three years of it coming into force – a review that will be supported by some additional science to identify the spatial extent of influence of mixed-stock fisheries, which is anticipated to start in June this year.

Unlike coastal netting stations, those engaged in river and/or estuary netting may retain salmon depending on the conservation status of each stock. This is defined by the probability of the salmon stock meeting its conservation limit over a five-year period.

Currently there are no specific conservation measures for sea trout which, unlike salmon, is not a protected species. We will keep this situation under review.

Question reference: S5W-08629

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how the insolvency risk profile of firms in Scotland compares with the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government has certain functions in relation to corporate insolvency including the development of policy and recording of information about liquidations and receiverships of Scottish businesses. The reserved elements of corporate insolvency, including company voluntary arrangements and corporate administration, are the responsibility of the UK Government, and dealt with by The Insolvency Service

The following table shows the liquidation rates for companies in Scotland, England & Wales and Northern Ireland between 2015 and 2016 by quarter published by The Insolvency Service. The statistics are also available online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/insolvency-service-official-statistics

Company liquidation rate, rolling 12-month percentages of active companies

Percentage

2015

2016

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4

Scotland	0.51	0.47	0.48	0.49	0.50	0.52	0.51	0.49
England and Wales	0.51	0.49	0.47	0.44	0.43	0.42	0.41	0.47
Northern Ireland	0.76	0.73	0.71	0.70	0.67	0.73	0.69	0.70

Source: The Insolvency Service

Question reference: S5T-00509

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that UK Government reforms of benefits and welfare eligibility are unfairly impacting on women.

Question reference: S5W-08142

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the OPITO report, The Youth Perception of a Career in the Oil and Gas Industry, that 20% of female respondents from Scotland to its survey said that they wanted to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry, and the comment by the interim chief executive of OPITO that women are “a significant pot of untapped talent”, making up 20% of the industry’s workforce, what action it can take to help address this gender imbalance.

Supporting women to fulfil their potential in the labour market is a key aim of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government continues to be in close engagement with both the oil and gas industry and the industry bodies on this important matter, as oil and gas is an industry which has many decades of opportunity ahead it, women have an crucial role to play in supporting the industry maximise its potential. We are already seeing women in highly prominent positions within the industry heading up key organisations such as Total, Statoil, Chevron, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre and the trade body Oil and Gas UK, can act as role models and provide inspiration to women, both across the industry and those women considering a career in this highly innovative industry, of what is possible.

We also recognise that STEM skills are in high demand in our economy, not least in the Oil and Gas industry. It is clear that high quality STEM education and training is vital to Scotland’s intellectual and economic future, and to a fairer society. Our draft STEM Strategy set out our aim to raise levels of STEM enthusiasm, skills and knowledge for all, and to encourage the uptake of more specialist STEM skills required to gain employment in STEM sectors.

Equity is one of the priority themes within the Strategy, and we want to take action to reduce equity gaps including in relation to gender. We want to see more diversity across STEM courses, qualifications and careers. We have consulted on the draft Strategy, which included holding an event in partnership with Equate Scotland to consider new, creative ideas on how we might tackle gender balance issues in STEM. We will be publishing a final version of the Strategy later this year, with associated actions. On gender, we will build on on-going work, such as support for the Institute of Physics project on tackling gender stereotypes in schools.

We are continuing to support STEM learning in schools, providing £855K of funding in 2016-17 to the Scottish Schools Education Research Centre to up-skill primary teacher and teachers of secondary science, and offering professional development in mathematics and numeracy through the National Numeracy and Mathematics Hub. Learning in the STEM subjects can also be greatly enriched by the contribution of partners – there are huge opportunities for greater collaboration between schools, further and higher education, and the oil and gas industry. The Developing the Young Workforce programme, which specifically includes a focus on STEM, is helping to develop these types of partnerships, and the draft STEM Strategy also highlights the value of this type of collaboration.

Question reference: S5W-08144

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the research by the Robert Gordon University Oil and Gas Institute that suggests that Brexit might cost the oil and gas supply chain £200 million extra per year in tariffs and export taxes.

The findings from the Robert Gordon University Oil and Gas Institute on the impact of Brexit highlight the significant value of Scotland being a member of the European Single Market and the potential damage to Scotland’s economy from exiting the European Union.

The report highlights that the oil and gas supply chain, which has seen revenues fall by around 30% during the industry downturn, could face up to £200 million in additional costs per year to access international markets as a result of Brexit. This will negatively impact upon the industry’s efforts to fulfil the Oil and Gas Authority’s vision to double the share of the global supply chain market taken by Scottish and the rest of the UK supply chain enterprises. The report also makes clear the challenges posed to the sector by restricting the movement of people as the oil and gas industry relies heavily on access to international skills and capabilities.

Scottish Government analysis highlights the potential costs of leaving the European Union and implies that by 2030 output in the Scottish economy could be up to
£11.2 billion lower compared to forecast GDP in the absence of Brexit.

In ‘Scotland’s Place in Europe’ the Scottish Government put forward proposals for mitigating the impact on Scotland of the UK’s exit from the EU by ensuring continued membership of the European Single Market.

Question reference: S5W-08145

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the research by the Robert Gordon University Oil and Gas Institute that suggests that withdrawal from the single market and customs union ‘”will have a direct impact on the movement of people” in the oil and gas sector and will bring challenges for a sector that relies “heavily on access to international skills and capabilities”.

The Industry has highlighted that the impact of restrictiveness on freedom of movement might have on the UK’s ability to attract highly skilled oil and gas workers to the UKCS, and that this may potentially have the impact of discouraging foreign investment in the mid to long term. During what has been a challenging time for the industry, the recent Oil and Gas UK Business Outlook highlighted a positive news story for the industry in demonstrating the continued interest individuals have in a career within this important sector.

The North Sea still holds significant potential with up to 20 billion boe remaining available for potential extraction. However we have been clear that further action is still required from UK Ministers’ who hold the key fiscal levers relevant to the sector to encourage the vital investment that is needed to maximise the safe, efficient economic recovery of reserves.

Question reference: S5W-08141

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 29 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the OPITO report, The Youth Perception of a Career in the Oil and Gas Industry, that, despite the reported challenges facing the sector, 81% of the people who responded to its survey said that they wanted to pursue a career in oil and gas industry, and 77% saw it as having a sustainable future.

During what has been a challenging time for the industry, this survey highlights a positive news story for the industry demonstrating the continued interest in a career within this important and innovative sector. The North Sea still holds significant potential with up to 20 billion boe remaining, however we have been clear that further action is still required to encourage the investment that is critically needed to Maximise Economic Recovery.

The UK Government holds the key fiscal levers and the Scottish Government will continue to call for further measures to urgently stimulate activity and investment, which will be of particular help to the hard hit supply chain. Our draft Energy Strategy reaffirms our strong commitment to the oil and gas industry in Scotland and the positive role that the sector will continue to play for decades to come.

Question reference: S5W-08007

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in the college estate in each year since 1999.

Investment in the college estate in each year since 1999 is set out in the following table:

Year	Capital Investment £m*
99-00	18
00-01	39
01-02	29
02-03	21
03-04	21
04-05	38
05-06	49
06-07	87
07-08	122
08-09	92
09-10	107
10-11	109
11-12	50
12-13	28
13-14	28
14-15	27
15-16	25.5
16-17	27
17-18	47.4**

*Capital investment allocation after autumn budget review.

**Amount agreed in this years budget.