- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 December 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 January 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional tax revenue from business rates will be generated in 2019-20 from the increase in the poundage rate, broken down by sector.
Answer
The estimated additional Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) Income for 2019-20 generated by the annual increase to the poundage rate, broken down by property type, is shown in the following table.
CLASS | Estimated additional NDR income (£m) |
Advertising | 0.1 |
Care Facilities | 0.2 |
Communications | 0.3 |
Cultural | 0.1 |
Education and Training | 4.0 |
Garages and Petrol Stations | 0.6 |
Health and Medical | 1.9 |
Hotels | 2.5 |
Industrial Subjects | 10.6 |
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc. | 1.2 |
Offices | 8.4 |
Other | 1.2 |
Petrochemical | 1.2 |
Public Houses | 1.1 |
Public Service Subjects | 2.6 |
Quarries, Mines, etc. | 0.2 |
Religious | 0.0 |
Shops | 13.2 |
Sporting Subjects | 0.2 |
Statutory Undertaking | 9.1 |
All | 58.6 |
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 December 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 December 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what losses (a) it and (b) its agencies have realised in relation to investments of over £1 million in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
The annual accounts of all Scottish public bodies are published online and provide detail of all losses, in accordance with the requirements in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and the Financial Reporting Manual.
Losses in excess of £250,000 are identified separately and explained.
The losses reported are not restricted to losses on investments, but include details of all losses meeting the definition as explained in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
There are a small number of losses greater than £1 million reported in the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts in the last 10 years, none of which relate to balance sheet items that were classed as investments.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 December 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 December 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many shares in Burntisland Fabrications Limited (Bi-Fab) it has sold, and on what date, also broken down by the (a) purchase and (b) selling price of these.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not sold any shares in BiFab.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 December 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 19 December 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many shares it has in Burntisland Fabrications Limited (Bi-Fab) and what their market value is.
Answer
The Scottish Government currently holds a 28% shareholding in BiFab which, under the agreed facility, could rise to a maximum of 38%. BiFab shares are not actively traded in any financial markets. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting BiFab re-establish itself in the fabrication industry. We have committed to respecting commercial confidentiality in order to afford BiFab the best opportunity to be successful in ongoing competitive procurement exercises. Details of the Scottish Government shareholding will be disclosed in the Scottish Government annual accounts for the 2018-19 financial year.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 December 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that its social enterprise strategy makes use of public procurement policy to promote social enterprise.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2018
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is implementing to manage white-tailed eagles.
Answer
Scottish Natural Heritage operates the Sea Eagle Management Scheme which supports farmers and crofters to manage impacts. The scheme provides advice on a range of management methods, and farmers and crofters can apply for financial support of up to £1,500 per annum. Further information on the scheme is available via the following web link https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/land-and-sea-management/managing-wildlife/sea-eagle-management-scheme .
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to farmers to adapt farming practices to accommodate white-tailed eagles.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage are currently working with partners, including the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to deliver a Sea Eagle Action Plan which will build on the current Sea Eagle Management Scheme. The Action Plan includes the trialling of novel techniques to reduce impacts on livestock, such as diversionary feeding and encouraging nesting away from the most sensitive areas.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how much Scotland-based businesses have raised from e-commerce sales in each year since 2016.
Answer
The latest available data for e-commerce are at the UK level and for 2016.
Using UK data and apportioning to Scotland based on business turnover it can be estimated that e-commerce sales in Scotland were of the order of £26.4bn in 2016.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what support (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Scottish Development International offers to companies to trade via e-commerce, and whether this is reviewed on an annual basis.
Answer
Building on the e-commerce activity carried out by Business Gateway as part of their Digital Boost programme, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International work together to provide additional support focussed support, especially aimed at international trade. The following describes activity overall between the two organisations.
- Scot Exporter 2018, aimed at helping businesses to export with a focus on international online selling & e-commerce, was held in Glasgow in November 2018, with over 300 attending and with 70 attending.
- Amazon Rural , aimed at selling online from rural Scottish locations, was delivered in partnership with SDI in rural areas of Scotland in Autumn 2018, with over 200 attending.
- Amazon Academy was held in held in Glasgow on April 17 2018 with more than 300 companies attending . The focus was on international trade online with SDI/DIT supporting the event with international trade advice to Scottish companies attending.
- Building Your Chinese Consumer Base – e-commerce , aimed at selling online to Chinese market, was hosted by SDI in Glasgow in partnership with China British Business Council (CBBC) in September 2018, with 40 companies attending.
- ETAG and Digital Tourism Scotland (a partnership of seven organisations; Business Gateway, Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Skills Development Scotland and Visit Scotland) includes numerous events aimed at e-commerce within the tourism industry and run by SE.
- International E-commerce Workshops , aimed at helping businesses to start exporting or to grow exports, and focussed on a range of topics including “developing an international digital strategy” and “International SEO & social media” have been developed by SDI.
- Department of International Trade (DIT) events , aimed the subject of e-commerce and particularly on the subject of marketplaces as a route to market, have included SDI speakers. They have also developed a tool which has been used successfully by a number of Scottish companies to gain additional discounts through DIT deals with over 40 international marketplaces.
- Publications , SE have published a number of e-commerce Insight articles on the SE web site: as well as a guide: Practical steps to grow your business through ecommerce
- SE Digital Transformation Specialists work with high-growth businesses on key strategic areas of digital activity, helping companies to implement International e-commerce strategies. In total they have worked with over 600 companies in the last year on digital projects, many of which have been e-commerce
The work of SE and SDI on e-commerce is reviewed on an ongoing, rather than annual basis.
- For instance, SE/SDI content for events, workshops and in online guidance is updated several times a year to remain current and cutting edge and ensure that it remains relevant to Scottish business.
- As further example, content within International Ecommerce Workshops has been further adapted recently to meet demands from Scottish business for eMarketplace training, with workshops on these topics being introduced from Autumn 2018.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many Japanese students enrolled at higher education institutions in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.
Answer
The number of Japanese domiciled enrolments at Scottish Higher Education Institutions for 2016-17 have been provided in the following table. Data relating to the 2017-18 enrolments at Scottish Higher Education Institutions will not be available until January 2019.
Japanese Enrolments at Scotland Providers, 2016-17
Scottish Provider | Enrolments |
The University of Aberdeen | 10 |
University of Abertay Dundee | 0 |
The University of Dundee | 0 |
Edinburgh Napier University | 0 |
The University of Edinburgh | 95 |
Glasgow Caledonian University | 5 |
Glasgow School of Art | 10 |
The University of Glasgow | 30 |
Heriot-Watt University | 10 |
The Open University | 0 |
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh | 0 |
The Robert Gordon University | 0 |
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland | 0 |
The University of St Andrews | 30 |
SRUC | 0 |
The University of Stirling | 20 |
The University of Strathclyde | 5 |
University of the Highlands and Islands | 0 |
The University of the West of Scotland | 0 |
Scotland | 220 |
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency Student data, SG analysis
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
