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-18361

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to provide suicide prevention training across the (a) public and (b) private sector.

Question reference: S5W-18074

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many learning hours of (a) up to 10 and (b) 10 or more hours have been accounted for by part-time colleges courses in each of the last 12 years.

The number of lening hours of SFC funded part-time college courses (a) up to 10 hours and (b) 10 or more hours is provided in the following table.

SFC-funded part-time students split by learning hours

Academic Year	Learning Hours
Academic Year	Over 10 hours	Under 10 hours
2005-06	31,917,972	338,583
2006-07	33,052,100	351,546
2007-08	34,013,471	392,624
2008-09	32,154,349	386,836
2009-10	29,106,869	294,033
2010-11	26,938,592	204,188
2011-12	21,406,873	118,774
2012-13	19,751,506	104,338
2013-14	20,386,260	99,607

2014-15	20,762,667	100,366
2015-16	18,625,386	106,111
2016-17	18,682,421	161,125

Source:SFC

Due to methodology changes the time series is not comparable prior to 2014-15.

Question reference: S5W-17460

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many part-time college courses in each of the last 12 years have consisted of (a) up to 10 and (b) 10 or more learning hours, and what the average funding was.

Question reference: S5W-17598

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02298 by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2018, and in light of the £453 million underspend for 2017-18, when it will act on its commitment to implement the Barclay Review’s recommendation to halve the Large Business Supplement.

The Scottish Government is not permitted to overspend its budget so we have consistently controlled expenditure in order to ensure we live within budget control limits. This includes carefully managing the Scottish Reserve - a key element of dealing with the financial uncertainties that can arise through the Fiscal Framework.

After accounting for the commitment of £125 million additional funding announced in the 2018-19 budget process that is being distributed to local authorities this year, other planned carry forwards, surplus devolved tax receipts and fees for guarantees, the remaining cash variance is minimal. Deployment of the balance of the reserve will be considered as part of the on-going 2019-20 Budget process. The level of the Large Business Supplement, along with many other competing priorities, will form part of these considerations in the light of affordability.

Question reference: S5W-17597

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities (a) have used and (b) are considering using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2018-19, and to what extent.

It is for Councils to determine when to use powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act. Any business is open to apply and the Scottish Government expects local authorities to give any request for rates relief proper and full consideration. Currently, three Local Authorities have used these powers to provide rates relief to business properties. These are Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

The information on the number of business properties in these areas that received rates reductions, as a result of local authorities utilising their powers under the Act, is not held centrally.

The following table sets out the most up to date information on the amount of local discretionary rates relief local authorities have, or plan to, award under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 based on the latest returns:

Local Authority (£000s)	2016-17 (Actual)	2017-18 (Estimated)
Perth and Kinross	124	-
Aberdeen City	-	1,486
Aberdeenshire	-	2,189

Question reference: S5W-17600

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses could be affected by local authorities that (a) have used and (b) are considering using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2018-19.

Question reference: S5W-17601

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses were affected by local authorities using powers in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates during 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-17459

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02225 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 June 2018, how many full-time equivalent students there have been at Dundee and Angus College in each of the last 12 years.

The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent students (FTE) that have been at Dundee and Angus College since academic year 2005-06.

FTE for students at Dundee and Angus College, 2005-06 to 2016-17

Academic year	Full-time Equivalent (SG funded)
2005-06	7,668
2006-07	7,739
2007-08	7,777
2008-09	8,015
2009-10	8,176
2010-11	8,002
2011-12	7,769
2012-13	7,227
2013-14	7,431
2014-15	7,435
2015-16	7,471
2016-17	7,290

Source: Scottish Funding Council.

Note: Data covers core funded places and excludes European Social Fund (ESF) FTEs.

The credit based system of funding college activity was introduced in 2015-16. Previously, colleges were funded to deliver a defined number of Weighted Student Units of Measurement (WSUMs). As such, care should be taken when comparing across recent years.

Question reference: S5O-02298

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 28 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on businesses in Scotland paying twice as much in Large Business Supplement rates than those in England.

The Scottish Government has taken the decision to support the economy by prioritising small businesses and introducing unique measures like the Growth Accelerator, which benefit all businesses, large and small.

I am committed to reviewing the Large Business Supplement at each future budget in light of affordability, but I believe the measures outlined in the Budget earlier this year strike the right balance. They offer a competitive and sustainable taxation environment while delivering sufficient resources to fund the public service upon which we all rely.

Question reference: S5O-02225

Asked by: Bill Bowman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on 10,000 fewer students being enrolled at Dundee and Angus College compared with 2006, representing a 38% drop.

Headcount at Dundee and Angus College has reduced since 2006 primarily because the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) de-prioritised short courses (often around 5 hours) many of which did not lead to a recognised FE or HE qualification, nor increase employability or progression to further or higher learning. Short courses that do lead to a recognised qualification and on to work or progression are still funded.

Headcount figures at colleges are therefore not a reliable indicator of impactful college activity. Full-time equivalent (FTE) numbers are a better reflection of college activity and provide a more accurate picture over the time-series.

Dundee and Angus College’s FTE numbers have remained relatively stable over this time-series, with a reduction of only 378 FTE; while the SFC have ensured the College can continue delivering impactful learning by increasing its core teaching funding allocation to over
‎ £27 million in 2018-19, an increase of 9.3% on the previous year.