Jackie Baillie

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chief executive of Prestwick airport, Ron Smith, is receiving any payment from (a) it or (b) the airport and, if so, for what reason.

Answer · Keith Brown: No.

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11880 by Keith Brown on 26 October 2017, when the annual accounts for (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise were finalised.

Answer · Keith Brown: The annual report and accounts are considered finalised when Scottish Government receives the final audited set of accounts; auditor’s report and letter from the Auditor General for Scotland under Section 22(3) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotla…

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to appoint a new chief executive of Prestwick airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operates at arm's length from the Scottish Government. An interim Chief Executive was appointed on 17 October 2017. The timing and process for recruitment of a permanent Chief Executive is a matter for the Chairman and the Board.

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will be involved in the recruitment process for the new chief executive of Prestwick airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated at arm's length from the Scottish Government. Recruitment of a new Chief Executive is a matter for the Chairman and the Board.

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chief executive of Prestwick airport, Ron Smith, will be asked to repay any relocation expenses from when he started in the post, and what factors it has taken into account to reach its position on this matter.

Answer · Keith Brown: Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated at arm's length from the Scottish Government. It is a matter for the Chairman and the Board to comply with contractual terms.

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chief executive of Prestwick airport, Ron Smith, is receiving any payment from Glasgow Airport and, if so, for what reason.

30 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chief executive of Prestwick airport, Ron Smith, will receive a severance payment.

Answer · Keith Brown: Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated at arm's length from the Scottish Government. The former Chief Executive received a severance payment in line with contractual obligations.

25 Oct 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to review the operation of the Scottish Futures Trust to help improve transparency.

24 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the state provider of energy that it announced will be fully operational.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government is developing plans for an energy company that will support our efforts to tackle fuel poverty and help to achieve our ambitious climate change targets. In developing our plans we are reviewing responses to specific questions on the is…

24 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what equity stakes in businesses have been held by (a) (i) Scottish Enterprise and (ii) Scottish Investment Bank in each year since 1999 and (b) the Scottish Investment Bank in each year since it was established.

Answer · Keith Brown: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have passed your query to Paul Lewis, the Interim Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, who will provide an answer to you directly.

24 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the disability employment gap has been in each year since 1999.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The following table provides the estimated Disabled Employment Gap for Jul 2004-Jun 2005 to Jul 2016-Jun 2017, sourced from the Annual Population Survey. There are discontinuities in the disabled employment gap series between Jul 2009-Jun 2010 and Jul 2011-Ju…

13 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research it plans on the potential disaggregated income impact on each local authority of the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Potential opportunities for and impacts on local authorities will be investigated as part of the comprehensive design work for a deposit return system for drinks containers that is being undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland.

13 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Police Scotland and (b) other law enforcement agencies regarding the potential for illicit trade in single-use bottles following the introduction of the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Enforcement issues related to deposit return on beverage containers will be an area covered by the design work being undertaken by Zero Waste Scotland. This will include discussions with Police Scotland, the SEPA waste crime team and local authority Trading S…

13 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has carried out on the potential impact on the wholesale sector of the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland has been asked to undertake design of a deposit return system for beverage containers, and as part of this work will undertake research on the potential benefits and impacts for the wholesale sector.

13 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what business impact assessment it has carried on the plans for the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Zero Waste Scotland has been asked to undertake design of a deposit return system for beverage containers, and as part of this work will undertake a business impact assessment.

12 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government ConsolidatedAccounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of  the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, whether it will provide a breakdown of which project sp…

Answer · Keith Brown: EC are currently undertaking their own checks on the £31 million and an invoice is anticipated after March 2018 following which a payment decision and timing can be made. Not all of the 72 project sponsors from whom a recovery is being sought were overpaid: s…

12 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government ConsolidatedAccounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of  the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, whether it plans to repay this and, if so, (a) by what …

Answer · Keith Brown: European Structural Funds were subject to checks and audits throughout the lifetime of the programmes and these were concluded in March 2017. The £31 million liability was finalised only once these checks were complete since it is the result of deducting the …

12 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the report by the Auditor General, The 2016/17 audit of the Scottish Government ConsolidatedAccounts, that a £31 million liability has arisen as result of  the 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme, what monitoring of the programme it carried out and at …

Answer · Keith Brown: European Structural Funds were subject to checks and audits throughout the lifetime of the programmes and these were concluded in March 2017. The £31 million liability was finalised only once these checks were complete since it is the result of deducting the …

9 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of freight cargo have (a) departed from and (b) arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (i) since April 2017 and (ii) in each year since 2015, also broken down by airline.

Answer · Keith Brown: The volume of arriving and departing freight transported through the airport since 2015 is provided in the following table. We cannot provide the freight volume figures broken down by airline as this information is commercially sensitive. Year Departing Ar…

9 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many passengers have (a) departed from and (b) arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (i) since April 2017 and (ii) in each year since 2015, also broken down by airline.

Answer · Keith Brown: Passenger numbers broken down by departing and arriving passengers for 2015, 2016 and 2017 (to September) are provided in the following table. Figures have been provided for Ryanair as the only scheduled passenger airline serving Prestwick during this period.…

9 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) passenger and (b) freight cargo airlines use Glasgow Prestwick Airport, broken down by the number of flights each day.

Answer · Keith Brown: Ryanair are the only passenger airline currently serving Prestwick Airport. However, we do not hold information on the number of Ryanair flights broken down for each day. Two freight operators, Air France and Cargolux, currently operate scheduled flights to …

6 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11238 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2017, whether it will provide details and costs of the external research that it is considering around automation.

Answer · Keith Brown: No external research has been commissioned by the Scottish Government as yet, but it is reviewing the availability of evidence that exists in this area for Scotland and is undertaking a joint project with the STUC examining the potential impact of technologic…

6 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11227 by Jamie Hepburn on 21 September 2017, whether it will provide a breakdown of self-employment income by type in each year since 1999.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The following tables show the estimated average incomes of self-employed adults in Scotland between 1999-2000 and 2015-16. The figures are estimates based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS). They relate to all adults identified as either part-time or full-t…

6 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the accounts of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Island Enterprise in the first week of September in each year to aid financial scrutiny, given that it understands they are signed-off at the start of each summer.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government always ensures that the audited accounts for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are laid and published as early as possible and within the statutory requirements set out.

6 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the annual accounts for (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Enterprise published its annual report and accounts on 2 October 2017. Highlands and Islands Enterprise published its annual report and accounts on 16 October 2017.

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Fair Start Scotland programme has made of the hardest to reach unemployed.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We received over 200 responses to the consultation on future devolved employment services in 2015 alongside more than 70 events and meetings held with user and stakeholder groups across Scotland. Additional work in 2016 with disabled people, their representat…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor the Fair Start Scotland programme and what criteria it will use to determine its effectiveness.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government have designed a robust performance management framework to ensure that both key performance indicators (KPIs) and key delivery indicators (KDIs) which were set out within the Statement of requirements are met, providing quality of supp…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it is allocating to the Fair Start Scotland programme in each of the next six years, also broken down by how many people it expects will be supported by it.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The anticipated spend on Fair Start Scotland based on performance levels set within provider contracts is detailed in the following table. As this is dependent on provider performance this figure is indicative and likely to be subject to some variation. This …

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has continued the practice of "paying by results" for the Fair Start Scotland programme.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Through Fair Start Scotland, the Scottish Government is committed to delivering an employability service which is focussed on delivering outcomes and progression to employment. The 2015 consultation on devolved services pointed to the need for sufficient gua…

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the contract value of the Fair Start Scotland programme was awarded to (a) the private sector, (b) the voluntary sector, (c) supported businesses and (d) local authorities.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Fair Start Scotland has been designed nationally but will be delivered locally, through new and innovative consortia and partnership approaches to delivery. It will see unprecedented levels of partnership working in provision of employability support, offer f…