Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial incentives it paid to each contractor on the A898 Erskine Bridge Vehicle Barrier Replacement project.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The works for the A898 Erskine Bridge Barrier Replacement contract were substantially complete in May 2014 and finished, after the Commonwealth Games, in early September 2014. The contract for these works is within the defects correction period, thus is curre…
26 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial incentives it offered to contractors to encourage early completion of the A898 Erskine Bridge Vehicle Barrier Replacement project.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The works for the A898 Erskine Bridge Barrier Replacement contract were substantially complete in May 2014 and finished, after the Commonwealth Games, in early September 2014. The contract for these works is within the defects correction period, thus is curre…
26 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of the A898 Erskine Bridge Vehicle Barrier Replacement project was and how much was paid to each contractor.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The works for the A898 Erskine Bridge Barrier Replacement contract were substantially complete in May 2014 and finished, after the Commonwealth Games, in early September 2014. The contract for these works is within the defects correction period, thus is curre…
23 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy have had to discuss the prison officers’ pay settlement.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy met in December 2014 to agree that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the Prison Officers Association (POA) (Scotland) could commence negotiations regarding t…
23 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates since 25 November 2014 the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has had meetings with the (a) Scottish Prison Service and (b) Prison Officers Association.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I meet with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service on a regular basis. I met with representatives from the Prison Officers Association Scotland on 18 December 2014.
23 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has "no strike" agreements with groups of public sector employees other than prison officers and, if so, which groups.
Answer · John Swinney: Other than the voluntary agreement in the Scottish Prison Service, which was entered into by Scottish Ministers in 2001, the Scottish Government does not have any such agreements with groups of public sector employees.
19 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Justice will meet residents in Dumbarton and Vale of Leven to discuss Police Scotland’s proposal to merge K and L divisions in advance of a decision being made.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The decision on these proposals is ultimately for Police Scotland, with the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) providing oversight. I understand Police Scotland is continuing local consultation to listen to the views of local communities. To date, the consulta…
19 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that all consultation responses relating to Police Scotland's proposal to merge K and L divisions are considered in advance of a decision being made.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The decision in this matter is ultimately for Police Scotland acting under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. As you are aware Police Scotland have undertaken a comprehensive consultation process to gather views on these proposals to strengthen …
18 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is typical of ministers to be directly involved in pay negotiations and when this has been the case in the last three years.
Answer · John Swinney: Ministers, through their public sector pay policies, set the envelope within which public bodies can negotiate pay awards. Ministers are not directly involved in pay negotiations.
18 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the recently agreed bonus payments for prison officers comply with its public sector pay policy and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The pay settlement for frontline prison officers was negotiated and reached between the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the Prison Officers Association (Scotland). This settlement recognises the evolutionary role of frontline prison officers in Scotland and…
18 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether payments similar to the recently agreed bonuses for prison officers are being made to other prison service staff.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “The one off payment for prison officers is made in recognition of a specific set of circumstances unique to their frontline role. The…
18 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the recently agreed bonus payments for prison officers will be included as baseline salary for future negotiations.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The one off payment to prison officers is a non-consolidated payment and does not affect the baseline salary for future negotiations.”
18 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost (a) is in 2015-16 and (b) will be in future years of the recently agreed bonus payments for prison officers.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “There will be no cost in (a) 2015-16 or (b) in future years for the recently agreed one off payment for prison officers. As this is a one …
11 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the £384.7 million figure that it calculated for revenues lost as a result of a 3% reduction in corporation tax rates, as set out at Table 2 of The Impact of a Reduction in Corporation Tax on the Scottish Economy.
Answer · John Swinney: The £384.7 million figure referred to in the question is an estimate of a direct static change in corporation tax revenues and does not take into account indirect impacts of the policy such as the broadening of the tax base. For further detail, I refer the …
11 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its position of lowering the rate of corporation tax by 3p less than the rest of the UK would still apply in the context of full fiscal autonomy.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24418 on 23 February 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…
11 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its position that it would lower the rate of corporation tax by 3p less than the rest of the UK.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to using every lever possible to create long-term comparative advantage and genuine economic value. With full responsibility for corporation tax, the Scottish Government would be able to target tax incentives carefully to…
4 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Enable Scotland's #BeTheChange campaign.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: No one should have to face discrimination or prejudice in any form in 21st century Scotland, including learning disabled people. It is never acceptable and it will not be tolerated. We are committed to tackling all forms of prejudice and welcome work to incr…
4 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have died as a result of a disability hate crime in each year since the offence was introduced.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: In order to answer this question, centrally held police recorded crime data has been used. These data record deaths that arise as a result of criminal action as homicides. Since 1 April 2010, there have been no homicide cases recorded by the police as being …
4 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted of a disability hate crime in each year since the offence was introduced.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The disability hate crime aggravator was introduced in March 2010, by the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009. From data held on the Scottish Government criminal proceedings database there were seven people convicted of such crimes in the…
4 Feb 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many crimes have been aggravated by (a) race, (b) sexual orientation and (c) disability in each year since 2010-11.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The number of crimes aggravated by race are published in the statistical bulletin Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, which is publically available via the following web link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/12/4535 Table 7a de…
26 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on housebuilding if the Barnett formula was abandoned and its budget reduced by at least £4 billion.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24030 on 30 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
26 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on the number of NHS (a) doctors and (b) nurses if the Barnett formula was abandoned and its budget reduced by at least £4 billion.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24030 on 30 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
26 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on (a) local government funding, (b) public sector pay and pensions and (c) economic development if the Barnett formula was abandoned and its budget reduced by at least £4 billion.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24030 on 30 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
26 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact would be on (a) teacher numbers, (b) school building programmes and (c) class sizes if the Barnett formula was abandoned and its budget reduced by at least £4 billion.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24030 on 30 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…
15 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its estimate of the value of the continuation of the Barnett formula remains at £4 billion annually, or whether it has made a revised estimate.
Answer · John Swinney: It is not clear what estimate of the Barnett formula the parliamentary question refers to. The Barnett formula determines the size of the Block Grant from the UK to the Scottish Government and is based on the funding of services in England and Wales. From 2…
15 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on public spending if Scotland achieves full fiscal autonomy and the block grant funding mechanism is ended.
Answer · John Swinney: Scotland has a strong fiscal base; in every one of the last 33 years, tax receipts have been higher per head in Scotland than the UK. Even when oil revenues are excluded, tax revenues per person in Scotland are broadly in line with the UK. Under full fiscal …
15 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is its policy to seek full fiscal responsibility for the Scottish Parliament and that all tax revenues are retained in Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: In its submission to The Smith Commission, the Scottish Government outlined its proposals for ‘more powers to the Scottish Parliament.’ These proposals included full fiscal autonomy which, if implemented, would have led to all tax revenues being retained in S…
14 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23799 by John Swinney on 14 January 2015, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding what the dates are for future meetings of the Scottish Fiscal Commission.
Answer · John Swinney: As the Scottish Fiscal Commission is operationally independent of the Scottish Government, the commission is not required to notify the Scottish Government of the dates on which it plans to meet.
14 Jan 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23799 by John Swinney on 14 January 2015, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding when the Scottish Fiscal Commission last met.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials last met with the Scottish Fiscal Commission on 28 January 2015.
12 Jan 2015 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister for what reason the Scottish Government’s budget underspends have increased over the last few years when its budgets have been reduced.