Parliamentary questions

Andy Kerr

326 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to ensure that local income taxpayers will not pay more for the same local services because of the amount of overtime they work.

Answer · John Swinney: Many of the people who currently work overtime do not live in households that are in the top income decile. Under the Scottish Government''s proposals for a local income tax, average households in each of the first nine income deciles will pay less.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether overtime would be taxable under plans for a local income tax.

Answer · John Swinney: Yes.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many copies of the local income tax consultation were printed and what the estimated costs were of publication and distribution.

Answer · John Swinney: To date around 150 copies have been printed and distributed. Routine printing and postage costs such as these are absorbed as part of general admin costs and are not itemised separately.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it sought any external consultancy services throughout the process of developing and writing the local income tax consultation document, whether there was a tender and, if so, which company undertook the work and what the estimated costs were of the tendering process and contract …

Answer · John Swinney: No.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which directorate wrote the local income tax consultation.

Answer · John Swinney: The Public Service Reform directorate.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which directorate initiated the local income tax consultation document.

Answer · John Swinney: The Public Service Reform directorate.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings Scottish Ministers have had with UK Treasury Ministers or officials since May 2007; who was present on each occasion, and what was discussed.

Answer · John Swinney: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member and place a copy of the letter in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45448) as soon as the information is available.

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what correspondence it has had with HM Treasury regarding HM Revenue and Customs’ role in collecting local income tax.

Answer · John Swinney: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to inform her of the launch of the consultation. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury replied. Officials from the Scottish Government have passed copies of th…

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its local income tax (LIT) proposals, what the estimated set-up and running costs are to (a) collect LIT by HM Revenue and Customs, (b) collect water and sewerage rates and (c) administer and maintain a register of second homes, and what the associated costs would be for empl…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government''s proposals to abolish the council tax and replace it with a local income tax are currently subject to consultation. Ministers will publish further details taking account of responses to that consultation once the consultation is conc…

28 Mar 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has to support the assertion that the cost of local income tax would be less than the cost of abolishing the council tax.

Answer · John Swinney: The Local Government Finance Review Committee estimated that the abolition of council tax and the implementation of a local income tax would result in annual administrative savings of £14 to 25 million per annum. The Scottish Government is currently consultin…

20 Mar 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been put in place to support the new responsibilities of local government to develop local enterprise.

Answer · Jim Mather: Details of the transfer of responsibility for delivery of the business gateway and local regeneration, including the associated funding resources, are under active discussion with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I expect this process to be concl…

6 Mar 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its proposals for a local income tax.

Answer · John Swinney: We will issue a consultation paper very shortly.

21 Feb 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions have been made for primary care services in Lanarkshire.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: When I made my statement to Parliament on 6 June 2007 announcing my decision to retain accident and emergency services at Monklands and Ayr Hospitals, I made it clear that I expected the boards to deliver as many of their original proposals as possible withi…

30 Jan 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on the progress of the cultural pathfinder projects.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: The pathfinder programme hasbeen running since January 2007, with most of the projects being due to finish inthe first half of 2008. The programme was established to explore ways to boost communityparticipation at a local level. An independent evaluation of t…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether it will require local authorities to submit monitoring returns to it on matters subject to proposals to remove ring-fencing from funds in cases where such reporting arrangements currently exist in respect of such funds.

Answer · John Swinney: No. The bureaucracyand central monitoring associated with the grants that are to be rolled up intothe local government finance settlement with effect from 2008-09 will be removed.In its place, progress and achievements towards the national outcomes and commit…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether local government will be a full and equal partner in any decisions on the effectiveness and benefits of rolling-out the free school meals pilot.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordat setsout the terms of a new relationship between the Scottish Government and local government,based on mutual respect and partnership. One of the specified commitments withinthe concordat is that if the evaluation of the current free school meals…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, what its estimate is of the costs of the roll-out of its pilot on free school meals to all schools and how these costs are calculated.

Answer · Adam Ingram: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-6744 on 3 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether it expects local authorities to meet the full costs of any roll-out of free school meals to primary 1 to primary 3 pupils from within the cash agreement set by the concordat.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether the pilots providing free school meals for all primary 1 to primary 3 pupils will end in June 2008 and there will be no such provision between June 2008 and April 2009 at the earliest.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordat includesa commitment that nutritious free school meals for P1 to P3 pupils will be providedin the local authorities involved in the current trial until the end of the currentacademic year. It also includes a commitment that local authorities wil…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, how it calculates a 50% increase in pre-school entitlement.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The baseline is theduration and level of entitlement as at May 2007. The 50% increase will be calculatedfrom this baseline and could include increases to either level or duration of entitlementor both.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, what “the entitlement to pre-school provision will be maintained at the new level” means in relation to making substantial progress toward a 50% increase in such entitlement.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The concordat withCOSLA sets out the timetable for expanding pre-school education provision. The entitlementto pre-school provision will be maintained at the new level of 475 hours per annumin 2008-09 and 2009-10. This will increase to 570 hours per annum in …

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether achieving a (a) 10%, (b) 20% or (c) 30% increase toward the 50% increase in pre-school entitlement would be regarded as substantial progress toward delivery.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The entitlement tofree pre-school education increased to 475 hours in August 2007, which is a 15%increase from the level in May 2007. The concordat includes a commitment to increaseto 570 hours in August 2010 which represents a 38% increase from May 2007 enti…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, what minimum personal access every pre-school child should have per day to a teacher.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Governmentwill be working with local authorities to develop guidance on providing access toa teacher in pre-school. It is not the intention, however, to set a minimum thresholdas to what constitutes access to a teacher.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether access to a teacher for every pre-school child should be on every day of the pre-school experience.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Governmentwill be working with local authorities to develop guidance on access to a teacherin pre-school.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether access to a teacher for every pre-school child could mean the teacher being available at the end of a telephone.

Answer · Adam Ingram: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-7425on 18 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether access to a teacher for every pre-school child means having a qualified nursery teacher present in the pre-school environment.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Governmentwill be working with local authorities to produce guidance on providing access toa teacher in pre-school. However, we are clear that the commitment concerns teachersbeing present in pre-school centres.

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, when each local authority will be assessed as to whether it is delivering reduction in class sizes “as quickly as possible”.

Answer · Maureen Watt: There will be an agreementwith every local authority that signs up to the concordat. We will receive annualreports on the progress that is being made from each local authority. The schoolcensus will also collect annual data on class sizes throughout Scotland.…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executivewhether efficiency savings will be removed from the baseline of all portfolios except local government.

Answer · John Swinney: Under the concordat,signed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 14 November 2007, localauthorities for the first time will be allowed to retain all of their efficiencysavings to redeploy and meet on-going and new pressures. All other portfolio…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, how efficiency savings will be reported and when this will be done.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-7267 on 14 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

4 Dec 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, under the terms of its concordat with COSLA, whether an (a) 10%, (b) 20% or (c) 30% improvement in delivering 10,000 extra respite weeks per annum would be regarded as “progress towards” this target.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the newconcordat, each local authority will reach agreement with the Scottish Governmenton all of the relevant deliverables. The detail of what will be expected to be achievedunder specified commitments, such as that on respite, will be described i…