Fergus Ewing

21 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if the Highlands and Islands Convention is to be reconvened without including any MSPs, MPs or MEPs representing the Highlands and Islands, it will explain in detail the reasons why.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: I refer the Member to the First Minister's answer to S1F-79 of Thursday 3 February.

21 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted any form of consultation process on the reconvening of the Highlands and Islands Convention and upon the composition of its membership; if so to provide details and, if not, whether it will now conduct a consultation process with the public and relevant bodies.

Answer · Alasdair Morrison: In reaching our decision we have taken into account the views of Convention members. We expect our proposals to be widely welcomed.

20 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is (a) the number of post offices outlets in Scotland and (b) the total number of jobs dependant on them both directly and indirectly; what consideration it has given as to the impact upon these employment levels of Her Majesty's Government policy to switch benefit payments to automa…

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Post Office, post and regulation of postal services are reserved matters. I understand from the Post Office that the number of post offices in Scotland as at end March 1999 was 2,026 and that around 7,000 people are either directly or indirectly dependent…

19 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from local authorities to be allowed to reduce or eliminate discounts on second or holiday homes and retain the income generated as a result and, if so, from which local authorities and what measures does it intend to take as a result.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Yes, representations have been received from the Highland Council. We have no plans to make changes to the local taxation system at present.

19 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reform the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to provide local authorities with the same provisions as exist under section 12 of that Act for billing authorities in Wales so that local authorities will have the same discretion as those in Wales to take a d…

Answer · Jack McConnell: We have no plans to make changes to the local taxation system at present. The Welsh system does not allow local authorities to retain any additional revenue gained by exercising this power.

19 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the ending of the Right to Buy Scheme for anti-social tenants would in any way act as a deterrent of such behaviour and, if so, for what reasons.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Yes. There is evidence of tenants desire to exercise the right to buy and denying this right to anti-social tenants, as part of a package of measures, will act as a deterrent of such behaviour.

19 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it will make to Her Majesty's Government in relation to any proposed pesticide tax, in particular regarding what implications such as a tax might have on Scottish agricultural jobs and what evidence, if any, exists to show that some pesticides currently used by farmer…

Answer · Ross Finnie: The UK Government asked the agrochemical industry and others to offer proposals to reduce the environmental impact of pesticide use. Proposals now brought forward by the British Agrochemicals Association will form the basis of discussions between the UK Gover…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it consulted with any representatives or representative bodies of the business community regarding its decision to fix a business rate poundage of 10.1% higher than in England prior to its ministerial statement on local government finance of 8 December 1999.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I had a number of meetings with business representative bodies to discuss rating and valuation issues. I will continue to do so up to, and following, the revaluation in line with the policy of openness and transparency. In addition, I have since published the…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to account for the financial effect which the internet may have upon High Street business in Scotland and to ensure that such an effect is taken into account in the non-domestic rating system.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The effect of the internet on High Street business is still largely a matter for speculation. The rating system in Scotland is designed to have regard to changes in economic and trading conditions.

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact macro-economic policies planned by Her Majesty's Government will have on its enterprise policies, whether these policies will provide a good climate for people in Scotland to start up in business, and whether these policies will give small business the confidence to respond an…

Answer · Henry McLeish: Inflation is now low and stable. Output in the Scottish economy continues to expand in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Unemployment in Scotland is falling and is low by historical and international standards, while employment is rising. These cond…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about the advice which business organisations are currently giving their members about the revaluation taking place this year, as referred to by Mr Jack McConnell in column 1490 of the Official Report of the debate on the draft budget 2000-01 on 15 Decembe…

Answer · Jack McConnell: I have had a number of meetings with business representative bodies on aspects of the revaluation. Following my statement on Local Government Finance on 8 December, the Scottish Executive circulated an information leaflet outlining key facts to the main repre…

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what was the average increase in the rateable values in Scotland as a result of the 1995 revaluation.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The average increase was 32 per cent.

14 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact will be in Scotland upon (a) levels of unemployment, (b) small businesses and (c) the economy if it decides to make final its decision to fix a business rate poundage of 10.1 % higher than the proposed poundage in England.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The provisional poundage figure I announced on 8 December was calculated to keep the total tax burden the same in real terms for Scottish businesses. The proposed higher Scottish poundage results from an expected smaller increase in rateable value in Scotland…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give concrete examples and specific instances of its implementing policies to (a) encourage the transformation of ideas from their science base into successful businesses; (b) promote an entrepreneurial culture through school activities; (c) develop Scotland's knowledge ec…

Answer · Henry McLeish: As the answer to this question is lengthy I will write to Mr Ewing, and will ensure that a copy of my response is placed in SPICe.

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it has implemented since 1 July 1999 in relation to helping small businesses.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is committed to improving public sector support to small businesses. Through the Executive, and related agencies, we have introduced a number of measures that will have a positive impact on the small business community. <FONT FACE="Aria…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the introduction of the American policy of corporate venturing to promote growth of small businesses.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive believes that corporate venturing can bring significant benefits to both small businesses and their larger corporate partners, and we want to encourage the establishment of more such relationships in Scotland. The Executive therefore fu…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government in order to encourage growth in research and development activity in Scotland by reducing the tax burden upon it or by introducing tax relief on investment in such activity.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Scottish Executive Ministers have regular and continuing discussions with Her Majesty's Government on matters of economic interest. They welcome the Chancellor's announcement of a tax credit for research and development in small and medium sized enterprises i…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will measure the number of new businesses created in Scotland by reference to the number of VAT registered businesses and, if not, by what other means will the number of new businesses be measured.

Answer · Henry McLeish: There is no single indicator available to measure the number of new businesses created in Scotland. The Scottish Executive uses a number of indicators including VAT registration, New Business Statistics data produced jointly by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands …

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received written representations from the Scottish Council of Development and Industry opposing the decision to abandon the policy of a common UK non-domestic poundage and in particular to set a provisional poundage which is 10.1% higher than that in England.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Yes.

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value is of financial assistance that has been provided in Scotland for each of the past five years to the pig industry.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The CAP pigs regime does not provide direct support to pig farmers. This sector does benefit indirectly through EU funded private storage aids and export refunds, although the benefit to the Scottish industry cannot be accurately quantified.<P>The following t…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what way its mentoring scheme will differ from previous schemes, and (a) what is its estimated annual cost; (b) what will each mentor be paid; (c) who will choose mentors, and (d) from what business organisations it has taken advice regarding the scheme.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The introduction of a national mentoring scheme is a Programme for Government commitment, and we are on course to introduce Business Mentoring Scotland in April as planned. We hope to be able to announce details of the scheme within the next month or so.

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be provided by the Business Growth Fund over each of the next 10 years and from what budget source; who will be responsible for administering this fund; what is the estimated costs for each of the next 10 years, and what gap the fund is designed to fill.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Funding<B> </B>of £12 million is being provided under the Business Growth Fund over three years (£3 million in 1999-2000; £4 million in 2000-01; £5 million in 2001-02), for loans between £20,000 and £100,000. These funds have been allocated to both Scottish E…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will develop a strategy to provide greater emphasis on indigenous business rather than on inward investment, and if so, what will be its components and whether it will consult on the strategy.

Answer · Henry McLeish: I have recently asked officials to devise a Framework for Economic Development in Scotland. It will address a range of questions relating to Scotland's economic development and should provide an integrated and coherent framework within which to consider a ran…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list, for the last period for which information is available, the record of each local authority in Scotland for payment of debt, showing the average number of days within which each local authority has paid its suppliers and other creditors; whether it considers that thes…

Answer · Jack McConnell: Payment arrangements are a matter between local authorities and individual suppliers. The latest information on the percentage of invoices that authorities pay within 30 days is published by the Accounts Commission in their Annual Report <I>Comparing the Perf…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that existing arrangements provide sufficient access for small businesses to unsecured long term development finance and, if not, whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government to investigate the possibility of setting up a new business bank to provi…

Answer · Henry McLeish: The public sector currently provides, or contributes to, a range of small business finance schemes in circumstances where a discernible market failure can be identified. Most recently we established the £12 million Business Growth Fund to provide loans to sma…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses there were in Scotland at the time of publication of Making it Work Together, and of them, how many were (a) small, and (b) large and what its estimate is of these figures for each of the next ten years.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The latest estimates available for the number and size of businesses in Scotland are for November 1998. At that time there were an estimated 299,110 enterprises operating in Scotland. Of these, 293,705 were small enterprises (0-49 employees), 3,275 were mediu…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken and will take in order to achieve the target of creating 100,000 new businesses in Scotland by 2009.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Wider national economic performance is likely to be the main determinant of trends in small business creation and the prospects for the Scottish economy remain good. However we have also been working closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands …

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a similar body in Scotland to the American body "The Small Business Administrator".

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce in Scotland a body similar to the Small Business Administration in the United States of America. Public sector support for small businesses in Scotland is delivered primarily through Scottish Enterprise and Hig…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take any steps to reduce regulation of small businesses and, if so, what steps it will take.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit will pursue business concerns about the burden of regulation and will work closely with small business representative groups to ensure that the particular needs of small businesses are kept to the forefront of policy …

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its plans to introduce probationary tenancies are necessary given existing legislative measures to curb anti-social behaviour by tenants including powers to evict, provisions contained within the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and powers under section 48 of the Housing (Scotland) Act…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Yes. Changes are necessary to provide a mechanism to offer probationary tenancies to former tenants who have been guilty of anti-social behaviour. This is not possible under existing legislation.