Hugh Henry

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to the issue of state aid when deciding whether to buy Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Confirmatory due diligence completed prior to acquisition of Glasgow Prestwick Airport considered European Union state aid rules and requirements. The business plan prepared to inform the decision to acquire Glasgow Prestwick Airport demonstrated that the Sco…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the quality of the road network and the lack of a rail link into and out of Glasgow Airport were factors in its decision to invest in Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: No.

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a strategy to encourage new airlines and routes to operate from Glasgow Prestwick Airport and whether it plans to offer a further subsidy to Ryanair.

Answer · Keith Brown: A ‘stage 2’ business plan will be developed for Glasgow Prestwick Airport, building on the earlier work and setting out the commercial opportunities available to the airport, the recommended repositioning strategy, and the likely level of funding required to …

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its projections are for growth in passenger numbers as a result of its investment in Glasgow Prestwick Airport and whether this growth will be supported through the creation of a route development fund.

Answer · Keith Brown: The business plan developed to inform the decision to acquire Glasgow Prestwick Airport included a projection of passenger numbers. Information in the business plan, including passenger growth projections, is considered commercially confidential. The Scottish…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish Enterprise's role was in the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport and whether its board members have an active business interest in the airport's operations.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Enterprise provided commercial and aviation advice throughout the confirmatory due diligence exercise and during the development of the business plan used to inform the decision to acquire Glasgow Prestwick Airport. I will ask the Chief Executive of…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the impact of its buying Glasgow Prestwick Airport on (a) private businesses operating in close proximity to the airport and (b) current land use.

Answer · Keith Brown: The decision to acquire Glasgow Prestwick Airport recognised its strategic importance to the aerospace cluster around it, the Ayrshire economy, and to the wider regional and national economy in Scotland, including the 360 directly employed personnel and the 1…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce an aviation strategy that will produce similar levels of investment at Glasgow and other Scottish airports to the investment made at Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has no plans to invest directly in privately owned airports.

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its investment plans are for Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has provided Glasgow Prestwick Airport with £3 million in working capital for 2013-14. Further working capital will be provided, where required. The business plan developed for the acquisition of Glasgow Prestwick Airport also identifi…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications of the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport are for the private sector owners of Scotland’s other airports.

Answer · Keith Brown: Since the acquisition of Prestwick we have continued to provide support to other Scottish airports as part of our collective efforts to develop new routes. That work will continue on a ‘level playing field’ basis leaving airlines to decide which airport they …

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence it (a) has undertaken and (b) will undertake to prove that the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport is in the national interest and what assessment it has made of the potential displacement of aeronautic and airport-related businesses in and around Glasgow Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: (a) Confirmatory due diligence was completed prior to the acquisition of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, including the development of a business plan that demonstrates it is reasonable to expect to make a long term return on the investment. This did not include an…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what value-for-money processes it followed to ensure that the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport was in the national interest.

Answer · Keith Brown: The business plan developed to inform the decision to acquire Glasgow Prestwick Airport set out its commercial opportunities, a repositioning strategy, the level of funding required and the likely financial returns available. All funding being provided to Gla…

10 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what legislative justification there was for it buying Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

Answer · Keith Brown: The acquisition of Glasgow Prestwick Airport was not carried out under statutory powers.

6 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much income will be lost from ending the public health levy.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out at the spending review 2011, the public health supplement is a temporary three year policy. After March 2015 the legislation falls and the supplement no longer applies, so spending plans for 2015-16 were always set taking this into account.

6 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the income raised by the public health levy in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 was spent, broken down by (i) government directorate and (ii) other area.

Answer · John Swinney: The public health supplement was a temporary three year policy introduced at the spending review 2011 and was estimated at the time to raise an additional £25/35/35 million over 2012-13 to 2014-15. The estimated additional income was factored into the total r…

6 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the income raised by the public health levy in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013 was allocated, broken down by (i) government directorate and (ii) other area.

Answer · John Swinney: The public health supplement was a temporary three year policy introduced at the Spending Review 2011 and was estimated at the time to raise an additional £25/35/35 million over 2012-13 to 2014-15. The estimated additional income was factored into the total r…

6 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much income was raised by the public health levy in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Answer · John Swinney: The notified (pre-audit) estimate of the income raised in 2012-13 from the public health supplement was £26.1 million. The mid-year estimate of the income raised in 2013-14 from the public health supplement was £33.1 million. Source: Non-domestic rates inco…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following the meeting with Deans of Faculties of Education on 2 July 2013, which ministers were notified that the scale of the commitment to reduce P1 to P3 class sizes to 18 and provide pre-school children with access to a teacher “does not allow it to be delivered in the lifetime of a…

Answer · Michael Russell: There was no meeting between the Scottish Government and the Deans of Faculties of Education on 2 July 2013.

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's assertion on 12 December 2013 that teacher training numbers were increased by 300 (Official Report, c.25668), whether there were subsequent reductions in teacher training numbers and, if so, what the reductions were; on what dates the decisions were taken…

Answer · Michael Russell: Target intakes to initial teacher education courses are set each year, on the basis of guidance from the Scottish Government, by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). That guidance, which is based on advice from the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group, is…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what policy decisions it made in or after May 2007 that influenced (a) the number of teachers and (b) class sizes in 2007.

Answer · Michael Russell: Local authorities will have made decisions about staffing levels in their schools for school session 2007-08 before and immediately after the summer holidays. Those decisions will have been made taking account of relevant local and national policies including…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the accounting period was for the 2006 figures provided by the First Minister on 12 December 2013 (Official Report, c. 25668).

Answer · Michael Russell: The annual census of pupils and teachers in publicly funded schools is conducted in September each year. The 2006 figures represent the situation in schools on the day of the census in September 2006. This was the last census before the 2007 Scottish Parliame…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the equivalent figures for 2007 were to those for 2006 provided by the First Minister on 12 December 2013 (Official Report, c. 25668) and what the accounting period was.

Answer · Michael Russell: The relevant information can be viewed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0043/00439969.pdf.

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it was first advised that it would not be able to fulfil by 2011 its 2007 pledge to reduce class sizes in P1 to P3.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government remains committed to making progressive reductions in class sizes, especially in the early years. Steady progress was made between 2007 and 2011 in reducing P1-P3 class sizes. The average P1 to P3 class size fell from 23.6 to 22.4 duri…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it decided that it would not fulfil its 2007 pledge on class sizes in P1 to P3.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government remains committed to making progressive reductions in class sizes.

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the financial crisis referred to by the First Minister on 12 December 2013 (Official Report, c. 25667) was the reason for not fulfilling its 2007 pledge on class sizes in P1 to P3.

Answer · Michael Russell: The financial crisis, and the consequent reduction of more than £3 billion in the Scottish revenue budget have, inevitably, impacted on local authorities’ progress in reducing class sizes, as did unsustainable decisions on teacher numbers by the Scottish Exec…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people aged under 16 were detained in a location other than HMYOI Polmont or a secure unit between (a) 1 January 2013 and 31 March 2013, (b) 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2013 and (c) 1 July 2013 and 30 September 2013, and have been detained since 1 October 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Young people under the age of 16 can be detained in a place other than secure care or a Young Offenders Institution by virtue of section 44 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The data requested is not held centrally in the format requested. Young…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people aged (a) 16 to 18 and (b) under 16 were detained at HMYOI Polmont between (i) 1 January 2013 and 31 March 2013, (ii) 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2013 and (iii) 1 July 2013 and 30 September 2013, and have been detained since 1 October 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “The Scottish Prison Service does not record this information in the manner requested. However, in the periods covered by the question, the …

29 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if Scotland decides to separate from the rest of the UK, whether the people of Scotland will be given a say on whether the terms of any agreement reached with the rest of the UK are acceptable, and if not, who will make that decision.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: See the answer to question 548 on page 553 of the Scottish Government publication Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland (available at Scotreferendum.com).

29 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if Scotland decides to separate from the rest of the UK, whether students from EU states would have to pay university tuition fees if the country did not immediately become an EU member.

Answer · Michael Russell: If the people of Scotland vote ‘Yes’ on the 18 September 2014, the Scottish Government has proposed an 18 month period between the referendum and independence, which we believe is realistic for the terms of Scotland's independent membership of the EU to be ag…

29 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if Scotland decides to separate from the rest of the UK, whether the people of Scotland will be given the opportunity to vote on whether they want Scotland to be a member of the EU.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No. The Scottish Government has always made clear that they do not wish Scotland to leave the EU and therefore do not support the Prime Minister’s plans to hold an in-out referendum on EU membership.

29 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if Scotland decides to separate from the rest of the UK and assumes EU member status, whether students in the country from other member states would have to pay university tuition fees and, if so, students from which states.

Answer · Michael Russell: As is set out on pages 199-200 of Scotland’s Future, following independence, the Scottish Government proposes to maintain the status quo by continuing our current policy of charging fees to students from the rest of the UK to study at Scottish higher educatio…