Questions · Ken Macintosh

9 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for children with communication difficulties.

Answer · Alex Neil: Support for children with communication difficulties is provided through the provision of Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) services by local NHS boards and through the duties of education authorities and other agencies under the Additional Support for Learni…

9 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many speech and language therapists there have been in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) local authority area.

Answer · Alex Neil: Published information on headcount and whole time equivalent of all speech and language therapy staff, broken down by NHS board from September 2007 to June 2013, can be found on the workforce statistics via the Information Services Division (ISD) website at: …

14 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what GP referral guidelines for melanoma services there are and when these were last updated.

Answer · Alex Neil: To support GPs in Scotland to refer patients with suspected cancer as early as possible, the Scottish Government published referral guidance in 2007 Scottish Executive Health Department Letter (2007) 9: Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer. This…

14 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing national cancer quality performance indicators for melanoma services and when these will be published.

Answer · Alex Neil: Under the auspices of the Scottish Cancer Taskforce, National Cancer Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs) are being developed to drive continuous quality improvement in cancer care across NHSScotland. An ambitious programme of work has been agreed, which wil…

6 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments by the First Minister reported in The Sunday Post on 4 August 2013 that the way to deal with pension fund deficits is to “get a derogation so nobody is forced into a more accelerated settlement of the pension deficit”, whether it considers that an opt-out from p…

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16616 on 2 September 2013. 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…

6 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its paper on pensions in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will in due course publish a paper on pensions in an independent Scotland covering the future of the State pension, private pensions and public sector pensions.

6 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it would split pension schemes between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16616 on 2 September 2013. 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…

6 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding an opt-out from pensions regulations for an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16616 on 2 September 2013. 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…

6 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4F-01345 by Alex Salmond on 2 May 2013 (Official Report, c. 19317), whether it remains Scottish Government policy that it would not seek an opt-out from EU pensions regulations in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government policy is as set out by the First Minister. We agree with the assessment by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland that discussions on this issue between the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU should start as soo…

5 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that future ScotRail franchises do not include bonus payments.

Answer · Keith Brown: The two new franchise contracts, Caledonian Sleeper and ScotRail, will include refinements of the current SQUIRE regime. In the case of the Caledonian Sleeper Franchise, SQUIRE assessments of station and train quality will be undertaken. These will commence …

5 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Service Quality Incentive Regime for the ScotRail franchise requires bonus payments or whether penalties for not meeting targets would be sufficient.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Service Quality Incentive Regime is a vital aspect of the Franchise Agreement as it encourages and incentivises investment by the Franchisee to actually surpass the benchmark level thus improving the performance of facilities and services for passengers. …

5 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the awarding of bonuses to private companies for meeting the standards required of franchises.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland’s well established Service Quality Incentive Regime provides incentives to the franchisee (First ScotRail) for above “benchmark” performance and penalties for areas that fall below. This covers 36 different areas which affect rail passenger…

5 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it was informed by Transport Scotland that FirstGroup would be paid a bonus of £51,989 following the Service Quality Incentive Regime outcomes for April to June 2013.

Answer · Keith Brown: No, there is no requirement for Transport Scotland to notify Scottish Government of individual or quarterly payments or penalties. For the SQUIRE Year (23 June 2012 – 22 June 2013) the overall annual financial result was a penalty of £133,126 (Before RPI).

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is an obligation on companies on its IT Managed Services Framework to bid for at least 50% of all contracts.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: When a contracting organisation is conducting a mini competition under the framework, they will invite all suppliers (on the appropriate Lot) to participate for their requirement. However, there is no contractual obligation on suppliers to bid for at least 5…

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it makes of the ownership of companies applying be on its IT Managed Services Framework.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Background on company ownership was provided by bidders as part of the IT Managed Services Framework Pre-Qualification process. Under EU procurement law it is not possible to specify company ownership requirements as a specific evaluation criterion.

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs in Scotland will be created by its IT Managed Services Framework.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: From management information received from the suppliers, the IT Managed Services Framework has seen the creation of some 28 new jobs in Scotland. It is also likely that the business generated under the framework has also safeguarded a number of other jobs in …

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made, when approving contractors to be on its IT Managed Services Framework, of the impact on employment in Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The procurement strategy for the IT Managed Services framework included a full analysis of the Scottish market, and the approach to market adopted was designed specifically to maximise opportunities for small and medium sized enterprises to compete. Under EU …

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 10 small suppliers approved through its IT Managed Services Framework are SMEs.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: At the time of the framework award (March 2011) three of the ten successful suppliers were categorised as SMEs. These suppliers were, Kainos Software Ltd, Maindec Computer Solutions Ltd and Prosource.it (UK) Ltd. Kainos Software Ltd is now categorised as a…

4 Jul 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the (a) four large and (b) 10 small suppliers approved through its IT Managed Services Framework are headquartered in Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The IT Managed Services framework agreement comprises of two lots: Lot 1 for large projects (typically greater than £1 million) has four framework suppliers; and Lot 2 for small projects (typically less than £1 million) has ten framework suppliers. It shoul…

27 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for how many years it anticipates an independent Scotland would operate a structural deficit.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16161 on 24 July 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…

27 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments of John Swinney on Newsnight Scotland on 26 June 2013, that “clearly there is going to be an overhang of debt that we would inherit from the rest of the United Kingdom” if Scotland becomes a separate country, whether this would equate to a structural deficit.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16161 on 24 July 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…

27 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest assessment is of what (a) structural deficit or (b) surplus an independent Scotland would have in each of the next 10 years.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16161 on 24 July 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…

27 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has (a) commissioned and (b) received as to whether an independent Scotland would have a structural deficit.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16161 on 24 July 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…

27 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether an independent Scotland would have a structural deficit.

Answer · John Swinney: Over the past five years, Scotland has been in a relatively stronger fiscal position than the UK as a whole to the tune of £12.6 billion. This means that over this period, holding everything else constant, Scotland could have had higher spending, for example …