Parliamentary questions
Gavin Brown
1,064 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Mar 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated value of e-commerce sales was in 2014 and 2015.
26 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the priorities are for the housing supply budget in 2016-17.
16 Dec 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the condition of the Forth Road Bridge.
24 Nov 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its full analysis of the risk of Office for National Statistics reclassification for universities for the proposed Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill.
10 Nov 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve outcomes for people who have survived an acquired brain injury in Lothian.
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many training courses focused on e-commerce there are in Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: The cross-disciplinary nature of e-commerce means that the many courses in computing, business, marketing and web design will contribute to the skills pool supporting e-commerce. However, the granularity of available data does not allow for the relevance of s…
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated value of e-commerce sales by companies account managed by Scottish Enterprise was in each of the last four quarters.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Enterprise does not include questions about absolute values of online sales in its trends research for account managed companies. However, Scottish Enterprise recently undertook an analysis of account managed companies’ use of IT over a six-month per…
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce an e-commerce strategy.
Answer · John Swinney: Scotland’s Digital Future: A Strategy for Scotland sets out the ambition for Scotland to be at the forefront of the digital economy. This strategy recommended that Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies work collaboratively to enhance business support on …
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20726 by John Swinney on 7 May 2014, whether the methodology for estimating the value of e-commerce sales has since changed.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has not undertaken any estimates of the value of e-commerce sales since our answer to S4W-20726.
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a list of the 20 companies in Scotland with the largest e-commerce sales.
Answer · John Swinney: There is no universally accepted definition for e-commerce. For strategic planning purposes, Scottish Enterprise has adopted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition used by the Office for National Statistics and others to …
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated value of e-commerce sales was in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Enterprise derives a Scottish estimate of the value of e-commerce sales on a biennial basis using only Office for National Statistics (ONS) data and therefore no estimate for 2013 has been calculated. An estimate for 2014 will be calculated following…
5 Nov 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Scottish Development International has a plan in place to help Scottish companies trade via e-commerce and, if so, whether it is publicly available.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International are fully committed to ensuring that e-commerce is incorporated into their wider digital support rather than having a stand-alone plan for e-commerce. This will help to accelerate the adoption of e-co…
3 Nov 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there was a £13 million underspend by the Rural Affairs, Food and Environment portfolio in 2014-15.
19 Oct 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government in which month the evaluation of the Youth Employment Scotland Fund will be completed and whether it will publish the full evaluation.
2 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4F-02982 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 October 2015 (Official Report, c. 20), whether it will confirm how much of the (a) £31 million of European regional development funding and (b) £47 million of funding from Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Ente…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Two weeks ago I announced £78 million to support business innovation in Scotland from now until December 2018. The £31 million from the European Regional Development Fund is a new allocation to Scotland – it did not feature in the Programme for Government and…
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27661 by Annabelle Ewing on 1 October 2015, when the audit and compliance procedures will be completed and what action it will then take to make available the information that was requested.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The audit and compliance procedures are due to be completed to allow final payments to local authorities by June 2016. A response to the information requested will be provided to you, when available.
1 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27660 by Annabelle Ewing on 1 October 2015, when the audit and compliance procedures will be completed and what action it will then take to make available the information that was requested.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The audit and compliance procedures are due to be completed to allow final payments to local authorities by June 2016. A response to the information requested will be provided to you, when available.
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding how the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill could impact on the possibility of an Office for National Statistics' reclassification of Scotland's universities, and whether it will publish this.
Answer · Angela Constance: Analysis of the risk of such a re-classification, linked to implementation of the provisions in the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill, has been undertaken. This focused on examination of each provision against what the European System of Accounts gu…
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding what the potential financial impact could be on higher education institutions of an Office for National Statistics' reclassification of Scotland's universities, and whether it will publish this.
Answer · Angela Constance: An analysis of the risk of such a re-classification, linked to implementation of the provisions in the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill, has been undertaken. This focused on examination of each provision against what the European System of Accounts…
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people completing a placement funded by the Youth Employment Scotland Fund were in employment (a) six months and (b) one year after completing the scheme.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: We have recently awarded the contract for an evaluation of the programme and it is envisaged that the evaluation will include details of the positive outcomes of Youth Employment Scotland Fund. It is envisaged that the evaluation will be completed by end of 2…
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of the Youth Employment Scotland Fund in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government made a commitment to create a package of support up to £25 million, based on Scottish Government funding of £15 million matched by £10 million from the European Social Fund, to support 10,000 job opportunities, through the Youth Employ…
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many places were delivered by the Youth Employment Scotland Fund in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government has allocated the 10,000 employer recruitment placements to local authorities. The final figure for delivered places in each year will not be finalised until audit and compliance procedures have been completed.
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many places it planned for the first year of the Youth Employment Scotland Fund.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government launched the Youth Employment Scotland Fund in June 2013 and through agreement with the Scottish Local Authority Economic Development and COSLA made a commitment to support 10,000 job opportunities for young people. The number of place…
23 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of people completing the Youth Employment Scotland Fund are still in employment.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Following the launch of the Youth Employment Scotland Fund (YESF) in June 2013, the Scottish Government has now allocated the 10,000 employer recruitment placements to local authorities. We have recently awarded the contract for an evaluation of the programm…
22 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of the UK's foreign direct investment jobs have been created in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Ernst and Young UK attractiveness survey provides an estimate of the number of jobs created by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects. Estimates for Scotland for 2005 to 2014 are provided in the table below. The table shows that, in 2014, FDI created 3,…
8 Sep 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the Scottish business development bank.
25 Aug 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Youth Employment Scotland Fund.
3 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Lothian.
21 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-04363 by John Swinney on 21 May 2015, whether it will provide an update on the Scottish business development bank before the beginning of the summer recess.
Answer · John Swinney: Yes. I intend to provide the Parliament with an update before the summer recess.
19 May 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the next Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin.