Parliamentary questions
Gavin Brown
1,064 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the decision was taken to support the buyout of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency building; what savings will result, and over what time period.
Answer · John Swinney: The decision was taken to support the Scottish Public Pensions Agency lease buyout on 30th January 2013. This will realise immediate annual cash saving of £648,452 on rental costs. In the medium to long term this will make an expected saving, at net present …
28 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what savings the Strategic Forum made in 2012-13, also broken down by (a) organisation and (b) measure taken.
Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for the bodies within the Strategic Forum. l shall ask the Chief Executives to write to you.
28 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 Third Sector budget was spent, including amounts received by each organisation funded.
Answer · John Swinney: The following table breaks down funding for third sector intermediaries (largely grant funding), third sector funds (spend), business support contracts and support for third sector events and initiatives, which represents the major part of the third sector bu…
28 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be of changes to the Third Sector budget in the 2012-13 Spring Budget Revision.
Answer · John Swinney: The £1 million transfer to the Justice budget for the Reducing Re-Offending Change Fund was a planned reallocation of funds. The Reducing Reoffending Change Fund has two key aims: To provide offenders with substantial one-to-one support through evidence- bas…
28 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Third Sector budget was reduced in the 2012-13 Spring Budget Revision.
Answer · John Swinney: The purpose of the Spring Budget Revision is to amend the Budget (Scotland) Act 2012, which authorises the Scottish Government’s spending plans for the financial year 2012-13. There was a delay completing the procurement of fund management arrangements for t…
27 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what savings the Strategic Forum will achieve in 2012-13.
20 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Universities Scotland.
28 Jan 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what projects, and at what value, have been delivered through the non-profit distributing model pipeline in 2012-13.
10 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £2.9 million funding for Scotland’s national parks announced on 10 January 2013 is additional to the £2.9 million announced on 19 December 2012.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scotland’s National Parks were allocated a total of £2.9 million of additional capital funding from the total of £394 million secured by the Scottish Government as part of the UK Chancellors Autumn Statement. This additional funding was announced to the Scot…
17 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the value has been in 2012-13 of non-profit distribution-financed capital investment.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The total value of those non-profit distributing projects (NPD) which have entered procurement or have entered development through the hub programme in 2012-13 to date, is approximately £442 million. Further projects expected to enter procurement between now …
3 Dec 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet Scottish Enterprise.
21 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its "Government outcomes" are for science as noted on page 61 of the Draft Budget 2013-14.
2 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, when the data returns for the 2012-13 non-domestic rate mid-year estimates from local authorities will be published.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10009 on 25 October 2012. 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/parliamentaryb…
2 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, when the data returns for the 2011-12 non-domestic rate notified amounts from local authorities will be published.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10009 on 25 October 2012. 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/parliamentaryb…
2 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, whether it will provide the information requested and confirm what the outcome was of the last regular monitoring exercise.
Answer · John Swinney: The latest monitoring returns (October 2012) from local authorities confirm they are on course to deliver the non domestic rate income projections, taking into account estimating changes from prior year adjustments, contained in the draft budget for 2012-13 a…
24 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the Young Scots Fund in supporting emerging young talent.
14 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, for what reason it has not published the data relating to the "regular monitoring"’ of non-domestic rates income projections.
Answer · John Swinney: The latest estimates of non-domestic rate income were published in the Draft Budget 2013-14 document on 20 September 2012.
14 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, what the outcome was of the last "regular monitoring" of non-domestic rates income projections.
Answer · John Swinney: The estimates published in the Draft Budget are based on the most robust data available at that time. Local authorities are due to submit their data returns (the 2011-12 non-domestic rate notified amounts and the 2012-13 non-domestic rate mid-year estimates) …
14 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, when the last "regular monitoring" of non-domestic rates income projections took place.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09656 on 2 October 2012. 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…
14 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, what specific "regular monitoring" takes place regarding non-domestic rates income projections.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government receives four non-domestic rate returns per year from local authorities which allow comparisons to be made between its projections and the actual position returned by each local authority. The Scottish Government also monitors the curr…
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the main non-staffing costs will be for Revenue Scotland
Answer · John Swinney: Non-staffing costs for Revenue Scotland will include provision of public information about the devolved taxes, legal costs including costs associated with appeals and debt recovery and standard running costs including accommodation, systems support and staff …
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08859 by John Swinney on 13 August 2012, on which page of the document can the information requested be found.
Answer · John Swinney: The document I placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 54051) sets out estimated overall costs for the delivery of the devolved taxes.
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to establish Revenue Scotland's IT system.
Answer · John Swinney: It is anticipated that IT systems managed by RoS and SEPA will be used for the collection and administration of the devolved taxes. The estimated costs of developing and operating these systems are included in the estimates set out in the document I placed in…
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08854 by John Swinney on 13 August 2012, on which page of the document the information requested can be found.
Answer · John Swinney: The document I placed in Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051) sets out estimated overall costs for the delivery of the devolved taxes.
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on which dates it held (a) meetings and (b) telephone conversations with HM Revenue and Customs regarding the collection of a land and buildings transaction tax.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials have discussed aspects of the collection of a tax to replace the Stamp Duty Land Tax on a number of occasions since 30 November 2010.
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the correspondence between it and HM Revenue and Customs regarding the collection of a land and buildings transaction tax.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09213 on 19 September 2012. Correspondence between the Scottish Government and HMRC on aspects of the collection of a tax to replace the Stamp Duty Land Tax has been placed on the Scottish Government website. …
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08850 by John Swinney on 13 August 2012, on which dates (a) it wrote to HM Revenue and Customs and (b) HM Revenue and Customs wrote to it regarding the collection of a land and buildings transaction tax.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials and HMRC exchanged correspondence on aspects of the collection of a tax to replace the Stamp Duty Land Tax on a number of occasions. This correspondence has been placed in the Scottish Parliamentary Information Centre (Bib. numbe…
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08850 by John Swinney on 13 August 2012, how many times it discussed the collection of a land and buildings transaction tax with HM Revenue and Customs and on what dates.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials have discussed with HMRC aspects of the collection of a tax to replace the Stamp Duty Land Tax on a number of occasions since 30 November 2010.
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many junior staff will be employed by Revenue Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: The precise number of staff to be employed by Revenue Scotland will be confirmed in due course.
21 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost will be for employing (a) senior and (b) junior staff at Revenue Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the document I placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54051) which sets out the anticipated staff costs for Revenue Scotland.