Gavin Brown

11 May 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish business development bank.

Answer · John Swinney: I will be publishing more information shortly on the business development bank. This will include the evidence of need, vision and remit of the bank and will also set out planned next steps.

29 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it has planned for government procurement.

20 Apr 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister for what reason unemployment has increased in Scotland.

13 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget priorities are for the Justice portfolio in 2015-16.

23 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Revenue Scotland IT system.

16 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget priorities are for the Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights portfolio in 2015-16.

2 Mar 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Spring Budget Revision.

18 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what potential risks could prevent full functioning of the Revenue Scotland IT system on 1 April 2015.

Answer · John Swinney: The Revenue Scotland IT system is at an advanced stage of delivery and the Chief Executive of Revenue Scotland is confident that the system will be fully functioning on 1 April 2015. She updated the Finance and Public Audit Committees on 27 February 2015 and…

18 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the formal release of the complete IT system for Revenue Scotland will take place.

Answer · John Swinney: The Chief Executive of Revenue Scotland reported the latest position in her report to the Finance and Public Audit Committees on 27 February 2015. She reported that all of the components of the IT system are now in place and that the Tax Administration Progra…

18 Feb 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the establishment of a Scottish business development bank.

10 Feb 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet Revenue Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Revenue Scotland became a body corporate and office-holder in the Scottish Administration on 1 January 2015. I met with its board members in January 2015. I continue to meet regularly with the Chief Executive of Revenue Scotland. Our next meeting will take …

22 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when local authorities will be paid under the 2013-14 business rates incentivisation scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: As I have previously informed Parliament, we were unable to reach agreement with COSLA on the application of the business rates incentivisation scheme in 2013-14. As a result I made it clear that it would not apply in that year. Having secured agreement with …

22 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was paid to each local authority for 2012-13 under the business rates incentivisation scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: The sums retained under the business rates incentivisation scheme for 2012-13 were set out in Annex J of Local Government Finance Circular No. 6/2014:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11203/Topics-Government.

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish illustrative projections for Scottish North Sea tax receipts based on (a) no tax changes and (ii) the tax changes that it has proposed to the UK Government.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to publishing analysis on the oil and gas sector and its contribution to the Scottish economy. Projections for future tax receipts will depend on what changes to the fiscal regime are made by the UK Treasury, and whether …

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what budget will be allocated to the Energy Jobs Taskforce in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Energy Jobs Taskforce will have its first meeting on 28 January 2015 in Aberdeen. The first meeting will identify a range of actions to be taken forward to mitigate the impact of job losses within the sector. Public sector partners and agencies will suppo…

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce will next meet and what issues will be on the agenda.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce Steering Group will meet during the first quarter of 2015. The focus of the meeting will be to review 2014 activity and discuss key issues facing the sector and potential job implications. The taskforce continues to engage w…

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce met in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014 and whether it will publish the agenda and minutes of each meeting, as was the practice for the meetings in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce engaged with and provided support to a broad range of employers during 2012, 2013 and 2014. The taskforce continues to engage with financial services companies as and when required and those discussions take place on a confid…

12 Jan 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget priorities are in 2015-16 for the Culture, Europe and External Affairs portfolio.

18 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23516 by Fergus Ewing on 17 December 2014 and in light of the information not being provided, whether it will now answer when the next Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin will be published and whether it will contain updated illustrative projections for…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government published its consultation on the future of the oil and gas sector on 8 January 2015 and we welcome any consultation responses to it. Projections for future tax receipts will depend on what changes to the fiscal regime are made by the…

16 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the local government finance settlement published on 11 December 2014 shows the City of Edinburgh Council receiving a lower settlement in 2015-16 than in 2014-15.

Answer · John Swinney: The local government finance settlements are distributed on the basis of a formula agreed by local government, and the City of Edinburgh Council does, and will continue to, receive its fair share. The local government finance settlement figures published in …

16 Dec 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the priorities are for the Rural Affairs, Food and Environment budget in 2015-16.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The First Minister made it clear when publishing the programme for government that a radical programme of land reform will be our top priority. Other priorities include implementing the new Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy reforms, enhan…

3 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the next Oil and Gas Analytical Bulletin will be published and whether it will contain updated illustrative projections for Scottish North Sea tax receipts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to publishing analysis on the oil and gas sector and its contribution to the Scottish economy. Officials are currently considering options to provide full and comprehensive coverage of the sector for users.

3 Dec 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with the Scottish business development bank.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister announced on 26 November 2014 that we will establish a business development bank. It will work with small and medium enterprises, investors and others, to support growing businesses, boosting innovation and international competitiveness. Th…

26 Nov 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget priorities are for the Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio in 2015-16.

18 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how all Fossil Fuel Levy monies have been spent, broken down by (a) financial year and (b) project.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government contributed £103 million from the Fossil Fuel Levy funds to support the creation of the Green Investment Bank and will use the remaining £103 million to promote the use of renewable energy in Scotland. This commitment was reaffirmed by…

18 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding from the Fossil Fuel Levy has been paid into the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: A cash payment of £206 million was paid by Ofgem into the Scottish Consolidated Fund in financial year 2012-13. With the agreement of HM Treasury the Scottish Government’s capital budget for 2012-13 was increased by £103 million.

18 Nov 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has in respect of the non-domestic rates system.

11 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what working assumption it is using, in terms of value, for the block grant adjustment in 2015-16.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government set out in the draft budget for 2015-16 that we have assumed that the block grant in 2015-16 will be reduced by a sum that will enable us to meet the funding requirements of the budget and potentially establish the first payment into t…

11 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the block grant adjustment for 2015-16.

Answer · John Swinney: I wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 3 October 2014 and 6 November 2014 seeking to make urgent progress with agreeing a block grant adjustment mechanism for the devolved taxes, but have not received any response from the UK Government to date.

11 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) regulatory and (b) business and regulatory impact assessments have been produced in each year since 1999.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Data held by the Regulatory Review Group Secretariat provides the following: Regulatory Impact Assessments completed May 1999 to March 2000 16 Apr 2000 to March 2001 75 Apr 2001 to March 2002 26 Apr 2002 to March 2003 60 Apr 2003 to March 2004 63 …