Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Nov 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has been given by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland on the health benefits that could arise from the proposed public health levy.
Answer · John Swinney: Alcohol and tobacco are two of the greatest single preventable causes of ill-health and premature death in Scotland and their use places an enormous economic burden on Scotland of £4.7 billion a year, including some £539 million on health care costs. The Chie…
4 Nov 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money will (a) Doosan Power Systems, (b) Gamesa Corporation, (c) Mitsubishi Power Systems and (d) Amazon receive under its inward investment scheme and over what timescale.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: There is no inward investment scheme under which companies receive public money. Public money is paid to companies under schemes such as Regional Selective Assistance, Research and Development Grant and Training Plus.
4 Nov 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue from the proposed public health levy will be by 2014-15 as a proportion of (a) total retail sales, (b) retail sales by companies liable for it and (c) retail sales in the premises liable for it.
Answer · John Swinney: Future retail sales and profits of companies liable for the public health supplement are not held centrally, either on a Scotland wide or on an individual store basis. However, the £30 million raised by the supplement currently represents around 0.1% of tota…
4 Nov 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the ban on the display of tobacco to come into force for (a) large and (b) small retailers.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing legislation to ban the display of tobacco products in places where they are offered for sale in Scotland. Earlier this year the former Minister for Public Health and Sport announced provisional dates f…
4 Nov 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it anticipates revenue from the proposed public health levy to rise from £30 million in 2012-13 to £40 million in 2013-14.
Answer · John Swinney: The revenue will increase in 2013-14 as a result of an increase in the amount of the supplement.
26 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many more businesses will be required to pay non-domestic rates in order for its plans to increase revenue from such rates to be achieved.
14 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to address the skills shortage in the oil and gas sector since the publication of the OPITO labour market intelligence survey in March 2011.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Skills is one of the six strategic priorities being addressed by the Oil and Gas Industry Advisory Group co-chaired by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. The recently established industry led Energy Skills Action Group (ESAG) is developing a cr…
14 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with universities and colleges to discuss how they can change their curriculum to better meet the needs of the oil and gas sector.
Answer · Michael Russell: It has been the policy of successive administrations that universities and colleges should be free to take their own decisions about the curriculum they offer based on their expertise and knowledge of economic need. We expect institutions to develop close lin…
14 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it allocated to Skills Development Scotland for modern apprenticeships in the oil and gas sector in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you.
14 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated to Skills Development Scotland for modern apprenticeships in the oil and gas sector for 2011-12.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you.
14 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with the oil and gas sector in the last year to discuss improving links between it and universities and colleges.
Answer · Michael Russell: As part of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board, the Oil & Gas Industry Advisory Group provides a forum for effective, open and informed engagement with the oil & gas sector and other relevant bodies, including universities and colleges. Membership of the group…
4 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much energy it estimates has been saved through the (a) Energy Efficiency Commitment, (b) Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and (c) Community Energy Saving Programme in each year from 2007-08.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change had responsibility for the Energy Efficiency Commitment and is responsible for the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Saving Progr…
4 Oct 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure on the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Home Insulation Scheme, (c) Universal Home Insulation Scheme, (d) Central Heating Programme, (e) Warm Deal, (f) Boiler Scrappage Scheme, (g) Energy Saving Scotland Home Loans pilot scheme and (h) any other energy saving or fue…
Answer · Alex Neil: The Energy Assistance Package, the Home Insulation Scheme, and the Universal Home Insulation Scheme were not in operation prior to 2009-10. For expenditure on these schemes for 2009-10 and 2010-11, please refer to the answer to question S4W-00775 on 30 June 2…
27 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it allocated to Skills Development Scotland for the modern apprenticeship programme in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; how much has been allocated in 2011-12, and how many modern apprenticeships have been supported.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: For details of modern apprenticeship funding in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02351 on 21 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search fac…
27 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much energy demand will be met from renewables by (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016, (e) 2017 and (f) 2018.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Our ambitious targets for renewable electricity, heat and transport will require Scotland’s overall share of renewable energy to be at least 30% by 2020. We have not established interim milestones or forecasts for progress towards that target. Achieving thes…
27 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will reduce end-use energy consumption by (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016, (e) 2017 and (f) 2018.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Energy Efficiency Action Plan set a headline target to reduce Scottish final energy consumption by 12% by 2020. Since the report was published in October 2010, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have adjusted the baseline data on which the…
27 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the target is for the decarbonisation of electricity generation by (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16, (f) 2016-17, (g) 2017-18, (h) 2018-19, (i) 2019-20 and (j) 2020-21.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising electricity generation by 2030, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, through a combination of renewable electricity and fossil fuels with Carbon Capture and Storage. The tar…
27 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much demand for heating will be met from renewables by (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016, (e) 2017 and (f) 2018.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Indicative interim milestones towards the target to meet 11% of Scottish heat demand from renewables by 2020 were included in the Renewable Heat Action Plan for Scotland, as shown in the following table. Interim Milestones to 2020 Renewable Heat Ambitions Y…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Futures Fund money the draft budget for 2012-13 has allocated to the Sure Start Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02953 on 18 October 2011. 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/parliamentar…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Futures Fund money the draft budget for 2012-13 has allocated to the Young Scots Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: The Draft Budget 2012-13 includes £5.4 million for the Young Scots Fund, £8 million for the Next Generation Digital Fund, £10.5 million for the Sure Start Fund and £6.5 million for the Warm Homes and Future Transport Funds.
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been allocated for the Saltire Prize and from which budget line.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Saltire Prize will not be awarded until after the end of the current spending review period and is not therefore reflected in any budget line. Some limited resources will be allocated from the general renewable energy budget to some associated items inclu…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Universal Home Insulation Scheme and (c) Boiler Scrappage Scheme in 2012-13.
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Futures Fund money the draft budget for 2012-13 has allocated to the Warm Homes Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02953 on 18 October 2011. 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/parliamentar…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Futures Fund money the draft budget for 2012-13 has allocated to the Next Generation Digital Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02953 on 18 October 2011. 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/parliamentar…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive from which budget line funding for the proposed enterprise zones has been allocated.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Enterprise areas are to be funded from the Enterprise Bodies Budget Line.
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which budget lines have (a) increased and (b) decreased as a result of the transfer of £200 million per annum from the resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL) to capital DEL in the draft budget for 2012-13.
Answer · John Swinney: The draft budget remains as set out in the Scottish Spending Review, published on 21 September. Resource DEL can be used for either capital investment or resource spend. As set out in the capital investment chapter of the spending review, we expect that aroun…
26 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Futures Fund money the draft budget for 2012-13 has allocated to the Future Transport Fund.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02953 on 18 October 2011. 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/parliamentar…
23 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on the (a) Energy Assistance Package, (b) Universal Home Insulation Scheme and (c) Boiler Scrappage Scheme in 2012-13.
Answer · Alex Neil: Funding for these programmes will be the subject of announcements in due course.
9 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the grant conditions of the £7 million awarded to Hewlett Packard in Regional Selective Assistance support for its IT service hub in Erskine require it to make repayments if it reduces the number of jobs at the hub.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for Regional Selective Assistance transferred from the Scottish Government to Scottish Enterprise on 1 April 2011, this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to write to you …
9 Sep 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) job and (b) capital expenditure targets Hewlett Packard has to meet before receiving each instalment of the £7 million in Regional Selective Assistance support awarded for its IT service hub in Erskine.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As responsibility for Regional Selective Assistance transferred from the Scottish Government to Scottish Enterprise on 1 April 2011, this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise to write to you …