Parliamentary questions

Jeremy Purvis

909 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to adopt the UK Government’s five-day target of settling public sector supplier invoices.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is concentrating on ensuring that all our supplier invoices are paid within 10 days. Latest performance shows that over 95% of invoices are paid within that target, and the Scottish business sector has noted the positive contribution t…

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce the absence rates of public sector employees.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has arrangements in place for closely monitoring sickness absence to ensure that actions are taken to help reduce the overall absence rates among employees. This includes a dedicated absence management team who provide support for mana…

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the absence rates of public sector employees have been in each of the last three years.

Answer · John Swinney: Each public sector body is responsible for recording their employees'' absence data within their management information systems (MIS). The Scottish Government only has access to its own MIS and not MIS for other public sector bodies, so is unable to provide a…

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is undertaking work to develop an asset disposal strategy.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has for some time had a strategy on estates asset management, including asset disposal. Any disposals of surplus or vacant property are undertaken following the principles set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to give greater incentives for local authorities to improve economic growth in their area.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government fully recognises local authorities'' role in local economic development and is committed to ensuring they have the opportunity to contribute to growing local business success. It supports local authorities in this work through a range …

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the planning system in respect of (a) facilitating economic growth and employment, (b) giving greater weight to the needs of the economy or (c) the impact on the economy.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The planning system is being reformed to support sustainable economic growth.

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) progress has been made and (b) work is underway on each project in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35323 on 4 August 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/…

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is prioritising the projects in the Strategic Transport Projects Review.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: I have previously highlighted our approach to the prioritisation of the projects in the Strategic Transport Projects Review. Our priorities are: <ul type=disc> <li >Firstly, the Forth Replacement Crossing. The Bill has been brought …

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Futures Trust is generating its predicted savings of £100-150 million per annum.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30424 on 15 January 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/A…

15 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3M-33983 by Keith Brown on 2 June 2010, whether the role of the Scottish Futures Trust in the Scottish Government’s school building programme has involved more than informing local authorities of their funding allocations and, if so, what work it has ca…

10 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the monthly agenda and minutes of its Strategic Board have not been published on its website since the meeting held on 15 October 2009.

Answer · John Swinney: The agenda and minutes of the monthly Strategic Board meetings from November 2009 to February 2010 have now been published on the Scottish Government website. This is in line with the government''s commitment contained in its publication scheme and which can …

3 Jun 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when post offices will be able to access the £1 million Post Office Diversification Fund included in the 2010-11 budget.

Answer · Jim Mather: Discussions with key stakeholders have informed the development of a discussion paper on the format and operation of the fund. This will be issued very shortly and discussed with sub-postmasters at roadshow events. Responses will help finalise details of the …

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made to it on the subject of rates revaluation and a transitional relief scheme, as referred to in the chamber by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25324), and whether information on these represent…

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33507 on 18 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bu…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive with what business community representatives it held discussions on the subject of rates revaluation and a transitional relief scheme, as referred to in the chamber by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25324), and whether minutes…

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33507 on 18 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the correspondence that it has received on the subject of rates revaluation and a transitional relief scheme, as referred to in the chamber by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25324).

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive from what individuals or organisations it received correspondence on the subject of rates revaluation and a transitional relief scheme, as referred to in the chamber by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25324).

Answer · John Swinney: Throughout the revaluation process ministers and officials have met, spoken to, corresponded with and heard representations from a number of business organisations. This includes individual ratepayers, rating agents (who represent a broad range of clients) an…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision not to issue a formal consultation on options for the transitional rates relief scheme was taken.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to question S3W-33505, answered on 18 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Busine…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it did not issue a formal consultation on options for the transitional rates relief scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: Decisions on the 2010 business rates revaluation were taken only after careful consideration of the impact on all businesses and sectors and following discussion with a range of key stakeholders, including key business organisations. Those discussions took pl…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it predicts the net income that it receives from business rates will have increased from 2009-10 to 2010-11 and, if so, by how much.

Answer · John Swinney: The revaluation of business properties takes place every five years. The income received from business rates in the year prior to a revaluation, in this case 2009-10, is depressed as many appeals against the previous revaluation (2005) are settled towards the…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth will publish his calculations of the cost of a rates relief scheme for 2010-11 as £195 million, as referred to in the chamber on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25305).

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33500 on 18 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bu…

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth calculated the cost of a rates relief scheme for 2010-11 as £195 million, as referred to in the chamber on 15 April 2010 (Official Report c. 25305).

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it has not yet published all information that it holds relating to the 2010 non-domestic rates revaluation and its consideration of a transitional rates relief scheme.

4 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish all the information that it holds relating to the 2010 non-domestic rates revaluation and its consideration of a transitional rates relief scheme.

Answer · John Swinney: Extensive information relating to the 2010 non-domestic rates revaluation has already been published. The Scottish Assessors Association website at <a href="http://www.saa.gov.uk/">www.saa.gov.uk</a> contains data on individual properties and high level summa…

16 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is projected to be collected from business rates in 2010-11.

Answer · John Swinney: The amount of non-domestic rates currently estimated to be collected in 2010-11 is £2.1 billion. A final amount will not be known until some time after the end of 2010-11, and will take account of what has actually been collected, as well as business rate rel…

8 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29290 by Jim Mather on 3 December 2009, what progress has been made since this response; what research has been commissioned, and whether it now has a next generation broadband policy.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33111 on 5 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="file:///\\sh260eda\PQDocs$\S3W\32500-32999\…

8 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether research has been carried out to inform its policy on next generation access, as promised in its response to Digital Britain: The Interim Report.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government issued a call for expressions of interest for its new piece of research on broadband in Scotland on 12 April 2010 and, following this, will shortly be issuing an invitation to tender to short-listed candidate tenderers. We expect to be…

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it stipulated in the terms and conditions for the contracts of the chief executives of Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Water, when these were renegotiated, that no bonuses would be payable.

Answer · John Swinney: Remuneration proposals for the Scottish Enterprise chief executive post included a reduction in the maximum potential bonus arrangement, from the 12.5% agreed by the previous administration to a level within the current pay policy limits. The remuner…

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it stipulated in the terms and conditions of the contract for the chief executive of Creative Scotland that no bonuses would be payable.

Answer · John Swinney: Remuneration proposals for the Creative Scotland chief executive post did not include provision for a bonus.

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the statement made by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in the chamber on 25 March 2010 that amendment 78 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill would “single out NDPB chief executives…That is discrimination” (Official Report c. 25131), for…

Answer · John Swinney: Many public bodies make non-consolidated (bonus) payments for staff below the level of chief executive as part of linking remuneration to performance. My reference to discrimination during the Stage 3 debate on the Public Services Reform Bill was in relation …

31 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it is able to stipulate under its public sector pay policy a limitation on bonuses but not that bonuses should not be paid.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32996 on 7 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/P…