Parliamentary questions

Margaret McDougall

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

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to sign the International Adult Learners’ Charter.

Answer · Michael Russell: The International Adult Learners Charter, 2009 was produced by Scotland’s Learning Partnership on behalf of the Global Learners network. In 2013 the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning established and chaired a National Strategic Forum for …

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the reported reduction in local authority spending on adult literacy and numeracy.

Answer · Michael Russell: Under the Concordat, the Scottish Government establishes the overall direction and desired outcomes for policies but does not manage local service delivery. Each individual local authority is responsible for what it spends on adult literacy and numeracy, base…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many places are available in colleges for students with learning difficulties.

Answer · Michael Russell: The latest figures make clear that in 2012-13, 22% of all learning hours delivered were to students with a disclosed disability or requiring additional learning support; a 3 percentage point increase on the 2006-07 proportion of 19%.

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes there have been in the last five years in terms of (a) enrolment in and (b) funding of adult learning.

Answer · Michael Russell: College students studying full-time courses are eligible for free tuition and are supported by record levels of student support, of over £102 million this academic year. This is part of a commitment of over £500 million for colleges, allowing them to maintain…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what access adults have to lifelong learning and whether it is limited by ability to pay.

Answer · Michael Russell: A wide range of learning opportunities are available for those looking to enter training or education. For example, for those who want to gain employment or improve skills, colleges offer a wide range of provision. Local authority community-based adult learni…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spends annually on adult literacy.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Education Scotland Community Learning and Development Policy and Improvement Team aims to support the work and outcomes identified in the Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships: Community Learning and Development. Of the £693,000 funding a…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it is spending on adult learning and how much of that is spent on adult literacy and development.

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much access it has to (a) monetary and (b) fiscal policy and how much it would have in an independent Scotland in a formal currency union with the rest of the UK.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no involvement in monetary policy which is formally reserved to the UK Government. The Bank of England sets monetary policy for the UK as a whole and is operationally independent from government. Post-independence, the Bank of Eng…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the idea of an "oil for debt swap".

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in Scotland’s Future, the apportionment of the UK national debt will be negotiated and agreed as part of the overall settlement on assets and liabilities.

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) long-term and (b) short-term impact on the economy has been of any previous loss of short-term construction work.

Answer · John Swinney: The construction sector in Scotland and the UK has been impacted heavily by the economic downturn. However, the most recent figures show that during 2013, the construction sector in Scotland grew by 1.0%. It is widely recognised that supporting capital inves…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it would help small businesses cope with any additional transaction and administrative costs in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Within the devolved powers currently available, the Scottish Government is pursuing a range of actions to support sustainable economic growth and higher quality jobs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme. With independence, future Scottish governments c…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there would be a change in research and development funding available in an independent Scotland and, if so, how it will affect the science and engineering industries.

Answer · John Swinney: Scotland’s Future highlights that investment in research and development (R&D) activity is a key component of supporting innovation and economic performance. In an independent Scotland there will therefore be a strong focus on innovation and R&D for the benef…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the current amount of (a) public and (b) private funding for research in Scotland that is from (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK.

Answer · John Swinney: Funding for research invested in Scotland’s higher education institutions is drawn from a range of sources in the public, private and charitable sectors. In 2012-13 (most recent figures available), the Scottish Funding Council invested £330 million in resea…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it would deal with the reported issue of (a) capital flight from and (b) lack of reinvestment of Scottish wealth in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Scotland is one of the wealthiest nations in the world. With a geographic share of North Sea oil and gas output, Scotland would have the 14th highest levels of GDP per capita in the OECD in 2012, ranked four places above the UK. Standard and Poor’s have state…

25 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on activities and advertising relating to the referendum, broken down by type of activity and advertising.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The £450,000 budget for public information activity that I announced in Parliament on November 26 2013 is being used to ensure that people in Scotland can access the information they need to make an informed choice on 18 September 2014. Details of spend withi…

25 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what types of activities and advertising related to the referendum other than public meetings it has carried out.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We are undertaking a range of activity to ensure that people in Scotland can access the information they need to make an informed choice on 18 September. Public demand for Scotland’s Future has been high and on 11 March 2014, I confirmed that over 100,000 cop…

25 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent hosting public meetings on the white paper on independence, also broken down by meeting.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We want to make sure that the public are as well informed as possible about the content of Scotland’s Future and the huge opportunities offered by independence. To facilitate this, the Scottish Government has organised a full programme of public engagement ev…

25 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public meetings (a) there have been and (b) are planned on the white paper on independence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is holding a programme of activity to inform the people of Scotland about Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland and to debate and discuss the issues in the referendum with the public. This programme includes meetings…

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the council tax freeze to be sustainable.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has fully funded the council tax freeze since 2008-09 and is committed to do so for the lifetime of this Parliament, helping all of Scotland’s council tax payers. The cumulative cost of the council tax freeze over the whole period 2008…

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average saving has been in each council tax band as a result of the council tax freeze, broken down by year.

Answer · John Swinney: The average saving in each council tax band as a result of the council tax freeze is set out in the following table. The average Band D household has cumulatively saved almost £680 between 2008-14 and will save around £1200 in the lifetime of this Parliament:…

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has contributed to funding the council tax freeze, broken down by year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has provided an additional £70 million each year since 2008-09 to compensate local authorities for the council tax freeze and is committed to do so for the lifetime of this Parliament.

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average increase will be for each council tax band when the council tax freeze ends.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to fully funding the council tax freeze for the lifetime of this Parliament. We have also made a commitment to consult with others to develop options for a fairer and more progressive local tax, based on ability to pay, la…

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the council tax freeze will remain in place for the remainder of the current parliamentary session.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has fully funded the council tax freeze since 2008-09 and is committed to doing so for the lifetime of this Parliament, helping all of Scotland’s council tax payers.

6 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on bringing forward proposals to reform local government finance in the current parliamentary session.

Answer · John Swinney: This Government has an existing commitment to consult with others to develop options for a fairer and more progressive local tax, based on ability to pay, later in this Parliament.

28 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it would take to close the gender gap in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government’s white paper for independence, Scotland’s Future, sets out in detail how we would go about addressing the gender gap in Scotland if we had the powers available to us to do so. This includes: Introducing a transformational change to …

28 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what options it has considered regarding the division of state-owned assets in an independent Scotland using a form of so-called sterlingisation.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19977 on 12 March 2014. 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/parliamentary…

28 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made of the initial debt of an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: An independent Scotland’s share of the UK national debt, and our share of UK national assets, including the Bank of England, would be part of a negotiated settlement between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Scotland’s Future sets out two possible scenarios f…

28 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if an independent Scotland did not achieve a currency union with the rest of the UK, whether it would pay Scotland's share of the UK debt and, if so, what the timescale for repayment would be.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government position is to retain Sterling within a formal monetary union with the rest of the UK. The first report of the Fiscal Commission Working Group in February 2013 set out the range of viable currency and monetary models for a country of …

11 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities would control a scheme to offset the so-called bedroom tax in the event that the discretionary housing payments cap is not removed and, if so, how funds for this would be allocated, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19711 on 3 March 2014. 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…

11 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it would implement a scheme to offset the so-called bedroom tax in the event that the discretionary housing payments cap is not removed.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: If the cap on discretionary housing payments is not removed, the Scottish Government is committed to implement a scheme during 2014-15 which will mitigate the effects of the bedroom tax. The details of the scheme, including the date the scheme may be availab…