Willie Rennie

29 May 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

11 May 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

8 May 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

20 Apr 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

13 Apr 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

17 Mar 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

9 Mar 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

27 Feb 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

21 Feb 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has examined restructuring Police Scotland in order to enable it to regain the VAT exemption lost due to its centralisation, and what assessment it has made of how this would benefit services across Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I welcome constructive suggestions to address the VAT issue faced by Police Scotland. Our view remains that the simplest option to address this issue would be for the UK Government to adjust the VAT Act and bring Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Resc…

15 Feb 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment in the memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Government, China Railway No.3 Engineering Group and SinoFortone that (a) “Scottish financial institutions and other bodies may be approached with a view to obtaining their support for the program”, whether i…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government already has a strong working relationship with appropriate leaders and influential decision makers in China. This information is published under Freedom of Information on 31 May 2016 and can be found at http://www.gov.scot/About/Peopl…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in The Independent on 15 June 2016 that “in March SinoFortone agreed a green energy and affordable housing scheme investment with the Scottish government. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon signed off the contract, which might eventually be worth £10bn”, (a) whether it h…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has been clear from the outset in parliament and in the media that the MoU was about exploring potential investment in Scotland and involved no contractual, funding or legal obligations on behalf of the Scottish Government.

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contact details it has for SinoFortone and whether it will confirm what contact it has had with the company’s representatives in the last six months.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government’s last engagement with Sinofortone was on 3 September 2016 when officials facilitated a visit, organised by Sinofortone, of a government delegation from the region of Inner Mongolia interested in learning about football development. Th…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00012 by Keith Brown on 31 May 2016, what subsequent contact it has had or plans with (a) Falkirk Council and (b) Louden Castle Developments regarding its assessment of the credibility of SinoFortone.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01408 on 9 August 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-00024 and S5W-00028 by Keith Brown on 31 May 2016, what (a) information SinoFortone provided about its activities elsewhere in the world and (b) analysis its officials carried out of SinoFortone’s then UK activity.

Answer · Keith Brown: This information is published under Freedom of Information on 31 May 2016 and can be found at http://www.gov.scot/About/People/Directorates/BusinessDirectorate/foireleased.

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established any media monitoring process to assess the activities of SinoFortone in the UK and, if so, whether it assessed the company’s proposed investments in (a)  Liverpool FC, (b) Anglesey, (c) Kent and (d) Port Talbot.

Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish Government officials use a range of digital alert services to keep them up to date on organisations and companies of interest. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00024 on 31 May 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what examination its officials have made of the Companies House registration of SinoFortone to assess its suitability as an enterprise of sufficient size to undertake infrastructure investment in Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5T-00217 on 22 November 2016. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.as…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00024 by Keith Brown on 31 May 2016, whether it has reassessed or plans to reassess its position on SinoFortone in light of the comments regarding the company that were made by its former director, Sir Richard Heygate, and others, in a report in The…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has had no discussion with Sinofortone since 3 September 2016 and there are no further discussions with Sinofortone proposed.

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the credibility of SinoFortone, and whether it has contacted or plans to contact public sector organisations in the UK regarding this.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-07033 on 9 March 2017. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments made to BBC Scotland by the Cabinet Secretary for Jobs, the Economy and Fair Work on 31 May 2016 that the Chinese companies proposing an investment deal were “serious and credible”, what the basis was for this assertion, and whether the cabinet secretary has reas…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was about developing a working relationship with Sinofortone and China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group to explore potential investment in Scotland. As is clear from the 70+ pages of information on the MoU released by the …

30 Jan 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

20 Jan 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

9 Jan 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

19 Dec 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

12 Dec 2016 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of "intolerable" working conditions at Amazon’s Fife warehouse.

5 Dec 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

25 Nov 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

25 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its purchase and sale of the Clydebridge and Dalzell steel plants will impact on the pension arrangements of (a) current and (b) future pensioners.

Answer · Keith Brown: The purchase and sale of the plants by Scottish Government in no way affected workers pension arrangements. The workers at the Clydebridge and Dalzell steel plants were made redundant by Tata Steel. I understand that at the point they were made redundant, tho…

25 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to safeguard the pensions of workers at the Clydebridge and Dalzell steel plants, and how much this has cost.

Answer · Keith Brown: I understand that the accrued pension benefits of those workers at the Clydebridge and Dalzell steel plants, assuming they had elected to join the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), have not been affected. All those workers will remain members of the BSPS a…

15 Nov 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the company, SinoFortone, asked it for an advisory team to be established to assist its investment planning in Scotland, but it did not do so.

Answer · Keith Brown: The memorandum of understanding between the Scottish Government and SinoFortone focused on building a relationship to explore potential investment opportunities. The Scottish Government was not asked to establish an advisory team.