Willie Rennie

30 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made of the costs of the transition to independence in the event of a Yes vote in the referendum.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21539 on 27 June 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…

30 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken of the costs of the transition to independence in the event of a Yes vote in the referendum.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has undertaken a range of work to prepare for the transition to independence, and our approach is set out in “Scotland’s Future”. Pages 343 to 350 explain that a number of factors will influence the size of the one-off investment that …

21 May 2014 · First Minister's Question

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

15 May 2014 · First Minister's Question

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

6 May 2014 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the National Review of Asthma Deaths, which suggests that some deaths from the condition arise because of complacency among both medical staff and patients.

30 Apr 2014 · First Minister's Question

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

10 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) 16 and (b) 17-year-olds have registered to vote in the referendum on independence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: National Records for Scotland (NRS) published their annual statistics on electoral registration in Scotland – Electoral Statistics for Scotland, 2014 on 1 May 2014. These can be accessed in full at: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/electoral-s…

7 Apr 2014 · Written Question

 To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assumption in the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, that the £250 million figure in its white paper on independence that was attributed to a simplified tax system, is the result of changes in the c…

Answer · John Swinney: This government plans to design a simple and transparent tax system after independence. As set out on page 121 of Scotland’s Future, the government will work with Revenue Scotland to simplify the tax system to reduce compliance costs, streamline reliefs and h…

7 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it provided to Oxford Economics to inform its report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government did not provide information to Oxford Economics to inform its recent report referred to in the question.

7 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assessment in the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, that its policy on corporation tax would take 10 to 15 years to pay for itself.  

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20666 on 30 April 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/parliamentaryb…

7 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Oxford Economics report, The potential implications of independence for businesses in Scotland, whether it will reconsider its decision not to publish the cost of its policy on corporation tax for the first years of implementation.      

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has published detailed modelling of the potential impacts of corporation tax policy equivalent to a reduction in the headline rate by 3 percentage points. The report which is available by following the link below, outlines the impact …

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S4W-20326 and S4W-19732 by John Swinney on 28 March 2014 and 28 February 2014 respectively, for what reason the document referred to does not identify five alternative currency options, and whether a document setting out these options exists.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answers to questions S4W-20326 on 28 March 2014 and S4W-19732 on 28 February 2014, which detailed the Fiscal Commission Working Groups assessment of the key currency options for an independent Scotland. The full published report and…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20237 by John Swinney on 27 March 2014, for what reason the extract from the document cited does not provide advice on the duration of a currency union.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20237 on 27 March 2014, which detailed that paragraph 2.7, page 19, of the first report of the Fiscal Commission Working Group included the following recommendation: “Recommendation: the Scottish Government sh…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it will set out the figures underlying the assertion that “the vast majority of any higher tax revenues following any expansion in economic activity flow to Westminster” which was stated in the paper, C…

Answer · John Swinney: Under the current constitutional framework the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament only have limited control over fiscal policy. The Scottish Parliament is only responsible for around 8 per cent of taxes raised in Scotland when including a geographica…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it is aware of any external economist who has identified the component revenue streams that make up the £700 million.                                                                                     …

Answer · John Swinney: The £700 million figure referred to in the question is an output of the Scottish Government’s in-house modelling of the impacts of increased female participation. The Computable General Equilibrium model that was used for this modelling work was developed by …

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether the Council of Economic Advisers has been asked to consider the component revenue streams of the £700 million to ensure that the basis for the calculations is robust.

Answer · John Swinney: The Council of Economic Advisers considered the economic and social importance of improving childcare provision in Scotland at their meeting on 30 August 2013. The council’s discussion was informed by a presentation by the late Professor Ailsa McKay on the ec…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it had modelled changes to the rates of the component taxes when it produced the total figure of £700 million. 

Answer · John Swinney: As outlined in the answer to question S4W-20501 on 24 April 2014, the £700 million is the estimated increase in revenues that could arise if Scotland matched Swedish female participation rate. All tax rates are held constant.

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether its officials have access to a breakdown of the amounts raised by the component tax revenue streams that make up the £700 million.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20502 on 24 April 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/parliamentaryb…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, on how many previous occasions since 2011 it has referred members to their original question when it has been asked for further details.

Answer · John Swinney: The information on the number of all parliamentary questions answered by Scottish Ministers since 2011, where the members were referred to the original answer is not held centrally. A parliamentary questions search can be performed by following the following …

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) a list of its estimates of the component tax revenue streams that contribute to the £700 million. 

Answer · John Swinney: The information on the component tax revenue streams that contribute to the £700 million is available in the Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis paper published in January 2014.

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, whether ministers have seen the component amounts from the different tax revenue streams that make up the figure of £700 million. 

Answer · John Swinney: As outlined in the Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis paper, the increase in the tax revenues by £700 million that could arise from matching Sweden’s female participation rate would be expected to come from a range of different tax …

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, how it calculated the figure of £700 million. 

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government modelled the impacts of increased female participation using a Computable General Equilibrium model of the Scottish economy. As outlined in the Childcare and Labour Market Participation – Economic Analysis paper, the increase in the ta…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, what estimate it has of the contribution to the £700 million from increases in receipts from (a) income tax, (b) national insurance, (c) VAT, (d) fuel duty, (e) excise duties and (f) other taxes.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government estimates that the revenues from the specific taxes identified in the question would increase if Scotland’s female participation rate was to match Sweden’s. The total increase in all revenues would be expected to amount to £700 million…

1 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20327 by John Swinney on 1 April 2014, for what reasons the component revenue streams of the £700 million from different taxes were not identified in the answer.

Answer · John Swinney: The answer to S4W-20327 refers to a previously answered question S4W-20084 on 20 March 2014, which provided information on how different tax revenue streams could be affected by an increase in female participation rate in Scotland to match Sweden’s. All answe…

27 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

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

26 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20229 by Michael Russell on 25 March 2014, for what reason the updated project pipeline was not published alongside the updated programme pipeline and progress report documents.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011: Progress Report for 2013, updated Programme Pipeline and updated Project Pipeline, were published simultaneously on the Scottish Government website on 17 March 2014, the first two via the publication page, and the thir…

26 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) statutory guidance, (b) regulations or (c) memoranda of understanding determine what (i) representative organisations and (ii) regulatory bodies of the medical and healthcare professions it must negotiate with over fees and regulations.

Answer · Alex Neil: The regulation of healthcare professionals is carried out by UK wide regulatory bodies which are independent of government. These bodies include the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Each regulator’s go…

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-20084 by John Swinney on 20 March 2014, whether it will provide a breakdown by type of tax of the amounts adding up to the £700 million.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20084 on 20 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/parliamentaryb…

24 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s comment on The Andrew Marr Show on 16 March 2014 that “the Fiscal Commission Working Group set out not just a plan B as you put it, but B, C, D, E and F”, whether it will identify each of the five alternative currency options.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19732 on 28 February 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/parliamenta…

21 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

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