Willie Rennie

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13939 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, with which organisations it has discussed theoretical joint governance arrangements for the Civil Aviation Authority between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Answer · John Swinney: No discussions have as yet taken place on theoretical joint governance arrangements of the CAA between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK. Engagement with key stakeholders will continue to be an important part of the Scottish Government’s work goi…

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13939 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, when its meeting with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was held; what topics were discussed, and whether these included discussions on the theoretical joint governance of the CAA between an independent Scotl…

Answer · John Swinney: The meeting between Scottish Government officials and the Civil Aviation Authority took place on 7 January 2013. Topics of discussion were the functions of the CAA.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13938 by John Swinney on 23 April 2013, whether it held meetings with the (a) Netherlands Competition Authority and (b) Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and, if so, (i) where and (ii) when.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials met with officials from The Netherlands Competition Authority in The Hague on 3 December 2012. A teleconference was held with the officials from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in Scottish Government premises i…

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13937 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, whether it will publish a summary of each response from the regulators that it consulted.

Answer · John Swinney: The evidence from the regulators underpins the report and is in the public domain.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13934 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, whether (a) Croatia, (b) Finland and (c) Ireland was selected for inclusion in Table A2 and, if so, whether this was prior to its assessment of that country's regulatory costs and staff numbers.

Answer · John Swinney: Finland, Croatia and Ireland were all included in table A2. They were selected for inclusion based on having a similar population size to Scotland.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13933 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, what evidence it has received to suggest that its proposed regulatory structure would reduce parcel delivery charges to the Highlands and Islands and when it will consult parcel delivery companies on the possi…

Answer · John Swinney: A Scottish regulator, focused on the specific circumstances and geography of Scotland, opens up new opportunities to better meet the needs of the Scottish people. The work on a combined economic regulator is on-going, and engagement with key stakeholders will…

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13932 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, for what reason it did not consult any businesses that are subject to regulation in preparing the report.

Answer · John Swinney: By consulting organisations that represent businesses in Scotland, we sought to gain evidence that spanned across a number of business interests to capture a wider range of views.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13932 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, for what reason it did not publish the evidence that it received from the business organisations that it consulted.

Answer · John Swinney: The evidence from business organisations underpins the Report and is in the public domain.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13931 by John Swinney on 25 April 2013, whether it will publish a summary of each response from the regulators that it consulted.

Answer · John Swinney: The evidence from the regulators underpins the report and is in the public domain.

26 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13930 by John Swinney on 24 April 2013, for what reason it did not publish the evidence that it received from the regulators and governments of other countries in preparing the report.

Answer · John Swinney: The evidence from regulators and governments underpins the Report and is in the public domain.

18 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13809 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 April 2013, what the names are of the independent advisers on pensions from whom advice has been sought by officials.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We have engaged Deloitte to provide actuarial support in the analysis of the UK Government's plans to reform state pensions.

15 Apr 2013 · First Minister's Question

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

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will finalise its funding provision for recruitment incentives for young people.

Answer · Angela Constance: The funding provision for recruitment incentives for young people for 2013-2014 has been finalised as follows: Youth Employment Scotland - £25 million (SG £15 million, ESF £10 million) Targeted Employer Recruitment Incentive - £690,000 Commonwealth Games L…

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform will use the figures published in the report, UK Government cuts to welfare expenditure in Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13949 on 22 April 2013. 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…

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the report, UK Government cuts to welfare expenditure in Scotland, whether the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform will report earlier than planned.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Nicola Sturgeon:I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13949 on 22 April 2013. 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.u…

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the figures used in its report, UK Government cuts to welfare expenditure in Scotland, have been reviewed and verified by the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Expert Working Group on Welfare operates independently of the Scottish Government, and in fulfilling its remit makes its own decisions about which aspects of the Scottish Government’s calculations it will comment on in its final report. It will report to …

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the calculation referred to in the footnote on page 24 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, showing which numbers from Figure A2 were used.

Answer · John Swinney: The calculation referred to in the footnote on page 24 draws from the figures on operating expenditure per head included in Figure A2 on page 20.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, with what countries it had discussions, as noted on page 18 of the report.

Answer · John Swinney: We consulted The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the further stages of the work on economic regulation and competition discussed on page 18 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Work on economic and competition regulation is ongoing, including continued engagement with key stakeholders.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by regulator of the around 150 staff based in Scotland, referred to on page 17 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is available from the relevant regulatory bodies.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, what discussions it had with the Chair Designate of the UK’s new Competition and Markets Authority on the issues of regulation.

Answer · John Swinney: None.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the dialogue with the governments and regulators of Australia and New Zealand referred to on page 12 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The dialogue from these consultations underpins the work of the published paper.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude the further work to identify the best option for the function of competition appeals discussed on page 11 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will publish a range of material to inform the choice that the people of Scotland will make in September 2014, including a White Paper in the autumn of this year.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude the further work on health and safety regulation discussed on page 10 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will publish a range of material to inform the choice that the people of Scotland will make in September 2014, including a White Paper in the autumn of this year.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, what discussions it had with the (a) Civil Aviation Authority and (b) New Zealand Commerce Commission.

Answer · John Swinney: We spoke with the Civil Aviation Authority on 7 January 2013, and the New Zealand Commerce Comission on 22 January 2013.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which regulatory contacts in (a) the Netherlands, (b) Australia and (c) New Zealand it consulted in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, as noted on page 8 of the report.

Answer · John Swinney: We consulted with (a) The Netherlands Competition Authority (b) the New Zealand Commerce Commission and (c) the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which "regulatory experts across the UK" it consulted in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, as noted on page 8 of the report.

Answer · John Swinney: We consulted Ofgem, Ofcom, the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Commission, and the Scottish Regulator WICS. We also consulted Ewan Sutherland, a telecoms consultant, and Gordon Downie, h…

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the (a) operating expenditure and (b) staff numbers of regulators in countries not included in Figure A2 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: We gathered information on staffing numbers and operating expenditure for regulators in the countries we included in figure A2 of the report. We do not have this information for regulators in countries that were not included.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which countries it assessed for inclusion in Figure A2 of its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, and how it selected those that were published.

Answer · John Swinney: A range of countries were considered for comparison in figure A2, based on population size and the country’s chosen model of economic and competition regulation. Full details are set out in Annex A of the report.

26 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which parcel delivery companies it consulted in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland; what evidence it received, and what views were expressed about the ability of a separate Scottish regulator to reduce delivery charges in the Highland and…

Answer · John Swinney: Consultations with parcel delivery companies did not take place prior to the publication of the paper. However, work on combined economic regulation is on-going, and this will include engagement with key stakeholders.