Parliamentary questions
Willie Rennie
1,353 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which companies operating in Scotland and regulated by a UK-wide regulator it consulted in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, and whether it will publish any evidence received.
Answer · John Swinney: We did not consult with individual companies. However, we met with representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses, and the Confederation of British Industry. Any evidence received underpinned the published paper.
26 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which UK regulators it consulted in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland and whether it will publish any evidence received.
Answer · John Swinney: We consulted Ofgem, Ofcom, the Office of the Rail Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. We also consulted the Scottish Regulator WICS. The evidence from these consultations underpins the work of th…
26 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government from which countries it consulted regulators and governments in preparing its report, Economic and Competition Regulation in an Independent Scotland, and whether it will publish any evidence received.
Answer · John Swinney: We consulted regulators and governments in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Australia. The evidence gathered from these consultations underpins the work of the published paper.
25 Mar 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.
20 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-13580 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 March 2013, in which paragraph of the Fiscal Commission Working Group’s report the "detailed analysis" is.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report confirms that spending on social protection in Scotland, which includes pension expenditure, accounts for 38% of tax revenue, compared to 42% in the UK as a whole. In chapter four of the Fiscal Co…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S4W-13580 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 March 2013, whether it will provide the names of the independent advisers who are assessing the operation of the state pension system in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Work undertaken by the Scottish Government on the state pension system in an independent Scotland is being led by officials who are seeking external advice from independent advisors where necessary.
11 Mar 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its website will have links to the work of the expert group considering how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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/parliamentarybu…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) findings and (b) recommendations of the expert group considering how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the expert group considering how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland has met (a) ministers and (b) officials, and what future meetings are planned.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the letters of appointment of the expert group considering how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the terms of reference are of the expert group considering how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which members of the Council of Economic Advisors it has asked to consider how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 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…
8 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many economic experts it is consulting on how much it would cost to provide state pensions in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Fiscal Commission Working Group have already considered pensions as part of their detailed report on a “Macroeconomic framework for an independent Scotland”, published last month, which shows that demographic changes in Scotland are projected to be simila…
4 Mar 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.
1 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to carry out a revaluation of the council tax bands.
Answer · John Swinney: Ministers consider the council tax to be unfair and have committed to freezing the tax for the duration of this Parliament to support hard pressed households. The Scottish Government will consult with others to produce a fairer local tax based on ability to p…
25 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the First Minister’s speech to EU ambassadors on 12 February 2013.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No, as this was a private meeting between the First Minister and the EU ambassadors. The Deputy First Minister made it clear that the Scottish Government is committed to continued membership of the European Union in her speech at a European Policy Centre Eve…
25 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) sought and (b) received agreement from the Secretary of State for Scotland for his letter to the Deputy First Minister of 15 January 2013 to be published on its referendum blog.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland was informed that the Scottish Government intended to publish the letter before it was released. The substance of the Secretary of State's response had been made available to the media the day before the Gover…
25 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) sought and (b) received agreement from the European Commission for Vice-President Šefcovic's letter to the Deputy First Minister of 23 January 2013 to be published on its referendum blog.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The European Commission was informed that the Scottish Government intended to publish the letter before it was released.
25 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-12656 by Nicola Sturgeon on 20 February 2013, which member states have responded to the Deputy First Minister’s letter.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The decision to confirm that a member state had responded would be for the member state to decide.
18 Feb 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.
13 Feb 2013 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that college mergers will have on access to courses in Fife.
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public analysts there are and what local authority areas they cover.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are currently seven public analysts in Scotland operating from four local authority public analyst laboratories: two each based in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow and one based in Aberdeen. One public analyst laboratory based in England and appointed by W…
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public analysts there have been in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are currently seven public analysts in Scotland operating from four local authority public analyst laboratories: two each based in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow and one based in Aberdeen. One public analyst laboratory based in England and appointed by W…
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many public analyst laboratories there are and how many there were in (a) 1999 and (b) 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are currently four public analyst laboratories in Scotland serving 31 local authorities in Scotland, and one public analyst laboratory in England serving one local authority in Scotland. In each of the years 1999 and 2007 there were four public analyst…
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been employed in local authority food safety services in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Figures provided by local authorities to the Foods Standards Agency are given as full time equivalent (FTE) 2009-10 273 2010-11 304 2011-12 259 2012-13 236 Comparative information is not available prior to 2009-10.
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the (a) staffing levels and (b) skills required to sustain an effective food safety service are in place.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Last week saw the launch of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on its proposals for a single independent public body with responsibility for food safety and standards in Scotland. The important principles in delivering better standards are that adv…
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on concerns noted in the Audit Scotland report, Protecting consumers, regarding a loss of experience and expertise from food safety services due to staff reductions.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The report recommends that Councils work with the FSA in Scotland to develop a workforce strategy, which identifies the staffing levels and skills required to sustain an effective food safety service over the next 5 to 10 years, and take action to address any…
31 Jan 2013 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.
29 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the addressees to which the Deputy First Minister sent her letter on EU membership.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The letter was sent to the foreign ministries of each EU Member State via their Embassy or High Commission in the UK.