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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-26079

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25553 by Derek Mackay on 8 October 2019, in the absence of any further financial transaction funding, how the Scottish National Investment Bank will be capitalised after March 2021.

If financial transactions were to be discontinued after March 2021, other sources of capital would need to deployed in order to capitalise the Scottish National Investment Bank. This could include channelling the returns to the Scottish Government from existing financial transaction investments to the Bank, traditional capital, or use of the Scottish Government’s borrowing powers. Decisions about the precise mix and source of capital that will deliver the balance of the £2 billion for the Bank would be made in light of future budget settlements and other calls on the Scottish Government’s capital programme.

Question reference: S5W-26074

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 2 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25553 by Derek Mackay on 8 October 2019, what (a) capital and (b) resource profile is anticipated for the Scottish National Investment Bank from March 2021 onwards, and what the source will be of this funding.

The capital to be provided to the Scottish National Investment Bank from March 2021 to March 2028 is £1.5 billion, as projected in the Financial Memorandum. The Financial Memorandum also explained that the presumption was that around £200 million a year would be provided, but the actual profile will depend on future budgets, demand for the Bank’s products, the performance of existing investments to be made and held by the Bank and the Scottish Government’s wider capital programme requirements. For the source of capital investment please see the answer to S5W-26079 on 2 December 2019.

The resource profile estimated for the Bank from March 2021 onwards, as set out in the Financial Memorandum, was £6.3 million. This would come from a resource budget to be allocated to the Bank which is subject to future budget settlements, the Bank’s eventual Target Operating Model and the amount of revenue income (eg interest and dividends) which the Bank is able to generate from its investment portfolio to offset its operating costs.

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/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-26432

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25962 by Michael Matheson on 13 November 2019, what the additional capital was in each year since 2012-13.

Details of the information requested are given in the following table:

	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Additional capital	1,330	4,250	1,000	0	0	1,295	6,975

The additional funding was provided for projects identified as appropriate for further in year funding and further details for some of the projects undertaken are available on the Scottish Canals website under the attached links.

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/news/1million-regeneration-of-gateway-to-forth-clyde-canal-begins/

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/assets/what-we-have-done/ardrishaig-pier/

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/news/additional-1-625m-funding-to-get-bonnybridge-twechar-operational-for-2019/

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/news/additional-funding-for-scotlands-canals-vital-repairs-to-go-ahead/

Question reference: S5O-03877

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that the out-of-hours services at the Vale of Leven, Inverclyde Royal and Royal Alexandra hospitals are not functioning effectively.

Question reference: S5W-26433

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24508 by Derek Mackay on 16 August 2019, whether it has now published the consolidated account for the public sector.

As explained in the response to question S5W-24508, a draft account for 2017-18 was shared for internal consultation in summer 2019. As per the Public Finance and Accountability Act, any account produced has to be audited and laid in Parliament before it can be published. Audit Scotland were invited in July to consider the draft, and we await their views on format and content. Final format, plans and dates for publication have therefore not yet been agreed.

We are currently already working to now produce further accounts for the 2018-19 financial year.

Question reference: S5W-26215

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been provided to Citizens Advice Scotland as a core grant, not including levy funding, in each year since 2014-15.

Question reference: S5W-26216

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been provided to Citizens Advice Scotland from levy funding in each year that the levy has been in place.

The Levy funding for Consumer Advocacy was devolved to Scottish Government 23 May 2016. Debt advice levy funding was devolved to the Scottish Government on 1 January 2019 . The following table sets out annual funding provided by Scottish Government.

	April 2016 – March 2017 (£’000)	April 2017 – March 2018 (£’000)	April 2018 – March 2019 (£’000)	April 2019 – March 2020 (£’000)
Citizens Advice Consumer Service (ring fenced)	644.75	743.5	751.5	****
Advocacy for Scottish consumers of gas, electricity and postal services (ring fenced)	324.05	630.6	639.6	699.1
Delivery of the Extra Help Unit (GB function) (ring fenced)	92.00	176.1	177.3	195.2
Debt Advice			200	250
Total Restricted Grant	1060.80	1550.2	1768.4	1144.3

*** Previously, the Scottish Government grant funded CAS to provide the Scottish part of a GB-wide consumer helpline, known as the Citizens Advice Consumer Service (CACS). CAS subcontract to Citizens Advice Direct (CAD) to deliver the line. The contract expired at the end of the last financial year, and Scottish Government now fund Advice Direct Scotland, formerly CAD, directly from April 2019

The Scottish Water Consumer Advocacy Levy was devolved to Scottish Government 1 April 2014, the following table sets out annual funding each year by Scottish Government;

	2014-2015	2015- 2016	2016- 2017	2017- 2018	2018- 2019	2019- 2020
Water Advocacy	£291,000	£273,430	£315,609	£310,000	£305,349	£300,000 *

* This figure is an estimate as Water Advocacy out-turn for 2019-2020 is not known until year end.

Question reference: S5W-26217

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much will be provided to Citizens Advice Scotland in core grant for each year from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Question reference: S5W-25967

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many residential properties owned by Scottish Canals have been sold in each year since its inception, broken down by (a) location and (b) income received.

Question reference: S5W-25965

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many residential properties are owned by Scottish Canals, and where they are located.