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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-11243

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the percentage of jobs growth in each of the last five years that (a) can be attributed to immigration and (b) represents jobs that have been filled by non-UK nationals.

Information on jobs growth which can be attributed specifically to immigration is not held centrally.

Table 1 shows the total numbers in employment in Scotland, the level of annual change and the annual percentage change.

Table 2 shows total numbers of non-UK nationals in employment in Scotland, the level of annual change, annual percentage change and total non-UK nationals as a percentage of total employment in Scotland between 2011 and 2016.

Total numbers in employment in Scotland increased each year between 2011 and 2015, increasing from 2,476,000 in 2011 to 2,583,000 in 2015 before decreasing slightly in 2016 to 2,581,000. The total number of people in employment in Scotland has increased by 4.2% between 2011 and 2016.

The number of non-UK nationals in employment increased from 141,000 in 2011 to 147,000 in 2012, before decreasing slightly to 144,000 in 2013 and increasing again to 190,000 in 2016. The number of non-UK nationals in employment has increased by 34.8% between 2011 and 2016.

Non-UK nationals account for 7.4% of all people in employment in 2016, compared with 5.7% in 2011.

Table 1: Total employment (16+) in Scotland, 2011-2016

	Total employment	Total employment -annual change	Total employment - annual change (%)
2011	2,476,000	-	-
2012	2,482,000	6,000	0.2
2013	2,495,000	13,000	0.5
2014	2,559,000	64,000	2.6
2015	2,583,000	24,000	0.9
2016	2,581,000	-2,000	-0.1
2011-2016 % change	4.2	-	-

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Table 2: Total non-UK nationals in employment in Scotland, 2011-2016

	Non-UK nationals in employment	Non-UK nationals in employment - annual change	Non-UK nationals in employment - Annual percentage change (%)	Non-UK nationals as a % of total employment
2011	141,000	-	-	5.7
2012	147,000	6,000	4.2	5.9
2013	144,000	-3,000	-2.2	5.8
2014	163,000	20,000	13.7	6.4
2015	167,000	4,000	2.5	6.5
2016	190,000	23,000	13.5	7.4
2011-2016 % change	34.8	-	-	-

Source: Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec datasets, ONS

Note: non-UK nationals is based on self-reported nationality rather than country of birth.

Question reference: S5W-11235

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, by what date it plans to double the number of Scottish Development International staff.

Question reference: S5W-11246

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the change in overall employment has been as a result of self-employment in each year since 1999.

Table 1 shows total employment, self-employment, annual change and annual percentage change in Scotland from Mar 1999–Feb 2000 to April 2016-Mar 2017. Apr 2016-Mar 2017 is the most recent Annual Population Survey data available..

Table 1: Total employment and self-employment in Scotland, 1999-2016

Total employment

Self employment

Year	(level)	Annual change	Annual % change	(level)	Annual % change	Annual % change
Mar 1999–Feb 2000	2,280,000	-	-	221,000	-	-
Mar 2000–Feb 2001	2,334,000	54,000	2.4	218,000	-3,000	-1.4
Mar 2001–Feb 2002	2,341,000	7,000	0.3	227,000	9,000	4.1
Mar 2002–Feb 2003	2,357,000	16,000	0.7	238,000	11,000	4.8
Mar 2003–Feb 2004	2,367,000	10,000	0.4	236,000	-2,000	-0.8
Apr 2004–Mar 2005	2,440,000	73,000	3.1	249,000	13,000	5.5
Apr 2005–Mar 2006	2,458,000	18,000	0.7	247,000	-2,000	-0.7
Apr 2006-Mar 2007	2,510,000	53,000	2.2	266,000	20,000	8.0
Apr 2007-Mar 2008	2,537,000	27,000	1.1	267,000	1,000	0.3
Apr 2008-Mar 2009	2,531,000	-6,000	-0.2	267,000	0	0.0
Apr 2009-Mar 2010	2,478,000	-54,000	-2.1	268,000	1,000	0.2
Apr 2010-Mar 2011	2,484,000	7,000	0.3	273,000	6,000	2.1
Apr 2011-Mar 2012	2,475,000	-9,000	-0.4	294,000	20,000	7.5
Apr 2012-Mar 2013	2,486,000	11,000	0.4	294,000	0	0.0
Apr 2013-Mar 2014	2,514,000	28,000	1.1	289,000	-5,000	-1.7
Apr 2014-Mar 2015	2,571,000	58,000	2.3	312,000	23,000	8.1
Apr 2015-Mar 2016	2,573,000	2,000	0.1	301,000	-11,000	-3.6
Apr 2016-Mar 2017	2,596,000	22,000	0.9	320,000	19,000	6.4

Sources: Mar 1999–Feb 2000 to Mar 2003–Feb 2004 Local Area Labour Force Survey, ONS.

Apr 2004–Mar 2005 to Apr 2016-Mar 2017 Annual Population Survey, ONS.

There is a discontinuity in this series with information prior to April 2004-Mar 2005 being sourced from the Local Area Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population Survey being used from Apr 2004-Mar 2005 onward.

The Annual Population Survey was first produced by ONS in 2004 as a replacement for the Local Area labour Force Survey.

Question reference: S5W-11229

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, when the Unlocking Ambition Challenge will be launched; what its budget will be, and how long it will run for.

"Scotland CAN DO; Unlocking Ambition" is a highly ambitious project to accelerate the achievement of high potential entrepreneurs, including those seeking wider societal impact.

At present discussions are on-going with agencies and private sector partners to finalise proposals and operating models. Such discussions will inform the budget and specific timings of what will be an iterative project that is intended to be able to respond to the needs of entrepreneurs. When plans have been developed I will be happy to share information on proposed launch date, budget and delivery models.

Question reference: S5W-11226

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise regarding the timing of the publication of its annual report.

The Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990 (as amended) sets out the process and duty placed on Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to report annually and Scottish Ministers to lay before Parliament a copy of such reports.

The Scottish Government has been in regular contact with both Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise regarding the laying and subsequent publication of their respective annual reports and accounts and the current expectation is that these reports will be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published in October 2017 following due process.

Question reference: S5W-11231

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, when the manufacturing service will be launched; what its budget will be; how many staff it will employ, and how long it will run for.

The Manufacturing 4.0 service will be delivered by the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) and the Digital Transformation team within Scottish Enterprise. These teams include around 40 practitioners in total.

A pilot has already commenced with eight account managed companies and the service is due to be launched in April 2018. It will measure businesses’ capability and ambition to develop their own ‘Manufacturing 4.0 Improvement Plan' with a supporting plan from Scottish Enterprise and partner organisations, helping businesses to embrace the opportunities offered by digitally enabled products and processes, automation, and connected supply chains.

SMAS has an annual budget of £500k, used to facilitate external support for companies, and will continue to use existing Scottish Enterprise investment tools, products and services to encourage manufacturing businesses invest and raise their digital ambition.

Question reference: S5W-11232

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, when the Scottish National Investment Bank will be launched; what its budget will be, and how many staff it will employ.

Benny Higgins Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Bank, has agreed to lead work on developing an Implementation Plan for the Scottish National Investment Bank. This work is due to be completed by February 2018 and will consider the optimum governance structure, scope of bank operations, the operating model and propose a capitalisation plan. These are vital steps that will see the establishment of a Scottish National Investment Bank to provide patient capital investment to support the Scottish economy.

The Terms of Reference for the Implementation Plan can be found via the following link: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/national-investment-bank-implementation-plan-terms-of-reference/

Question reference: S5W-11228

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has given CivTech in each year since it was established.

Question reference: S5W-11233

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in its Programme for Government, what (a) financial and (b) administrative support it is providing Benny Higgins for the development of the Scottish National Investment Bank, including any seconded staff.

A Secretariat of Scottish Government officials will support Benny Higgins in taking this work forward. The Secretariat will provide and coordinate a range of advice and support from across the Scottish Government and from external sources to ensure the appropriate skills and expertise are available. The Scottish Government will provide the appropriate financial support to ensure a high quality and robust Implementation Plan.

The Terms of Reference for the Implementation Plan can be found via the following link: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/national-investment-bank-implementation-plan-terms-of-reference/

Question reference: S5W-11242

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 22 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many eligible businesses and organisations have received the full benefit of the non-domestic rates 12.5% cap, and how many have not.