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There is no legislative requirement that would prevent a college from bidding for and being awarded a contract by a local authority because the college was in deficit.

Source: Scottish Funding Council, October 2016

The audited accounts of incorporated colleges for the year ended 31 July 2016 are not due to be received by the Scottish Funding Council until the end of December 2016.

The financial health of the college sector in 2014-15 is reported in paragraphs 59-62 of the Audit Scotland report Scotland’s colleges 2016 , which is at http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/uploads/docs/report/2016/nr_160825_scotlands_colleges.pdf

Exhibit 10 of the report indicates that while the sector reported an overall deficit of £28 million in 2014-15, after taking account of adjustments (including technical accounting adjustments), the deficit decreases to £3 million, representing less than one per cent of income.

The information requested is already in the public domain.

Information on the Pledge elements met by businesses is given in the table entitled “Business Pledge – Statistical overview – August 2016”, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 57653). This material is updated and published on a quarterly basis. https://scottishbusinesspledge.scot/.

There are currently 296 Scottish Business Pledge companies.

We welcomed the Audit Scotland report Supporting Scotland’s Economic Growth: The role of the Scottish Government and its Economic Development Agencies’, which formed part of the evidence base considered during phase 1 of the Enterprise and Skills review.

The Enterprise and Skills Review Phase 1 Report, published on 25 October encapsulates actions against the findings and recommendations raised in the Audit Scotland report. In addition, Phase 2 will take forward these issues over the course of its deliberations.

Our ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ strategy and the accompanying £100 million investment over five years, serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of people affected by all cancers. This work links with our tobacco control strategy and the Prevention of Obesity Route Map as evidence shows that smoking and obesity are two of the biggest risk factors for renal cancer.

Where the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) accepts a medicine for routine use in the NHS in Scotland, there is a clear expectation that NHS Boards will consider it and will make it (or its equivalent) available.

There are a number of medicines which have been accepted by the SMC for routine use within the NHS in Scotland for the treatment of kidney cancer.

Scotland’s Economic Strategy (SES) is directed towards achieving the Scottish Government’s central Purpose of creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.

The SES sets out four priority areas for supporting sustainable economic growth:

Investing in our people and our infrastructure in a sustainable way;

Fostering a culture of innovation and research and development;

Promoting inclusive growth and creating opportunity through a fair and inclusive jobs market and regional cohesion; and,

Promoting Scotland on the international stage to boost our trade and investment, influence and networks.

Details of specific policies and initiatives that underpin these priorities are set out in Chapter two of the SES, which is available at the following address:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/03/5984/5

The Programme for Government, published on 6 September 2016, sets out the policies, actions and legislation that the Scottish Government will take forward to deliver these priorities. The Programme for Government is available at the following address: http://www.gov.scot/programme2016

The gender pay gap for self-employed people in Scotland is not published in official sources. However total earnings by gender for self-employed individuals in Scotland is published in ‘Table 3.11 Income and tax by gender, region and country’ of the HMRC publication Personal Incomes Statistics 2013-14 table 3.1-3.11 which can be located at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503472/SPI_National_Statistics_T3_1_to_T3_11.pdf

Although the Scottish Government does not, itself, hold the information requested as this is instead gathered by HMRC through its HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes, from which the above data is derived; we recognise that enterprises started and led by women often demonstrate different support requirements and display different growth trajectories to other businesses. As noted in answer to S5W-03525 on 27 October 2016, we are working with partners across all sectors, including Women’s Enterprise Scotland, to deliver a co-developed policy framework and action plan for women in enterprise.

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

The Scottish Government proposes an increase in the number of people working for Scottish Development International in Europe from 20 to 40 over the next two years.