- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by George Reid on 16 December 2003
To ask the Presiding Officer whether any Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) staff have sought counselling services in connection with giving evidence, or preparing to give evidence, to the Holyrood Inquiry and what financial provision the SPCB has made for such services.
Answer
Thecounselling service, which is available to members, their staff andparliamentary staff free of charge, is provided by the SPCB’s occupationalhealth provider. The service is completely confidential and the SPCB receivesonly statistical information regarding the take-up of the service. It isneither appropriate nor possible to identify any individual who has soughtcounselling in connection with the Holyrood Inquiry or any other matter.
Financial provision for theservice is made within the overall occupational health budget.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has with regard to how the Inland Revenue calculates the Scottish portion of inheritance tax revenue in last year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report.
Answer
The Inland Revenue suppliesthe amount of inheritance tax collected in respect of Scottish deaths and othertransfers.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology for this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report will take account of business VAT payments when allocating Scotland's VAT revenue and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
Scotland’s share of UK VAT revenue was estimated by Customsand Excise on the basis of Scotland’s share of household expenditure on those goods andservices.
The methodology by Customsand Excise is the best currently available.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology for this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report will take into account interest on VAT paid and subsequently repaid to Scottish businesses and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
GERS does not take into account explicitly the interest payments in relation to VAT. These are “extrareceipts” by Customs and Excise which enter into “other taxes and royalties”and are allocated by Gross Value Added share.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology for this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report will take into account an estimate of Scotland's share of the extra-regio territory when allocating Scotland's share of capital gains tax revenues and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
North Sea revenues do not include any capital gains tax.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology used to calculate revenues from interest and dividend receipts to Scotland will take into account an estimated Scottish share of the extra-regio territory in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
North Sea revenues do not include interest and dividendpayments.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology used in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report to allocate Scotland's revenue from duty from cigarettes will base the figure (a) on where the products are released from bonded warehouses or (b) on which company pays the duty and where that company's headquarters are and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
The UK tax oncigarettes and tobacco is apportioned to Scotland on the basis of Scotland’s share of expenditureas estimated from the Expenditure and Food Survey.
This treatment follows theprinciple that Government Expenditure Revenues in Scotlandmeasures the tax burden that is imposed on Scottish residents within the UK.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how the methodology for this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report will allocate Scotland's share of the Climate Levy.
Answer
Proportions of the levy on electricity have been calculated using the Scottish proportion of final electricity consumption (this makes the assumption that exempt categories such as households are in the same proportion in Scotland as in the UK overall). As no such data are currently available for gas and other fuels, Scottish proportion of Gross Value Added is used to allocate these parts.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the methodology used in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland (GERS) to calculate Scotland's revenue from duty received on spirits, beer and wine will base the figure (a) on where the drinks are released from the bonded warehouse or (b) on which company pays the duty and where that company's headquarters are and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
The proportions ofexpenditure on each type of alcohol were estimated from the ONS Expenditure andFood Survey based on average expenditure per household and number of households.
This treatment follows theprinciple that GERS measures the tax burden that is imposed on Scottishresidents within the UK.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the procurement expenditure by the Ministry of Defence will be presented showing where it is paid rather than on a pro-rata basis in this year's Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland report (GERS) and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
All defence expenditure isallocated according to population share as in previous editions of GERS. Thistreatment is consistent with the “who benefits” principle that is the basis forthe allocation of expenditure in GERS.
