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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: S3W-25741

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses or organisations have applied to Highlands and Islands Enterprise for assistance since its refocus of priorities and how many of these were successful.

Question reference: S3W-25737

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated in the Highlands and Islands to (a) the Small Business Rates Relief Scheme, (b) Skills Development Scotland, (c) Business Gateway, (d) the Campbelltown/Ballycastle ferry, (e) Road Equivalent Tariff, (f) the Scottish Co-investment Fund, (g) the Scottish Venture Fund and (h) the Scottish Seed Fund in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10 and how these figures compare proportionally with spend across the rest of Scotland.

Details of the data available on various funding allocations in the Highlands and Islands is as follows:

The Small Business Rates Relief Scheme:

The Small Business Rate Relief Scheme was replaced in 2008-09 with the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS). The two schemes have a number of key differences and are not directly comparable in terms of costs.

The level of assistance SBBS provides is more generous and offers business rates relief of up to 100 per cent on business (non-domestic) rates to small businesses, while the former scheme offered relief of up to 50 per cent. Costs of both schemes depend on a range of factors, such as take-up of the scheme and number and nature of business properties.

	2007-08¹	2008-09²	2009-10³
	Small Business Rates Relief Scheme (Cost in £000)	Small Business Bonus Scheme (Cost in £000)	Small Business Bonus Scheme (Cost in £000)
Highlands and Islands area	4,410	10,410	14,379
Scotland	24,243	67,864	96,107
Highlands and Islands area as proportion of Scotland	18%	15%	15%

Notes:

1. 2007-08 Non-Domestic Rate Income Audited return.

2. 2008-09 Non-Domestic Rate Income Mid-Year Estimate return.

3. 2009-10 Non-Domestic Rate Income Provisional Contributable Amount return.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS):

SDS did not exist in 2007-08. Funding for 2008-09 and 2009-10 is as follows:

	2008-09	2009-2010
Highlands and Islands	£15 million	Indicative spend of £14 million, though figure will increase through the financial year and additional funding is distributed across Scotland.
Proportion overall SDS budget	8.3 per cent of budget	£14 million represents 7.4 per cent of budget

Business Gateway:

The Business Gateway (BG) did not operate in the Highlands and Islands prior to 1 April 2009. Information on the funding allocations for the local delivery of the BG throughout Scotland is an operational matter for local authorities.

Campbeltown-Ballycastle Ferry:

2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
£100,000	Allocation for this service was contained within the Support for Ferry Services in Scotland budget figure of £83.5 million.	Allocation for this service was contained within the Support for Ferry Services in Scotland budget figure of £87.7 million.

Note: No decision has yet been on the introduction of this service.

Road Equivalent Tariff:

2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
No funds allocated	£5 million	£7.5 million

Note: The figures given above are the allocations as given in the 2007-08 spring Budget Revision of January 2008 and do not necessarily represent sums actually spent.

Scottish Co-investment Fund, Scottish Venture Fund, Scottish Seed Fund:

The Scottish Government has not directly allocated funding for the Scottish Co-investment Fund, the Scottish Venture Fund or the Scottish Seed Fund to be spent in the Highlands and Islands area in the period 2007-08 to 2009-10. However, under these schemes, which are administered by Scottish Enterprise, there have been investments in companies based in the Highlands and Islands area. Information on this activity is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

I will write to the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise asking him to provide you with this information.

Question reference: S3W-25749

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operating plan, whether it will publish the GVA impacts that the transformational projects and programmes are expected to generate.

The Scottish Government has no plans to publish the GVA impacts attributable to the transformational projects identified within Highlands and Islands Enterprise''s operating plan for 2009-12. The publication of this information, when quantified, is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

I have written to HIE''s Chief Executive, Sandy Cumming, asking him to respond to you directly on this issue.

Question reference: S3W-25746

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations ministers have received from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) about the impact that reductions in the HIE budget would have on the ability to support economic development in the Highlands and Islands.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise''s budget was reduced to reflect the refocusing of the organisation as part of this government''s reform of the enterprise networks.

While Highlands and Islands Enterprise has had regular dialogue with Scottish Government officials and ministers in the context of Highlands and Islands Enterprise''s operating plan, there have been no specific representations by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to ministers about the impact of reductions in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise budget.

Question reference: S3W-25740

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of businesses in (a) the Highlands and Islands and (b) Scotland falls into the category of significant and high growth businesses, as referred to in Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s operating plan.

As at March 2008, there were 282,300 enterprises in Scotland of which 154,635 were registered for VAT or PAYE. Given the size and dynamic nature of the business base and the data requirements for monitoring these businesses, neither the Scottish Government nor Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) estimate the total number of significant and growth companies within the HIE area or in Scotland as a whole, or the proportion that such figures might represent of the total business base.

However, I am able to confirm from information provided by these bodies that, at the present time, HIE account manages around 330 businesses and social enterprises and that, in the rest of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise (SE) account manages around 2,130 businesses. These figures are, however, dynamic and only reflect those businesses and social enterprises which, at this particular time, HIE and SE have identified as significant, growth or high growth entities; where HIE or SE intervention is needed and can make a difference and where productive relationships have been established. In HIE''s case, it aims to build a total of around 500 account managed businesses and social enterprises towards which it can target intervention and maximise its impact.

Question reference: S3W-25742

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses that previously received support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise have had their applications for future support rejected.

Question reference: S3W-25747

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how the reduction in Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s budget over the spending review will impact on the development of renewable energy projects associated with the Pentland Firth.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise''s budget was reduced to reflect the refocusing of the organisation as part of this government''s reform of the enterprise networks.

Rather than having a negative impact on the economy, the reforms will enable it to maximise its contribution to economic recovery and growth by focusing more clearly on those activities likely to have the greatest economic impact on economic recovery and increased sustainable economic growth.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise continues to focus its interventions on selected account managed businesses and anticipate that many of these will benefit from opportunities arising from the Pentland Firth. The scale of the development of the Pentland Firth is such that the intervention of public funds will only be a small part of the total investment required. Highlands and Islands Enterprise is, therefore, prioritising its resources to ensure the most effective leverage of private funds.

Question reference: S3W-25743

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 5 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been saved by the refocusing of Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s priorities.

Question reference: S3W-25338

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the consultation with stakeholders on the definition of active farming to be used to focus Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) 2010 funding on farmers and crofters who are genuinely active.

Question reference: S3W-25337

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the stakeholders who will be involved in the consultation on the definition of active farming to be used to focus Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) 2010 funding on farmers and crofters who are genuinely active.

My officials have written to all members of the Less Favoured Area (LFA) stakeholders group inviting them to join a small technical working group to discuss detailed rules for the future of the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS). The following organisations have accepted the invitation: NFU Scotland, Scottish Rural Property Business Association (SRPBA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Environmental Link, National Sheep Association (NSA), Scottish Crofting Foundation (SCF), Scottish Beef Cattle Association (SBCA), and National Beef Association (NBA) Scotland.