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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-27038

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the total capital investment in the further education sector has been since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-27041

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much capital investment there has been in each further education college in each year since 2007.

Since 2007 [i] the Scottish Government has invested £773 million in the college estate [ii]. This investment, broken down by college, is noted in the following table.

Since 2012-13 a further £330 million. has been invested through Non-Profit Distribution (NPD). The Scottish Government also funds the unitary charge on the NPD college projects [iii].

College	Total capital funding 2007-18 (formulaic & projects)
Aberdeen College	22,496,223
Adam Smith College	9,447,958
Angus College	3,168,723
Anniesland College	45,960,931
Ayr College	8,650,699
Ayrshire College	16,884,621
Banff & Buchan College of Further Education	24,386,567
Barony College	1,064,694
Borders College	20,017,053
Cardonald College	5,920,999
Carnegie College	5,615,212
Central College of Commerce	2,981,252
City of Glasgow College	29,686,668
Clydebank College	9,531,475
Coatbridge College	20,607,430
Cumbernauld College	3,562,195
Dumfries & Galloway College	26,292,758
Dundee and Angus College	8,572,695
Dundee College	37,854,197
Edinburgh's Telford College	8,752,227
Edinburgh College	28,110,919
Elmwood College	2,190,438
Fife College	21,033,984
Forth Valley College	89,045,779
Glasgow Clyde College	10,515,655
Glasgow College of Nautical Studies	21,122,641
Glasgow Kelvin College	8,683,551
Glasgow Metropolitan College	5,250,493
Inverness College UHI	13,594,620
James Watt College of Further & Higher Education	11,330,398
Jewel & Esk College	27,396,967
John Wheatley College	2,863,270
Kilmarnock College	6,337,007
Langside College	35,991,485
Lews Castle College UHI	2,542,450
Moray College UHI	4,686,038
Motherwell College	46,428,145
New College Lanarkshire	13,101,648
Newbattle Abbey College	787,815
North East Scotland College	10,938,430
North Glasgow College	24,905,814
North Highland College UHI	6,768,539
Oatridge College	1,260,752
Orkney College UHI	1,488,405
Perth College UHI	4,546,333
Reid Kerr College	6,336,460
Sabhal Mor Ostaig UHI	2,220,257
Shetland College UHI	2,119,019
South Lanarkshire College	10,035,617
SRUC	2,586,789
Stevenson College	6,426,663
Stow College	4,464,718
West College Scotland	12,381,492
West Lothian College	12,213,187
West Highland College	2,307,083
Total	773,467,438

[i] 2007 to 2018 spans the period where the sector underwent major regional mergers: some investments were in campuses which are now part of larger regional colleges.

[ii] That is, since 2007, colleges have received £773 million grant payments for capital from the Scottish Funding Council.

[iii] Since 2012-13 Scottish Government has funded the following unitary charges: Ayrshire College - £11,896,549: City of Glasgow - £57,065,000; Inverness College UHI - £17,156,702.

Question reference: S5W-27039

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) it and (b) the Scottish Funding Council assesses and grades the condition of buildings in the further education college estate.

Question reference: S5W-25605

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 5 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what response it made to the UK Government consultation, "Good work plan: establishing a new single enforcement body for employment rights", and whether it recommended that the UK Government should establish such a body.

In my response to the UK Government’s Good Work Plan consultation on establishing a new single enforcement body for employment rights, I welcomed measures to improve labour market enforcement and protect vulnerable workers from exploitation.

However, I urged caution on the possible loss of expertise and knowledge which combining specialist agencies might cause, and highlighted the concerns of the Fair Work Convention that any enforcement regime would be reliant on sufficient funding to achieve its purpose.

I have placed a copy of the response in the Parliament’s Information Centre (bib number 61122).

Question reference: S5O-03695

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many primary and secondary school buildings contain asbestos.

Question reference: S5O-03597

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect the public from doorstep crime and bogus callers.

Question reference: S5O-03543

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-24532

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 16 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how often it meets its target to pay suppliers of public contracts within 30 working days.

The Scottish Government’s prompt payment policy requires that all supplier invoices not in dispute are paid within the terms of the relevant contract. The Scottish Government aims to pay 100% of invoices, including disputed invoices once the dispute has been settled, on time in these terms.

In addition to this commitment, in 2008 the Scottish Government introduced a 10-day target for paying bills to businesses in Scotland. This measure goes above and beyond our contractual commitment to pay suppliers within 30 days. Paying supplier bills within 10 working days is seen as a key objective, and an important expression of the Scottish Government's commitment to supporting business.

We do not hold payment performance information relating to public contracts only. We have however provided in the following table, combined figures for all payments made in 30 and 10 days by The Scottish Government and bodies who share its finance system, for the last 5 years.

Payment performance statistics can also be found in the SG Annual Accounts. The most recently published accounts can be found via the following link: (page 20).

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2018/pages/2/

Financial Year	Percentage of undisputed invoices paid within 30 days
2014-15	99.4%
2015-16	99.7%
2016-17	99.8%
2017-18	99.5%
2018-19	99.7%

Financial Year	Percentage of undisputed invoices paid within 10 days
2014-15	98.5%
2015-16	98.4%
2016-17	98.6%
2017-18	98.2%
2018-19	99.0%

Question reference: S5W-24533

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 15 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that sub-contractors carrying out public contracts are paid on time.

Question reference: S5W-23986

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the suspension of some European Social Fund grants, which projects or initiatives in the west of Scotland are affected, and what it is doing to ensure that the services provided by these continue and that workers are paid.

None. Activity led by lead partners including Renfrewshire Council, East Ayrshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Council are affected by the European Commission's pre-suspension period. However, the flow of funds from the lead partners to local organisations working on their behalf will continue.

The Scottish Government is working hard with the European Commission and stakeholders to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, to avoid any charity or third sector body from going out of business as a result of this issue and ensure that workers are paid.