Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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-15855

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15083 by Maree Todd on 20 March 2018, what progress it has made in each local authority area with recruiting the additional 435 teachers and graduates for nurseries in deprived areas, and whether each of the nurseries will have an additional graduate in place by 31 December 2018.

The Scottish Government is currently working with local authorities to deliver our commitment to provide an additional graduate in nurseries in Scotland’s most deprived areas by August 2018. Up to £18 million has been allocated in 2018-19 to cover the additional staffing costs associated with delivering this commitment. £12 million of this has been initially allocated across local authorities based on their share of the 435 graduate posts, as set out in the Revenue Funding Allocations letter issued to local authorities on 22 February 2018.

Following confirmation of funding allocations in February 2018, local authorities are working towards the recruitment of the additional graduates in line with their Additional Graduate Action Plans to ensure that the additional staff are in place by August 2018. We recently wrote to local authorities to agree their proposals, as set out in their Action Plans, that a small number of the additional posts could be allocated across more than one setting.

Question reference: S5F-02313

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-15870

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 1 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14582 by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2018, on how many occasions the general anti-tax avoidance rule has been deployed as a specific compliance tool, and what the outcome was of each use.

Question reference: S5F-02259

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 April 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-02218

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-15459

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 set a precedent for varying timescales for Freedom of Information requests, and whether it has any plans to pass similar legislation in future.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 apply exclusively to grant-aided and independent special schools. They were made, following the designation of these schools as public authorities for the purposes of Freedom of Information, specifically to take into account holiday periods when the school may be closed and/or staff are not available. There are no plans to bring forward similar legislation.

Question reference: S5W-15458

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it conducted an evaluation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016 (a) after one year or (b) at any other time since its introduction; whether it will publish this; which stakeholders it invited to be part of this process and how this was decided, and whether feedback was sought from anyone who had submitted a freedom of information request to the bodies impacted by the regulations.

Evaluation of The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Designation of Persons as Scottish Public Authorities) Order 2016 was undertaken around a year after the Order came into effect with all newly designated public authorities. It also invited the schools designated to comment on the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Time for Compliance) Regulations 2016.

The biennial report on the exercise of the Section 5 power under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (as amended) summarises comments received and is publicly available at: .

Question reference: S5F-02162

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-02136

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2018

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-14582

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many times Revenue Scotland has taken action under the general anti-avoidance rule that was established by the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014; how many schemes have been challenged (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully, and what their total value was.

This is an operational matter for Revenue Scotland and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond directly to the member.

The Scottish Government’s approach to the devolved taxes demonstrates that we are serious about tackling tax avoidance in Scotland. Revenue Scotland has a statutory duty to protect revenue against tax fraud and tax avoidance and does this through robust compliance activity, including the application of the General Anti-Avoidance Rule. The GAAR is a specific compliance tool which can be deployed in specific circumstances but also operates as a deterrent against tax fraud and tax avoidance. It is recognised by stakeholders as being significantly wider than the UK General Anti-Avoidance Rule, which is based on the narrower test of ‘abuse’ rather than ‘artificiality’ of tax arrangements.