HMRC is responsible for the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax. In the UK Government’s Third Annual Report on the Implementation and Operation of Part 3 (Financial Provisions) of the Scotland Act 2012, the breakdown of the estimated costs for the lifetime of the implementation programme allocated £4.2 million for communications and publicity related activity.

The Scottish Government will propose a Scottish rate of income tax for the consideration of the Scottish Parliament within its draft budget for 2016-17.

Scottish Government is meeting all the costs of HMRC’s implementation programme for the introduction of the Scottish rate of income tax, which includes those associated with communications and publicity related activity.

It is the responsibility of HMRC to identify the Scottish taxpayer population as part of its implementation programme for the Scottish rate of income tax. The Scottish Government is represented on HMRC’s project and programme boards.

The level of risk associated with the identification of Scottish taxpayers is monitored and managed as part of the ongoing programme and project management procedures in place for the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax by HMRC.

As outlined in the Draft Budget in 2015-16, we plan to use up to £304 million of borrowing to maximise our infrastructure investment in 2015-16. The borrowing will support the overall capital infrastructure programme rather than be allocated on an individual project basis.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4O-04551 on 9 September 2015 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10070

We are discussing a number of issues through the negotiating of a fiscal framework and I will give an update in due course.

The Joint Exchequer Committee has met on 7 July, 4 September and 23 September 2015. The Joint Exchequer Committee will continue to meet with the intention of reaching agreement on Scotland’s fiscal framework during the autumn.

There are a wide range of oil price forecasts. For example, HM Treasury publishes a monthly summary of independent oil price forecasts for 2016. In the latest publication, the highest oil price forecast is $80 and the lowest is $51.3. 

This time last year the majority of independent forecasters did not predict current oil prices. However, industry is now embracing change and taking action to become more competitive in a lower price environment.

The Scottish Government has also taken action. The First Minister launched the Energy Jobs Taskforce in January 2015 to deliver a co-ordinated response to the issues being faced by the industry, with partners working across the sector both to maintain jobs and to mitigate the potential impact of any losses. 

The Energy Jobs Taskforce has engaged directly with more than 1,700 individuals and over 100 companies to better help those affected move forward into new employment, new ventures, training or education. 

The taskforce progress report was published on 17 September 2015 and provides a summary of the progress to date and the key activities delivered by taskforce members and their respective organisations. The report is available at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00485317.pdf

OECD analysis of the roles and responsibilities of independent fiscal institutions shows that the fiscal institutions in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden assess official forecasts.

This analysis is published at:

http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/4213201ec031.pdf?expires=1443169703&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=BE88F84C9F38B9E09B70DF7BDD58B396