Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-27219

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of inward investment is by companies based in China.

Question reference: S4W-27218

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the economic slowdown in China will have on the Scottish economy.

As the chief economist’s latest State of the Economy report highlighted, slowing growth in the Chinese economy represents a key headwind for global economic conditions and the Scottish economy. Whilst China accounts for only a small share (2%) of Scottish international exports, slowing Chinese growth could affect the Scottish and UK economies by several channels: via exports with weaker global demand; via lower commodity prices; via company returns on overseas investment; and via financial market volatility. However, slowing growth in China must be viewed against improving conditions in Scotland’s main trading partners, the UK, US and Europe. Furthermore, the continuous growth over the last three years has demonstrated the Scottish economy’s underlying resilience given the external and domestic challenges that we have seen during this period. Latest forecasts expect Scottish economic growth of around 2.4 per cent this year, broadly in line with the expected performance of the UK economy.

Question reference: S4F-02948

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2015

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will bring forward revised proposals for greater independence of the Scottish Fiscal Commission following the recent consultation.

Question reference: S4W-27278

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 14 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government who the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform has met to discuss the proposed by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and when.

As part of my consideration of the camping management byelaw proposals submitted by the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, on 8 July 2015 I met representatives of the National Park Authority, the Loch Lomond Destination Group, the 5 Lochs Management Group & Community Council, the Loch Earn Tourism Initiative and the St. Fillans Community Council. On 3 September 2015, I met Ramblers Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland to hear about their work and their views on the proposed camping management proposals. A meeting is also being arranged with Ms Baillie.

Question reference: S4W-27250

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 8 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it gave to the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award in each year from 2012-13 to 2014-15 and how much it has provided for 2015-16.

The Scottish Government provided £600,000 of funding for the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award between 2012-13 and 2014-15. The funding broken down by financial year was:

£220,000 in 2012-13;

£200,000 in 2013-14;

£180,000 in 2014-15.

The Scottish Government has committed £100,000 of funding in 2015-16 for the award.

As Minister for Community Safety, I met recently with the Outward Bound Trust to hear of their work, and its positive impact on beneficiaries, and to discuss future activities associated with the awards programme and funding requirements.

Question reference: S4W-27088

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 3 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing legislation to give tenancy rights to people with residential moorings.

Question reference: S4W-27087

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 3 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reviewing the legislation on mooring and navigation licences.

Question reference: S4O-04527

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 2 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendations outlined in the report by the Scottish Commission on Older Women, Older Women and Work: Looking to the Future.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendations outlined in the report by the Scottish Commission on Older Women, Older Women and Work: Looking to the Future. I welcome the Scottish Commission on Older Women's report, which I read with interest. The Scottish Government absolutely agrees that supporting women of all ages in the labour market is a key priority and that older women face particular challenges. Female employment is at a historically high rate, and over a third of the increase in overall employment over the last year came from women aged over fifty getting jobs. We recognise that beneath this there is more work to be done to enable a level playing field for women. We are already making progress on a number of these issues and will do everything within our power to help older women play a valuable role in the Scottish economy. We will certainly take into account the recommendations helpfully outlined in the report.

Question reference: S4W-27056

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 31 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many onshore wind projects are in the pipeline that have yet to achieve planning consent, broken down by local authority.

Figures published by the Department of Energy and Climate (DECC) show that, as at March 2015, there were 126 onshore wind sites in the planning system awaiting consent in Scotland. This data is published by DECC at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/renewable-energy-planning-data The Scottish Government publishes a local authority breakdown of this data on a quarterly basis. This data is available at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Energy/planningdata

Question reference: S4W-27057

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 31 August 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how much generating capacity is available from existing onshore wind projects.

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