Questions and answers

Question reference: S4O-02040

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding the board's investigation of readmission rates.

Question reference: S4W-13800

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities to inform the development of business cases during major capital projects.

Question reference: S4W-13797

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings in the Accounts Commission report, Major capital investment in councils, whether it will update its guidance to local authorities on producing estimates of timing and cost at the initial approval stage of major capital projects.

Question reference: S4W-13801

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authorities and other public bodies to work together to deliver major capital projects.

Question reference: S4W-13793

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recommendations in the Accounts Commission report, Major capital investment in councils.

Question reference: S4W-13796

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities to assist them in producing estimates of timing and cost at the initial approval stage of major capital projects.

A local authority has a statutory duty to observe the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), “Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities”. The Prudential Code recognises that in making decisions the authority must have explicit regard to option appraisal, asset management planning, strategic planning for authority and achievability of the forward plan. All of these represent elements of good practice for which guidance has already been provided by CIPFA and other authoritative sources.

Question reference: S4W-13795

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support capacity building in (a) financial, (b) project management and (c) business planning skills in local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-13794

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to local authorities to implement the findings of the Accounts Commission report, Major capital investment in councils.

Question reference: S4W-13792

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of the sustainability of local authority debt.

Question reference: S4W-13791

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities in servicing their debts.

The Scottish Government provides, as part of the Local Government Settlement, revenue funding for local authority debt charges. This is based on a notional amount of capital expenditure each year, and supports local authority borrowing prior to 31 March 2011. From 2011-12, following agreement with COSLA, this type of support has been replaced with direct capital grant, which is beneficial to both central and local government as this form of support does not require local authorities to borrow and does not incur interest debt costs.

From 1 April 2004 a local authority has been under a statutory duty to determine the amount it can afford to allocate to capital expenditure. In making that determination an authority has a duty to observe the “Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities”. The Code requires the capital investment plans of a local authority to be affordable, prudent and sustainable. Decisions on the capital investment, and the financial plans to ensure adequate budget provision is made to meet the costs of that investment, are therefore a matter for each local authority.

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