I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Fiscal Commission Working Group have already considered pensions as part of their detailed report on a “Macroeconomic framework for an independent Scotland”, published last month, which shows that demographic changes in Scotland are projected to be similar to those in the UK as a whole.

Detailed analysis shows that state pensions in an independent Scotland will be more affordable than they are in the UK. The official figures on spending for the last year show that only 38% of Scottish tax revenues were spent on social protection, which includes the state pension, compared with 42% for the UK as a whole.

Officials and independent advisers are assessing the operation of the state pension system in an independent Scotland and a report will be published in due course.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13580 on 18 March 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

There are currently seven public analysts in Scotland operating from four local authority public analyst laboratories: two each based in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow and one based in Aberdeen. One public analyst laboratory based in England and appointed by West Lothian Council in April 2012, has seven public analysts.

The numbers for the previous nine years are as in the following table.

There are currently four public analyst laboratories in Scotland serving 31 local authorities in Scotland, and one public analyst laboratory in England serving one local authority in Scotland.

In each of the years 1999 and 2007 there were four public analyst laboratories in Scotland.

No, as this was a private meeting between the First Minister and the EU ambassadors.

The Deputy First Minister made it clear that the Scottish Government is committed to continued membership of the European Union in her speech at a European Policy Centre Event in Brussels on 26 February 2013. The text of that speech can be found here:

http://www.scotreferendum.com/2013/02/26/speech-to-european-policy-centre-in-brussels-26-february-2013/.

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland was informed that the Scottish Government intended to publish the letter before it was released. The substance of the Secretary of State's response had been made available to the media the day before the Government received his letter, and did not accurately represent the Scottish Government’s proposals for preparatory discussions, as my earlier blog post of 0010 and that of 1806 on 15 January explained.

The decision to confirm that a member state had responded would be for the member state to decide.