Sandra White

15 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve education and training opportunities for disabled people over the next five years.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive believes everyone should have a chance to learn regardless of their personalcircumstances. In 2003-04 activity by students on further education programmes,specifically designed for their additional support needs, increased by 9% on thep…

15 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve employment opportunities for disabled people over the next five years.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answerto question S2O-5932 on 24 March 2005 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the searchfacility for which can be found at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/sch/search">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s…

15 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise about promoting employment opportunities for disabled people.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Our enterprise strategy, <i>ASmart, Successful Scotland,</i> makes it clear that action is required by a numberof agencies, including the Enterprise Networks, to tackle the barriers and specialcircumstances faced by disabled people, in becoming economically a…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of hosting and organising consultation events in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004, broken down into (i) cost of officials' time expressed as a cash figure, (ii) cost of materials such as presentational aids and (iii) any other relevant …

Answer · Margaret Curran: The information sought is notheld centrally and such detailed information could only be obtained at disproportionatecost.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of producing publications in 2004-05.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15951 on 20 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many publications it produced in 2004-05.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive produced 263 publications in 2004-05 at a cost of £1,494,496.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultation exercises it carried out in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The overall number of consultationscarried out by the Scottish Executive is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Year</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>Number of Consultations</p> </td> </tr…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was in respect of office upgrades for Executive-run offices and buildings in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The cost of office upgrades (excludingmaintenance and repairs) carried out in core Scottish Executive buildings since1 April 1999 is shown below. Line (a) gives the aggregate cost forall work except the major refurbishment of St Andrews House which is shown i…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many grievances were taken out by Executive employees against it in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive introduced a formal process for recording grievances raised by its employeesin 2002. Figures prior to this are not available. The following table provides informationon the number of grievances recorded in Scottish Executive core depart…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the maintenance costs were for (a) Victoria Quay and (b) all other Executive-run offices and buildings in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isset out in the following table.</p><p>Maintenance Costs (£Million)</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Financial Year</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>Victoria Quay</p> </td…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of overtime payments for ministerial staff and advisers and what the total time reallocated through time off in lieu was for those staff in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested for staff working in ministerial private offices is provided in the following table. The figures include the staff who provide support for the special advisers but do not include the special advisers themselves as they are not eligib…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of overseas visits by ministers in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer to the answers to questionsS1W-29052 given on 9 September 2002, S2W-2904 on 25 September 2003 and S2W-9345 on 25 June 2004 for information regarding the costs of overseas travelundertaken by ministers for the period from 1 July 1999 to31 March 2004. C…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of ministerial receptions in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: It is only possible to providecentrally held information in relation to the cost of ministerial receptions. Thecentrally held information (which is the vast majority of information held on thissubject) is set out in the following table.</p><table border=1 ce…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what costs it incurred in (a) travel, (b) accommodation and (c) subsistence expenses as a result of claims made by UK government officials in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested cannotbe identified from claims data held. In general, the costs of UK governmentofficials would be met by the relevant UK Department.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its relocation costs were for employing staff who previously worked for another government body or agency outwith Scotland in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isnot held centrally for all staff.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004 previously worked for another government body or agency outwith Scotland.

Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not collectedcentrally. The cost of checking manually all individual staff records would be disproportionate.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004 previously worked for the Scottish Office.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The following table shows thenumber of permanent staff in Scottish Executive core departments in each of theyears 1999 to 2004, who previously worked in the Scottish Office.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=cent…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days it lost through sickness compared with the Scottish average for public sector workers in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of sick absence daysin the Scottish Executive since 1999 is provided in table A. These figures representthe actual number of sickness absence days reported by staff.</p><p>Table B provides informationheld by the Scottish Executive about sickness ab…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days it lost to stress-related illness compared to the Scottish average for public sector workers in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of sick absencedays reported by staff in the Scottish Executive since 1999 due to stressrelated illness is provided in the following table. </p><p>There is no comparable data for the public sector held centrally. The Scottish Executive’s statistics…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding was allocated to the training of (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not heldcentrally. NHS boards are required by the mandatory Staff Governance Standardto ensure that their staff are appropriately trained. There is no requirementfor NHS boards to return their figures to the Scottish Executive. The StaffGo…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered disabled (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists worked in each NHS board area in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive and NHSScotland are committed to offering equality of employment opportunity to all.</p> <p>NHSScotland employers support applications from people with disabilities and strive to ensure that peopl…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists left the NHS in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Due to the large volume ofdata requested the information has been placed in the parliament referencecentre. (Bib. number 36221).</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) qualified nurses, (b) qualified physiotherapists, (c) qualified occupational therapists and (d) speech therapists worked in the NHS in (i) 1999, (ii) 2000, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2002, (v) 2003 and (vi) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Between 30 September 1999and 30 September 2004, the whole-time equivalent numbers of staff in postin each staff group increased. In Scotland, qualified nurses rose from 35,596.5 to 38,906.5 (up9.3%), qualified physiotherapists from 1,737.1 to 1,997.9 (up 15.0…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was allocated for specialist equipment for children with complex needs in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally.</p>

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how NHS boards measure whether the allocation of specialist equipment specifically for disabled children is needs-led.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15930 on 21 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is evaluating the success of the Joint Futures initiative in each local authority area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive formally assesses progress on Joint Future through the annual Joint Performance Information and Assessment Framework. This covers delivery on the four National Outcomes through Local Improvement Targets, on Single Shared Assessment, and…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for any lack of equitable provision of specialist equipment for disabled people, in particular for children with complex needs, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: It is for each board and local authority to decide how best to apportion the resources available so as to best meet the needs of the whole population within its area of responsibility.</p> <p>The Executive has commissioned NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QI…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase funding in the next five years for the promotion of greater awareness of asylum seeker and refugee issues.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Funding to aid the integrationof refugees and asylum seekers through the implementation of the Scottish RefugeeIntegration Forum Action Plan is awarded annually on a case-by-case basis accordingto proposals submitted. Promotion of positive images of refugees …

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was specifically allocated to promote greater awareness of asylum seeker and refugee issues throughout Scotland in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executiveprovided £85,000 for the 2004 and 2005 North Glasgow International Festivals,an initiative focussed specifically on awareness raising. The Scottish RefugeeCouncil receives funding to meet core costs and in 2005-06 is being providedwith £…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set in respect of the numbers of people who will come to Scotland under the Fresh Talent initiative in each year until 2020, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We have not set any regional targets for attracting people to Scotland under the Fresh Talent initiative. That does not meanthat we will not be seeking to monitor its overall success. However, Fresh Talent isa long-term initiative, and evaluation will take ti…