Questions · Ms Wendy Alexander

1 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address out-patient waiting times.

Answer · Andy Kerr: We are committed to ensuring that by the end of next year no patient will wait more than 26 weeks for a first outpatient appointment with a consultant, following GP referral. I know that waiting times for outpatient appointments are too long and more n…

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to speed up increasing the percentage of Scotland covered by adopted local plans.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Executive’s recent consultation on Making Development Plans Deliver proposed a series of measures aimed at ensuring that development plans are updated more regularly, including a new statutory duty to update plans within a defined period. A report …

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it first highlighted the possibility of developing a National Planning Policy Guideline for Clyde regeneration.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As part of the vision to 2025, the National Planning Framework identifies the Clyde Corridor as an area in the Central Belt where major change is taking place. The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan approved by the Scottish ministers in 2002 identified t…

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it first outlined its commitment to developing a National Planning Policy Guideline for west Edinburgh.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Scottish ministers announced a commitment to prepare the West Edinburgh Planning Framework on 5 March 2002.

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why it does not set specific targets for development control performance in respect of (a) major residential applications, (b) major business and industry applications and (c) other major developments.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive has set the specific target that 80% of all major applications should be decided within four months. This target includes major residential applications, major business and industry applications and other major developments.

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what structure plans have been approved since November 2003 and how long approval of each plan took.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Two structure plans have been approved since November 2003. The Western Isles’ Structure plan was approved in December 2003 and Lothian Structure Plan was approved in June 2004. The approval time for each plan was 34 and 51 weeks respectively.

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the 2003 Sixth Annual Report of the Planning Audit Unit does not mention performance against its target that 80% of major applications should be determined within four months.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Performance statistics against the four months target were collected from 1 October 2001. To date, these figures have not been published, neither on their own or as part of the 2003 annual report of the Planning Audit Unit. The format of the report, establish…

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it set the target that 80% of major planning applications should be determined within four months.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The target that 80% of major planning applications should be determined within four months was published in National Planning Policy Guideline 1: The Planning System on 24 November 2000.

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish (a) each local authority’s and (b) the Scottish average performance in respect of its development control performance target that 80% of major applications should be determined within four months, for each of the last five years.

Answer · Johann Lamont: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-12562, answered on 13 December 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scott…

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where performance in respect of its target that 80% of all major planning applications should be determined within four months is published.

Answer · Johann Lamont: This information has not been published in the past, but details of performance by planning authorities in respect of this target has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34606).Figures for planning authority performance agains…

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how planning authorities have performed against its development control performance targets that (a) 80% of planning applications should be determined in two months, (b) 85% of planning applications should be determined in three months, (c) 90% of householder applications should be deter…

Answer · Johann Lamont: Planning authority performance is published in the Planning Audit Unit’s annual report. Copies of the specific data requested has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34606).

24 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it (a) monitors and (b) sets any targets for local authority development control performance in respect of (i) major residential applications, (ii) major business and industry applications, (iii) minor business and industry applications and (iv) other major developments.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive monitors all planning authority performance through the six monthly collection of development control statistics. Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 1: The Planning System contains (in paragraph 86) the performance targets which have…

19 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time medical staff there were in the NHS Argyll and Clyde area in 2003.

Answer · Andy Kerr: At 30 September 2003, there were 564.5 whole-time equivalent Medical and Dental staff employed within NHS Argyll and Clyde.A breakdown of this total number by grade can be found within Table B1 of the Workforce Statistics section of the ISD Scotland we…

19 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the median number of days has been in 2004 to wait for in-patient treatment in the NHS Argyll and Clyde area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The median wait for NHS Argyll and Clyde residents for in-patient/day case admission during the year ending 31 March 2004 was 39 days*. Median waiting times for in-patient/day case treatment by NHS board of residence and NHS board of treatment, by quar…

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated for school sport in Renfrewshire in each year since 1999 and what it has been spent on.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Funding from sportscotland for school sport is available on the basis of applications from local authorities and/or individual schools, not allocations. Since the commencement of the National Lottery, school sport in Renfrewshire has benefited as follo…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to set targets for productive time savings that account for 40% of the agreed UK efficiency targets.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the efficiency targets that have been agreed for each department comparable to those published in Annex C of Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any equivalent programme to parallel the commitment in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency that the Audit Commission will strengthen its measurement of local authorities use of resour…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any equivalent Scottish review to that announced in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, that HM Treasury will conduct a department by department review of the effectiveness of fina…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it understands by the statement in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency that I note that the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly Government have announced that they are engaged in making annua…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is undertaking an efficiency initiative that is as ambitious as the Gershon review in its scope and will seek to secure comparable or greater gains in efficiency. The Executive was engaged in securing efficiencies in the public sector b…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its departments will be required to set out efficiency technical notes setting out the measures and methodologies that they will use to assess efficiency savings and whether departments will then publish final versions of these documents by the end of October, as is planned in th…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will parallel the commitment in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, that in order to ensure confidence and credibility of the measures, Her Majestys Government is inviting the National A…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any equivalent Scottish analysis to that presented in tables 4.1 and 4.2 of Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, and whether it intends to produce comparable agreed efficiency targets for i…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. 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…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the statement in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency that to go further or faster than the savings set out in my Review during the period 2005-06 to 2007-08 would put at risk…

Answer · Tom McCabe: The level of efficiencies set for UK Departments is a matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Executive will judge what is appropriate for public services in Scotland.

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the commitment to productivity improvement in the private and public sectors highlighted in its Framework for Economic Development in Scotland strategy will involve matching the 2.5% public sector efficiency target announced for the rest of the United Kingdom in Her Majesty…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

10 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any targets for efficiency savings have been set for 2005-06 and 2006-07 for the Scottish budget as a result of the recent UK spending review; if so, what percentage of the total Scottish budget they represent in each year and when they were made known to the Parliament.

Answer · Tom McCabe: No targets for efficiency savings have been set for the Scottish budget as a result of the recent UK spending review. The Executive has set its own targets and details of the efficiency gains we aim to secure will be published in our forthcoming Efficient Gov…

9 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will follow the model proposed in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, of publishing, by department, efficiency savings plans to allow transparency in their delivery.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

9 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the professional finance officers in its departments currently meet the criteria for financial directors, as laid out in Sir Peter Gershons report, Releasing resources to the front line Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-10452 answered on 24 December 2004. 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/webap…

9 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has adopted the guidance from HM Treasury issued in 2003, and reiterated by Sir Peter Gershon, to appoint a professional finance director to each department.

Answer · Tom McCabe: As the First Minister has madeclear we have a strong commitment to extending the existing level of professionalismwithin the Scottish Executive. This includes the finance function, which is unifiedwithin the Executive under a Finance Director and already incl…

9 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the commitment in Her Majestys Governments Budget 2004 - Prudence for a Purpose: A Britain of Stability and Strength, that the administration costs of all departments will be capped at, or below, the 2005-06 nominal level for the remainder of the 2004 spending review …

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive’s spending plans for 2005-08 were set out in Building a Better Scotland which was published on 29 September. Table 13.01, on page 58, outlines the Executive’s spending on administration. Running costs for the Executive’s core adm…