Parliamentary questions

Andrew Wilson

771 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any limits will be placed on Audit Scotland regarding access to commercially confidential information in each Scottish PFI project agreed to date.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Executive will not place any limits on the access of Audit Scotland, or any other auditors, to commercially confidential information in its possession which the auditors require in connection with audits or value for money studies.

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish full details of financial appraisal and public sector comparison information for each PFI project which has been agreed to date and, if not, why not.

Answer · Jack McConnell: On 24 June this year I announced that the practice of making Full Business Cases publicly available would be extended to all central Government public/private partnerships agreed from that date. Prior to this, Full Business Cases for a number of health projec…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the total discounted cost of each PFI project in which the Scottish Executive is involved; what is the equivalent full project cost without the use of a discount rate; what is the current discount rate used in the appraisal of each PFI project in which the Scottish Executive is in…

Answer · Jack McConnell: The estimated total discounted and undiscounted costs in real terms, of the PFI projects in which the Scottish Executive is directly involved is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=574><TR><TD WIDTH="36%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the real terms annual percentage increase in actual, estimated and planned spending for each year for which figures are available on schools, education, health, enterprise and industrial development, housing, agriculture, environment and local authority related spending in Scotlan…

Answer · Jack McConnell: From financial year 1995-96 the real terms annual percentage increase or decreases on spending for the categories requested are below. Of course these figures do not compare like with like, they set out either authority to spend or actual spend.<P ALIGN="JUST…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what was the structural fund allocation to Scotland in real terms in each year since 1974 in 1998-99 prices; what percentage share of the overall UK allocation these figures represent, and what a Barnett Formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The table does not include estimates of what the Barnett formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to, as the formula applies to incremental changes only.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For the period 1975 to 1988, the European Commission approved ind…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reduction is in NHS and teachers' pensions expenditure in the current financial year, and what specific aspect of NHS and teachers' pensions will be reduced.

Answer · Jack McConnell: No reductions have been made to the benefits provided under either scheme. Pension recipients received a 3.2% cost of living increase in April 1999.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Actual expenditure is demand-driven with the trend upwards as the schemes become m…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the cumulative reduction, if any, in enterprise and lifelong learning expenditure over the period 1997-98 to 2001-02 compared to spending if it were fro'en in real terms at 1996-97 levels.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the tables I gave MSPs after my statement of 6 October, which are available in SPICe.

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive at what discount rate is the "break even point" at which public procurement and the PFI alternative are equal in each PFI project in which the Scottish Executive have been involved to date.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Determining the "break even point" is not a formal requirement in PFI business cases submitted to Scottish Executive or prepared by it. The value for money quantitative assessment has been made at the Government discount rate which was relevant at the time. I…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the Scottish budget as a share of Scottish GDP in each year for which figures are available.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The table below sets out the total Scottish Budget as a % of Scottish GDP and projected Scottish GDP.<TABLE CELLSPACING=0 BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=661><TR><TD WIDTH="12%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=17><FONT FACE="MS Sans Serif" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="CENTER">1994-95</…

27 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the categories of revenue receipts administered by departments, agencies and authorities in its responsibility which are given over to Her Majesty's Treasury, and the amount of each of these in each year for which figures are available in 1998-99 prices.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The table below gives details of receipts given over to Her Majesty's Treasury in 1998-99 prices.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">							£000's<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=595><TR><TD WIDTH="53%" VALIGN="TOP…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the expected underspend by each of its departments and divisions in the current financial year.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Levels of spending within the Executive are monitored throughout the year, with adjustments being made regularly, in order to maximise the effective use of available resources. It would therefore be potentially misleading at this stage in the financial year t…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the overall health budget is accounted for by labour costs, broken down by staff type and grade for the current financial year.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The table below shows salaries and wages expenditure for Health Boards, NHS Trusts, Common Services Agency, State Hospital, Health Education Board for Scotland, and Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education for 1998-99 by staff type, and …

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which items of expenditure, if any, in the Scottish budget will be cut in real terms in 2000-01.

Answer · Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the tables I gave MSPs after my statement of 6 October, which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the planned percentage increase in the health budget in 2000-01 in real terms.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the tables issued to MSPs on 6 October following the<FONT SIZE=2> Minister of Finance's announcement to Parliament of the Executive's proposed spending revisions. Figures for real terms spending on the health budget were included in thos…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which current economic indicator statistics are published with information on Scotland, which economic indicator statistics are produced for the UK as a whole but not for Scotland, and what plans it has to produce statistics for Scotland where only UK statistics exist.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The range of official economic statistics compiled for Scotland is kept under regular review taking account of a number of considerations which are described in detail in a recent article in the Scottish Economic Bulletin (<I>The Scottish Economy:Official Sta…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what share of the current roads budget is allocated for new road building or improvement, as opposed to repairs, and what share of this is accounted for by PFI schemes.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Planned expenditure on motorways and trunk roads in the current year is £163m. Of this, £93m is capital expenditure (£23m for construction and improvement and £70m for structural repairs and other grants and expenditure). Current expenditure is £70m with £38m…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail expenditure on schools by unitary authority in each year since their inception, and the projected expenditure in 1998-9 prices for future years for which information is available, as a total and per pupil.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Information about expenditure on primary, secondary and special schools is given in the table. Because of changes in funding arrangements over the years in question, information on expenditure on nursery schools is not available in the form requested and is n…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of ministerial time is allocated for constituency business broken down by minister.

Answer · Donald Dewar: No such formal allocation is made. Individual Ministers manage the competing demands on their time appropriately to fulfill their duty to Parliament, to the Executive and to their constituents.

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any trainee nurse at Monklands Hospital has been in sole charge of any ward in the past year for more than 30 minutes without senior supervision.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I am advised by Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust that no trainee nurse has been left in charge of a ward at Monklands Hospital in the past year without the supervision of a trained nurse.

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures have to be followed to change a site from a quarry to a landfill site, and how many and which former quarries in Scotland have now become landfill sites.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: In order to effect a change of use from a quarry to a landfill site requires an application for planning permission from the local council. A waste management licence would also then need to be obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to opera…

26 Oct 1999 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer how many Scottish Parliament public information points exist, and what facilities are provided at each one.

Answer · David Steel: Centralised provision is co-ordinated through the Public Information team. A main point of information at the Parliament site is the Visitor Centre in the Committee Chambers building. Remote access is available through the Enquiry Unit that answers written, e…

26 Oct 1999 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what plans the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has to review the cost effectiveness and service delivery quality of the information technology resources provided to the Scottish Parliament.

Answer · David Steel: In a very short period of time, the Scottish Parliament was defined and its core functions and processes initiated and installed in the interim accommodation at the Mound. This was achieved thanks to a significant amount of work by the staff, which has ensure…

26 Oct 1999 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what the cost is of each of the laptops purchased for MSPs and how this compares with current market prices for similar specification machines.

Answer · David Steel: All the laptop computers for MSPs were purchased in April 1999 by the then Scottish Office, under Government competitive procurement rules. Suppliers were invited to bid for supply of validated models meeting the precise specification required for compatibili…

26 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rough sleepers initiative budget, broken down by local authority area, is for each of the financial years 1999-2000, 2000-01, and 2001-02 at 1999-2000 prices, what the number of registered homeless people is in each local authority area, in the current year or the most recent ye…

Answer · Jackie Baillie: To date £16 million has been allocated under the Rough Sleepers Initiative to 21 local authorities and 2 voluntary bodies, as set out in the table below. We will shortly issue guidelines for bids for a further £20 million which will be all…

16 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the allocation within the Scottish Departmental Expenditure Limits for expenditure (outturn estimated and planned) by the Secretary of State and Advocate General for Scotland in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, in cash terms.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Details are set out in the main UK Supply Estimates published by HM Treasury on 31 March 1999. A copy is available in the Library.

15 Sep 1999 · General Question

Answer · Jack McConnell: Details are set out in the main UK Supply Estimates published by HM Treasury on 31 March 1999. A copy is available in the Library.

14 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current official figures are for levels of homelessness in North Lanarkshire, and what plans it has to tackle homelessness in this area.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: Between April 1998 and March 1999 North Lanarkshire Council received 2118 applications under the homeless persons legislation - an 11.3% increase on the previous year. The discharge of its homelessness responsibilities is an operational decision for the local…

8 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-960 by Mr Jack McConnell on 2 September, whether it will give details of the capital costs and a breakdown of the #650,000 per annum running costs for the Scottish Executive European Union office and whether it will specify from which vote this fundi…

Answer · Jack McConnell: The budget for the Scottish Executive EU Office comes from the Administration Vote 6 and a detailed breakdown of the budget is given below. The initial capital costs are included in the 'Fit out of Brussels Office' budget line. All other budget lines are runn…

7 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements of the Minister of Finance for each day since his appointment to the present and those planned until the end of the year.

Answer · Donald Dewar: Information on specific public engagements made by Ministers is available through the Information Directorate of the Scottish Executive. The diaries of Scottish Ministers are not published as a matter of course: it is important that legitimate organisations a…

7 Sep 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to develop a formal consultative programme for its proposed strategy for modernising government in Scotland.

Answer · Jack McConnell: In <I>Making it Work Together - Our Programme of Government</I> we have said that we will publish by the end of 1999 our strategy for modernising government in Scotland. Work on developing the strategy is in hand and I hope to be in a position to announce det…