Angus MacKay

28 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing an effective, modern, 21st century public transport system for Edinburgh.

Answer · Iain Gray: We have already part-funded the work of the City of Edinburgh Council in developing its Integrated Transport Initiative and committed £15 million for the development work on three tram-lines. We are now able to guarantee the availability of £375 million of ce…

18 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to implement the recommendations of the Expert Panel on School Meals.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All of the recommendations of the panel have been accepted. £12.4 million, £21 million and £24.1 million in each of the three financial years 2003-04 to 2005-06 has been allocated to implement the recommendations. In addition, £2 million per annum will be pro…

31 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been made available on the decontamination of people exposed to chemical, biological and radioactive substances.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In the light of the events of 11 September 2001, the Scottish Emergencies Co-ordinating Committee commissioned the preparation of guidance on how to deal with incidents involving such substances. The guidance, entitled <I>Guidance for the Emergency Services o…

29 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue final codes of practice on covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources under section 24 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Today we issued final codes of practice on covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources. These codes provide a framework within which public authorities covered by the legislation should exercise the powers and duties under the 2000 act. The code…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are for Scotland to celebrate the European Year of Disabled People 2003.

Answer · Margaret Curran: European Year of Disabled People 2003 (EYDP) will have its Scottish launch on 23 January. <P>To celebrate the launch, there will be a ministerial reception in Edinburgh. Invitees include disabled people from all over Scotland, disability organisations, busine…

16 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact has been of HM Treasury's Technical Note No.1 (Revised), How to account for PFI Transactions, and how it will affect Scotland.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Technical Note No. 1 (Revised), <I>How to account for PFI Transactions</I>, is about the practical application of accounting standards which determine how PFI schemes are to be reported in the annual accounts of both the purchasers and operators. In particula…

17 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide an update on the review of the Blue Badge Scheme of parking concessions for disabled people.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I have considered the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee's (DPTAC) recommendations on the Blue Badge Scheme, which were based on the responses to the discussion paper circulated to key disability organisations and others earlier this year. I am ple…

28 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it plans to allocate to local authorities in respect of the requirement on them to dispose of refrigerators containing o'one-depleting substances in an environmentally-secure manner.

Answer · Ross Finnie: In my reply to question S1W-23475 on 7 March 2002, announcing grant for 2001-02, I confirmed that the Executive would provide additional funding to local authorities to assist them with costs arising from the new regulations on the disposal of fridges, freeze…

7 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average increase in spending per nursery school has been in each year, compared with the previous year, since 1996-97 to date, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally.

7 Nov 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the increase in spending per (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupil has been in each year, compared with the previous year, since 1996-97 to date, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested is set out in the tables. 2000-01 is the latest financial year for which information is available.<P>This table shows the increases (or decreases) in per primary pupil costs (in local authority schools) from 1996-97 to 2000-01<TABLE …

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in which years for which figures are available public expenditure was highest in (a) cash and (b) real terms in respect of (i) health, (ii) education, (iii) policing and (iv) local government.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is contained in <I>Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the money buys</I>. It is set out in the summary tables on page 13 (cash figures) and page 14 (real terms).

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average annual salary of (a) hospital doctors, (b) nurses and (c) GPs has been in each year since 1996.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The average annual salary of hospital doctors and nurses in each year since 1996 is shown in the table.<P>Estimated Average Annual Salary for Hospital Doctors and Nurses<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 WIDTH=454><TR><TD WIDTH="23%" VALIGN="BOTTOM" HEIGHT=17><P></T…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many people were and (b) what percentage of the labour market was working in each month of each year since 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: The most appropriate source of labour market and employment data is the Labour Force Survey, which is reported to the Scottish Executive quarterly not monthly.<P>The quarterly Labour Force Survey data from 1996 to present provide the following estimates for (…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families were living in poverty in each month of each year since 1996.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Poverty cannot be measured by a single indicator. The Social Justice Annual Report contains 29 milestones which describe different aspects of poverty and social exclusion. Low income is one part of the picture. <P>The headline measure of low income is convent…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff there were in each police force (i) on 1 April and (ii) on average in each year since 1996.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Police and support staff strength figures are collected at 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December each year. The information is shown in the following tables.<P>Police Officer Strength as at 31 March<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=557…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many people were on hospital waiting lists and (b) what the average length of waiting time for an operation was in each year since 1996.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of in-patients and day cases on the true waiting list, and the median length of waiting time before an acute hospital admission is provided in the following tables.<P>Table 1<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=330><TR><TD…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of civilian workforce jobs in Scotland in the spring quarter (Jan-March) for each year, since 1996.<P>Number of Civilian Workforce Jobs in Scotland (000)<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=170><TR><TD WIDTH="67%" VALIG…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many unemployed people aged under 25 there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of people aged under 25 who were claiming job related benefits in April each year for 1996 to 2002.<P>Number of People Aged Under 25 Claiming Unemployment-Related Benefits (000)<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=141><…

2 Oct 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many long-term unemployed people there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of people in April each year for 1996-2002 who were claiming unemployment-related benefits for more than one year.<P>Number of People Claiming Unemployment-Related Benefits for More Than One Year (000)<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 C…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes were (a) committed and (b) cleared up in each year since 1996.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information available is given in the following table:<P>Crimes Recorded and Cleared up by the Police, Scotland, 1996-2001<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=519><TR><TD WIDTH="22%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Category</TD><TD WIDTH="13%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on hospital buildings in each year since 1996

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: An accurate assessment of spend on hospital buildings is not maintained centrally. However, the capital budget, including capital receipts, available to NHS Scotland in each year was as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=143><TR><TD WIDTH…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were treated in hospital in each year since 1996.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Patients receiving hospital treatment will receive their care in a variety of settings e.g. out-patient clinics, or in-patient and day case beds. <P>Data on the number of episodes of care for in-patient and day case treatment and the total number of consultan…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual expenditure on drug-related activities has been in each year since 1996, broken down by expenditure on crime, education, rehabilitation and treatment.

Answer · Richard Simpson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29869 on 8 October 2002. 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/webapp/se…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug-related convictions there have been in each year since 1996.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information available is given in the following table. The statistics identify persons with a charge proved where the main offence involved the illegal importation, cultivation, supply or possession of drugs. Other offences may be drug-related, such as th…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have taken up further education in each year since 1996.

Answer · Iain Gray: The following table shows the number of enrolments in further education in each year since 1996.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=595><TR><TD WIDTH="14%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=49><P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="26%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=49><P>Higher Educati…

27 Sep 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been invested in (a) primary and (b) secondary school education in each year since 1996, expressed in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Net revenue expenditure by local authorities on primary and secondary education is set out in the following table. 2000-01 is the latest financial year for which information is available.<P>Net Revenue Expenditure (in £000s) by local authorities on primary an…

13 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners have benefited from its central heating installation programme.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Three thousand, five hundred and fifty-nine over 60's households in the private sector and 4,906 households in the social rented sector who were without central heating benefited from the central heating programme in 2001-02. We cannot specify how many of tho…

13 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of unemployment in (a) Edinburgh South and (b) Scotland has been in each year from 1992 to 2002.

Answer · Iain Gray: The claimant count levels are published on a monthly basis. The latest available data is May 2002, so May of each year has been used. Rates are not available for parliamentary constituency areas prior to 1996.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=30…

13 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take in order to ensure that the tourism industry is best placed to take maximum advantage of a successful joint bid to host the European Football Championships in 2008.

Answer · Mike Watson: It is estimated that, if we are successful in our joint bid to host Euro 2008, it would attract around 400,000 visitors to Scotland and Ireland, bringing significant economic benefits to Scotland as well as presenting an unrivalled opportunity to market Scott…

13 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will consider taking in respect of the use of restorative justice models in order to encourage effective work against re-offending.

Answer · Richard Simpson: The Executive supports the use of restorative justice as a means both of addressing the needs of the victim and the community and of reducing re-offending by providing offenders with the opportunity to understand the consequences of their actions and to offer…