Questions · Brian Adam

19 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the extra cost to the ScotlandsPeople project has been of the principal construction contractor going into receivership.

Answer · George Lyon: The additional cost is currentlyestimated to be around £1.1 million (although there are on-going negotiations withthe receiver over a number of issues, including the ownership of materials currentlyon site). This sum comprises mainly the cost of works necessa…

19 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when construction works for the ScotlandsPeople centre are likely to be completed

Answer · George Lyon: The aim is for the ScotlandsPeoplecentre to open in autumn 2007, but this is subject to the detailed constructionplan from the new contractor which has yet to be delivered and agreed.

19 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the principal construction contractor going into receivership has had on the ScotlandsPeople project.

Answer · George Lyon: The delay in the constructionworks has had limited impact on current business. One of the main search rooms inNew Register House (General Register Office for Scotland) has been unavailable forthe period between the receivership of the construction company and…

17 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether access rights granted to public bodies such as the Forestry Commission across privately owned roads and paths to private homes confer general public access rights to walkers and horse riders to such roads and paths.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Rights of access pertainingto the national forest estate, managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, areacquired by specific legal agreement to serve specific parts of the estate.These rights will include public access for recreation, such as walking orhorse ri…

11 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants were allocated distinction awards in category (a) A+, (b) A and (c) B in the 2005 awards round, as disclosed in the BMA Scottish Consultants Committee Annual Report 2006, broken down by gender and, in the event that this information is not held by gender, whether it (…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The number of consultants allocateddistinction awards in category (a) A+, (b) A and (c) B in the 2005 awards roundare as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2 valign=top>   </td> …

6 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether commercial supplies of the flu vaccine are available for purchase without prescription.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Flu vaccine is a prescriptiononly medicine (POM) and as such it is not available for purchase without a prescriptioneither on the NHS or privately. POMs must be prescribed by a doctor, a dentist oranother qualified health professional. POMs may also be suppli…

6 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects supplies of the flu vaccine to be available in each NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested foreach NHS board is not centrally held. However, information on Scotland-wide deliveriescan be found in the answer to question S2W-28830 on 24 October 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliame…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita budget allocation was to each fire and rescue service board in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25641 on 18 May 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.s…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita budget allocation was to each police board in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information is as follows:Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE)Per Capita Allocation to Forces<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=161 valign=top> Year Force </td> <td w…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita grant aided expenditure allocation was to each local authority in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isgiven in the following table.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=609> <tr> <td width=133 valign=bottom> (£) </td> <td width=81> 1999-2000 </td> <td width=66> 2000-01 </td> <td width…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee to conduct an impact analysis of its proposals for changes to the Arbuthnott funding formula.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No. The NHSScotland ResourceAllocationCommittee determines its own work within the remit it was given by ScottishMinisters. The Committee has made itclear that it will consider alterations to the formula and their impact on thebasis of the core criteria publi…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee to conduct an impact analysis of the Arbuthnott funding formula.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-28910 answered on 11 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliaments website, the searchfacility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.</…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee has not conducted an impact analysis of the Arbuthnott funding formula.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHSScotland Resource AllocationCommittee has performed an impactanalysis on the Arbuthnott Formula and this is presented on the Committee’swebsite www.nrac.scot.nhs.uk in Technical Report A.

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee has undertaken no public consultation on the current review of budget allocation.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHSScotland ResourceAllocation Committee (NRAC) completed on 29 September 2006 a 12 week consultation on refining the resource allocation formula forNHSScotland. The consultation was based on the research undertaken over thepast year for the Committee. Th…

5 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita budget of each NHS board was in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details are as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width=161 valign=top> NHS Board Per Capita </td> <td width=76 valign=top> 2002-03 Per Capita <…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25656 by Mr Andy Kerr on 18 May 2006, whether the implementation group for the review of neurosurgery services in Scotland has met and what its schedule is for future meetings.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The first meeting of the NeuroscienceImplementation Group will take place towards the end of November 2006. It will meetat regular intervals during the coming year in order to be able to submit proposalsto the Executive by December 2007.

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25655 by Mr Andy Kerr on 18 May 2006, what the membership is of the implementation group for the review of neurosurgery services in Scotland and who the representatives are of patient groups.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Neuroscience Implementationgroup is chaired by John Glennie, the Chief Executive of NHS Borders.The membership comprises representatives,on a multi-disciplinary basis, from each of the specialties and sub-specialtiesmaking up neuroscience, who have…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it offers to those who provide voluntary work placements to graduates to assist them in finding full-time employment.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive recognisesthe value volunteering provides for individuals and communities across Scotland, includingfor graduates. The Executive’s Volunteering Strategy, launched in May 2004, hasa particular focus on encouraging volunteering for young …

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is for graduates with qualifications in science to first find full-time employment in the related professional field.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is for graduates with qualifications in engineering to first find full-time employment in the related professional field.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/2…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time is for graduates with qualifications in computing and information technology to first find full-time employment in the related professional field.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those who have graduated in science since 1999 are now in full-time employment in that area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/200…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those who have graduated in engineering since 1999 are now in full-time employment in that area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of those who have graduated in computing and information technology since 1999 are now in full-time employment in that area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on the first destination of graduates bysubject studied can be found at <ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29153542/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/29…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which ministers have been involved in preparations to promote an Aberdeen-led Scottish bid to be the hub for the proposed Energy Technologies Institute.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Deputy First Minister haswritten to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry to express our full support for Scottish involvement in theinstitute.

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will give to encourage the public and private sectors to build a partnership to promote an Aberdeen-led Scottish bid to be the hub for the proposed Energy Technologies Institute.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Senior officials within the ScottishExecutive and Scottish Enterprise are facilitating the development of a comprehensiveand coordinated bid to attract a significant proportion of the Energy TechnologiesInstitute’s research funds to centres of excellence in S…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the Scottish higher education sector to co-operate in building a partnership to promote an Aberdeen-led Scottish bid to be the hub for the proposed Energy Technologies Institute.

Answer · Allan Wilson: We are working in partnershipwith key universities across Scotland, the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish ScienceAdvisory Council to develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated bid to attract a significantproportion of the Energy Technologies Institute’s…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote an Aberdeen-led Scottish bid to be the hub for the proposed Energy Technologies Institute.

Answer · Allan Wilson: We are participating fully inthe process outlined by the Department for Trade and Industry to establish the EnergyTechnologies Institute.We are working in partnershipwith Scottish universities, the economic development agencies, the Scottish FundingCou…

28 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the procedures for making grants to students with visual impairment who are made conditional offers of places on higher and further education courses.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: All students can apply to theStudents Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for support before they are firmly acceptedon their course. This includes both their main support, which consists of tuitionfees and student loan, as well as any supplementary grants to w…

28 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended punishments are for prisoners caught in possession of illegal substances, how many such cases there have been in each of the last five years and what the punishment was in each case broken down prison.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:The SPS does not condone theillegal use of drugs by prisoners and is proactive both in detecting and deterringtheir use. Prisoners wi…