Parliamentary questions
Des McNulty
1,840 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
28 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to support a sporting culture for children and young people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive's aim is to increase participation in sport at all age levels and in particular instil healthy positive attitudes in our children and young people towards sport and physical activity in all parts of Scotland. To assist that objective the Executi…
28 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what success it has had in achieving reductions in the levels of street crime in (a) Scotland and (b) the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area since 1999 and what targets it set for such reductions in this period.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Neither the recorded crime nor the court proceedings statistics held centrally contain information which would enable figures to be provided at the level of detail requested.</p> <p>The Executive has targets in place to reduce the number of recorded incidents…
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of older people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area received intensive home care in each year since 1996.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The percentage of older people in East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire local authority areas receiving intensive home care in the week ending 31 March each year since 1998 is:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <…
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the unemployment rates have been in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1997.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The official source for unemployment is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).</p> <p>Table 1 shows the unemployment rates for West Dunbartonshire and East Dunbartonshire for people aged 16 and over where av…
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current clear-up rates for recorded crime are in (a) Scotland and (b) the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on the most recent clear up rates for the numbers of crimes recorded by the police at local authority level is published in table 6 of the statistical bulletin <i>Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2004-05</i>, copies of which are available in the Scotti…
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been introduced in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area to (i) ensure a reduction in (1) the proportion of women smoking during pregnancy, (2) the percentage of low birth-weight babies and (3) dental decay among five-year-olds and…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not centrally held. The responsibility for implementing national health strategies at a local level primarily lies with NHS boards. I would suggest you contact NHS Argyll and Clyde for this information.</p>
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to reduce the proportion of older people on low incomes in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area since 1997.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is tackling pensioner poverty in Scotland in partnership with the UK Government.</p> <p>Measures by the UK Government to reduce the proportion of older people on low incomes include pension credit, council tax and housing benefit, the w…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the spin-out companies supported by Scottish Enterprise in the last 10 years have been opened in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: This is an operational matterfor Scottish Enterprise.</p>
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what reduction in the proportion of children living in (a) non-working and (b) low-income households in the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area there has been since 1996.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: (a) Data on the number of children living in non-working households is not available for East and West Dunbartonshire prior to 2003. Data for 2003 and 2004 are shown as follows in table 1.</p> <p>Table 1 – Proportion of Children<sup>1</sup> Living in Non-work…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of households and, in particular, households with children living in temporary accommodation in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area since 1997.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has legislated to end the routine use of <u>unsuitable</u> temporary accommodation for households with children through the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order (S.I. 2004/489) which came into force in December 2…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of households with children have been in temporary accommodation in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1997.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive collects snapshot data on the number of households in temporary accommodation as at the end of each quarter. Data on households with dependent children have been collected since March 2001. Data on households in temporary accommodation,…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to improve the health of young people through reductions in (a) smoking by 12 to 15-year-olds, (b) the incidence of teenage pregnancy among 13 to 15-year-olds and (c) the rate of suicides among young people in the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartons…
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21010 on 7 December 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/weba…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of young people have (a) been smokers between the ages of 12 and 15, (b) fallen pregnant between the ages of 13 and 15 years and (c) committed suicide in (i) Scotland and (ii) the (1) West Dunbartonshire and (2) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1…
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive is taking a number of actions aimed at reducing smoking in young people. These include considering the evidence for raising the age for purchasing tobacco from 16 to 18 years old; reviewing prosecution policy to allow evidence obtained by test p…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, training or employment in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Allan Wilson: A wide range of mainstream and targeted policies spanning early years, education, children’s services, regeneration, enterprise and lifelong learning are contributing to reducing the size of the not in education, employment or training (NEET) group in West Du…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the proportion of unemployed working age people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Information about current activity was given in the answer to question S2W-20976 on 2 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p> <p><a href="http:…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of working-age people have been unemployed in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The official source for unemployment is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).</p> <p>ILO unemployment rates are not available for all local authorities for all years from 1996.</p><p>Table 1 shows the unemp…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the proportion of working-age people living on low income in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is committedto tackling poverty and deprivation wherever it is found in Scotland. Werecognise, however, that poverty is only partly about low income; it also encompassesa lack of opportunity, low aspirations, barriers to participating i…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of working-age people have been living on low income in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available.</p> <p>The official source of low income data for Scotland is the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset available from 1994-95. This is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The sample size of the…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase the employment rates of disadvantaged groups, such as lone parents and ethnic minorities, in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-20976 on 2 December 2005 and S2W-21008 answered on 8 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p>…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area have improved their health by (i) reducing (1) smoking and (2) alcohol misuse and (ii) improving their diet and what reduction there has been on mortality rates from coronary heart di…
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive is taking a number of actions aimed at improving health for children and young people, including all our work to tackle smoking. One of the main factors in smoking prevention for young people will be the introduction of the smoke-free public pla…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who is currently in overall charge of the management of health services in the NHS Argyll and Clyde area and who is the board's Medical Director.
Answer · Andy Kerr: On 19 May this year I announced my intention to dissolve NHS Argyll and Clyde and to redraw the boundaries of neighbouring boards to take on responsibility for planning and delivering health care services in the area.</p> <p>The Executive has consulted public…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage change there has been in recorded crime levels committed against older people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not available centrally. The recorded crime statistics collected centrally do not include any information on the circumstances of the crime, such as the age of the victim.</p>
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are expected to benefit from the concessionary travel scheme for elderly and disabled people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Tavish Scott: People aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people will be able to use the new Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people. The number of people aged 60 and over is of the order of 23,000 in West Dunbartonshire and 19,400 in East Dunb…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what increases in the proportion of children who attain the appropriate levels in reading, writing and maths by the end of primary 2 and primary 7 there have been in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area since 1996.
Answer · Peter Peacock: This information is only available from 1998-99 and is contained in the Scottish Executive’s annual Statistics Publication Notice <i>5-14 Attainment in Publicly Funded Schools</i>. Copies can be obtained from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre using t…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to increase the proportion of students in (a) higher and (b) further education that are from under-represented and disadvantaged groups and areas in (i) Scotland and (ii) the (1) West Dunbartonshire and (2) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year s…
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is committedto widening access to further and higher education for all who can benefit irrespectiveof their background or current personal circumstances. The Scottish Further andHigher Education Funding Council (SFHEFC) has recently pub…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to reduce the gap in unemployment rates between the worst areas in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area and the average rate of unemployment for Scotland as a whole and what the reduction in this gap has been in each year …
Answer · Allan Wilson: The UK Government has the main responsibility for unemployment. Jobcentre Plus (JCP) delivers a range of employment programmes to support individuals into work, specifically through the New Deal. In West Dunbartonshire, Action Teams for Jobs also helps jobles…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage change has been in recorded crime levels in disadvantaged areas in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table. The recorded crime statistics collected centrally cannot distinguish a lower level of detail than the local authority level.</p> <p>Percentage change in the numbers of crimes recorded by the police in…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve the performance of the poorest-performing 20% of pupils at standard grade to bring them in line with the performance of other pupils in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive is implementing a range of commitments set out in Ambitious, Excellent Schools to heighten expectations, strengthen leadership and raise ambition; give more freedom for teachers and schools; provide greater choice and opportunity for pupils and …
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the annual (a) regeneration and (b) community planning partnership budget was originally allocated to the (i) West Dunbartonshire and (ii) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1997 and what actual sum was given in each case.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Table 1a below show the regeneration budget allocated to West Dunbartonshire through the Executive’s core community regeneration programmes for the period 1997-98 to 2004-05.</p> <p>Table 1a: West Dunbartonshire Regeneration Budget Programme</p><table border…
22 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase the number of households with access to the internet in disadvantaged areas of the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area and what evaluation has been undertaken of any past initiatives in this regard.
Answer · George Lyon: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/dcfr.pdf">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/finance/dcfr.pdf</a>.</p>