Stewart Stevenson

4 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on external consultancy in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Expenditure on external consultancy for the last five years is set out in the table.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td colspan=5> <p align=center>£ Million</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align=center>1999-2000</p> <…

4 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority spent on external consultancy in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not collectedcentrally. Such spending decisions are for local authorities to make, although theyare required to secure Best Value in doing so.</p>

29 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the investigation by BEAR Scotland into drainage issues affecting the flooding situation on the A90 at Boddam, Aberdeenshire and, if so, what action it will take to address these issues.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has consideredBEAR Scotland Ltd’s initial report onthe drainage issues on the A90 at Boddam and has now instructed that, in light of the complexity of the drainage systems in this area, a more detailed analysis shouldbe undertaken. This…

28 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of debt held after leaving university by students was from (a) a lower, (b) a middle and (c) an upper income background in 2002-03.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Data from the Student Loans Company shows that the average student loan debt for Scottish domiciled borrowersentering repayment in April 2003 was £4,924. Disaggregated information is not available.Students may also have accumulated other debts whilst studying…

28 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of students from (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) upper income backgrounds (i) hold a part-time job during term-time, (ii) live with their parents during term-time and (iii) attend a university close to their home, and what changes there have been in these statistics since 19…

Answer · Jim Wallace: (i) Information for the percentageof students who hold a part-time job during term-time for the three income groupsrequested is not available. </p><p>However, the proportion of allworking age full-time students in higher and further education who were in part…

28 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the income thresholds for each decile of the household income distribution were in (a) 1997-98 and (b) the most recent available 12-month period.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The following table presentsresults from the 2002-03 Family Resources Survey on the decile bands for households’net income distribution for the total Scottish population (following an“equivalisation” adjustment to allow meaningful comparison between different…

28 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is for (a) 1979, (b) 1996-97 and (c) 2002-03 of the number of individual pensioners living in households with incomes below 60% of the median income after housing costs and, of these, how many were (i) men and (ii) women.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The information requested inpart (a) is not available. </p><p>The table below presents theinformation requested in answer to parts (b), (c), (i) and (ii).</p><p>Proportion and Number ofPensioners in Households Below 60% of the Median Income Threshold of the R…

28 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) male, (b) female and (c) full-time workers in (i) Scotland and (ii) each local authority area received hourly gross earnings, (1) including and (2) excluding overtime of below (A) #7.58, (B) #5.68 and (C) #4.20.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information you requested is not held centrally. However, information on earnings from the New Earnings Survey is published by the Office for National Statistics.</p><p>The distribution of earnings is calculated on a weekly basis and the thresholds are th…

14 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review or refine the scallop conservation measures as introduced.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive is developing along-term strategy for scallop management in partnership with the scallop industryand the Fisheries Research Service will produce a scallop stock assessment reportearly in 2005. Both of these processes will enable us to review the…

14 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what effect scallop conservation measures have had on scallop stocks since their introduction.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The measures came into effecton 22 September 2003 and it is unrealistic to expect scientifically robustevidence of their effect on stocks to emerge in such a short period of time. FisheriesResearch Services produce scallop stock assessment reports every two y…

14 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address industry safety concerns that have emerged as a result of the introduction of scallop conservation measures.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Within the Scottish Scallop AdvisoryCommittee the Executive is working closely with the industry in considering theintroduction of new or amended conservation measures and the development of a long-termstrategy for scallop management. Maintaining safety stand…

14 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the introduction of scallop conservation measures in terms of (a) their economic impact on scallop fishermen and (b) the practical and economic consequences of the measures for processing firms and supporting onshore industries and what steps it will take to…

Answer · Ross Finnie: The conservation measures whichcame into force in September 2003 were developed in detailed consultation with allsectors of the industry and a Regulatory Impact Assessment was produced as partof that process. The measures are due for review in 2005. </p><p>Th…

14 Apr 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of whether prison governors are entitled to be represented by a trade union of their choice.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive is committed to working in partnership with trade unions not only in the justice services but across all it does. Prison governors and other staff members of the Scottish Prison Service are entitled to be members of any trade union of their choi…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend the resources available to primary healthcare providers for the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Answer · Tom McCabe: NHS boards are expected toprovide services for people with all chronic conditions from the unifiedbudgets made available to them by the Executive. Unified budgets for 2004-05were increased by an average of 7.25% more than the 2003-04 allocations, morethan twi…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to concerns about current treatment and resource provision in respect of myalgic encephalomyelitis, as referred to in a recent report published by the 25% M.E. Group, Severely Affected M.E. Analysis Report on Questionnaire Issues January 2004.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The 25% M.E. Group is a UKbody, and the report referred to is not exclusive to Scotland. It also toucheson a number of issues reserved to Westminster. The Executive issued the report of a short lifeworking group, set up to make recommendations for improving s…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is supporting in connection with the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Awareness Week May 2004 campaign.

Answer · Tom McCabe: While the Executive is notdirectly supporting any initiative in connection with ME Awareness Week, itwelcomes this annual event and the focus it brings to this distressingcondition. The report of a Short Life Working Group on CFS/ME, set up by theExecutive, w…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people there are with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in (a) Scotland and (b) each parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Exact information is notavailable centrally. Information from samples of GP records in practices acrossScotland, whose population is nationally representative, suggests thatapproximately 6,700 patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis were seen by GPs inthe yea…

7 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its funding priorities are in respect of rural village halls.

Answer · Ross Finnie: TheExecutive recognises the important role that rural village halls play in the lifeof their local communities. They are oftenthe focus of a rural community’s social and community activities – allowing groupsto meet locally and providing other services such a…

7 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to my letter of 5 March 2004 regarding Sativex spray prescription for people with MS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A reply to this letter was issuedon 2 April 2004.</p>

7 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to my letter of 25 February 2004 regarding my constituent Mr A Summers of Peterhead.

Answer · Allan Wilson: A reply was issued on Thursday8 April.</p>

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the amount of brownfield land available for new build in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Aberdeen, (d) Stirling, (e) Dundee and (f) Inverness.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The results of the Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey 2003 show that the amount of land identified as vacant or derelict for which the preferred end use would result in new building is: (a) Glasgow – 1,033 hectares (b) Edinburgh – 80 hectares (c) Aberde…

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have published a housing strategy and how many of the published strategies contain policies for reducing the incidence of empty houses.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows.</p><p>The Housing (Scotland) Act2001 invites local authorities to submit a local housing strategy to Scottish ministersand to provide a copy to anyone…

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each of its (a) departments, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies have spent on (i) advertising and (ii) information campaigns in each year since 1990-91 and what its estimate is for such costs for 2003-04.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information in the form requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Health Dept</p> </td> <td> <p>Spend (£)</p> </td> <td> <p>Justice Dept</p> </td> <…

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff have been (a) investigated, (b) suspended, (c) dismissed, (d) prosecuted and (e) convicted for involvement in fraud in each of the last four years and how much money was involved in each case.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has robust systems in place that are designed to minimise the possibilityof fraud and, when necessary, to highlight that fraud may have occurred. In thelast four years while there have been detailed examinations of potential financialir…

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) elderly people are in fuel-poor households in (i) Glasgow, (ii) Edinburgh, (iii) Aberdeen, (iv) Stirling, (v) Inverness and (vi) Scotland as a whole.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The local authority estimatesof the number of children and elderly people in fuel poor households in the localauthority areas of Glasgow City, City of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and for Scotland as a whole, are taken from the 2002 Scottish House ConditionSurvey …

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a family's ability to buy healthy food is taken into account by its measurements of child poverty.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Households Below AverageIncome (HBAI) statistics which are published annually give a range of measures oflow income, including the widely accepted threshold of 60% of the median UK householdincome. The HBAI measures are adjusted for inflation and housing …

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with major supermarket chains to ensure compliance with the Animal By-Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The Executive is part of a UK-wideworking group involving food manufacturers and retailers, local authorities andthe waste disposal sector which was established to identify practical options forensuring compliance with the by-products controls.</p>

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any instances of non-compliance with the Animal By-Products (Scotland) Regulations 2003 by any of the major supermarket chains and, if so, what action has been taken.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Local authorities in Scotland areresponsible for monitoring compliance with the Animal By-Products (Scotland) Regulations2003. The Executive understands that enforcement officials across Scotland haveundertaken visits to a number of supermarkets to explain ho…

2 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation has been undertaken directly with the voluntary sector regarding the development of a new funding formula for the sector.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7421 20 April 2004  . All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…

2 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific factors are being taken into account in the formulation of a new funding regime for the voluntary sector, in light of the increasing responsibilities of the voluntary sector as a result of Executive and local authority policies.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-7421 on 20 April 2004. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…