Parliamentary questions
Richard Baker
2,136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances are on duty at one time in (a) Aberdeen city and (b) Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service, the information requested is not held centrally.
12 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much each NHS Grampian hospital has spent on administration in each of the last three years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is publically available on the ISD Scotland website http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Costs/.
12 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths in NHS Grampian hospitals were alcohol related in each of the last five years and how many of these were of people aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 29, (iii) 30 to 55 and (iv) over 55.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is given in the following table. These figures are provided on the same basis as the statistics of alcohol-related deaths published annually by the National Records of Scotland. The figures for 2011 are provisional; final statistics …
12 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided to deliver alcohol support services in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government routes the investment in services to tackle problematic drug and alcohol use through NHS boards for administrative purposes. NHS boards therefore, disburse funding amongst local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs). In those areas wher…
11 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many social care workers have been registered in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus in each of the last three years.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council, the regulator of the social services workforce in Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
11 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much transport expenditure there has been in each (a) regional transport partnership and (b) local authority area in each of the last five years, also expressed on a per capita basis.
Answer · Keith Brown: Information about Transport Scotland expenditure on transport and roads can be found in table 10.1 of the publication Scottish Transport Statistics http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/strategy-and-research/publications-and-consultations/j205779-152.htm. Howev…
6 Jun 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS Grampian regarding its plans for the provision of maternity services.
28 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on primary school bus transport in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in (i) 2010-11 (ii) 2011-12.
Answer · Michael Russell: Expenditure on school transport for primary education in 2010-11 was £1,009,000 in Aberdeen City and £5,267,000 in Aberdeenshire. Data for 2011-12 is not yet available. Figures are for gross revenue expenditure on taxis, buses and any other transport costs ar…
28 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many library staff were employed by (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire in (A) 2009-10, (B) 2010-11 and (C) 2011-12.
Answer · Michael Russell: This information is published on the government website and is available in table 8.11(Full) of the following links. There were no school library staff reported for the primary or special sectors. 2009-10 www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/91982/0105429.xls 2…
28 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on mental health services in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies - including NHS boards and local authorities - to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy and…
28 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many residential properties there are in the private rented sector in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government estimates that there are around 12,500 occupied residential properties in the private rented sector in Aberdeen, and 11,000 in Aberdeenshire.
23 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people live in overcrowded dwellings in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Keith Brown: According to the Scottish House Condition Survey (2008-10) (a) 2,000 households in Aberdeen are overcrowded using the bedroom standard and (b) 2,000 households in Aberdeenshire are overcrowded using the bedroom standard. The bedroom standard was derived in …
23 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) academic, (b) non-academic managerial and (c) other non-academic staff were employed in each (i) college and (ii) university in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in 2010-11.
Answer · Michael Russell: Table 1: Staff at Aberdeenshire higher education institutions (HEIs), 2010-11 full-time equivalent (FTE) by institution and activity: Institution Activity Academics Non-academic Managers Non-academic Others Total Aberdeen, University of 1,360 5 1,…
23 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications there have been to each delivery mechanism of the Scotland Rural Development Programme since 2007, broken down by parliamentary constituency.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The information requested is provided in the document Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) Applications by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54016).
23 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses NHS Grampian has employed in each of the last three years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Workforce data is published by NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD). Trend workforce Information showing headcount and whole-time equivalent of nurses and midwives, in NHS Grampian, as at 31 March for each of the last three …
21 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers have been employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire in each of the last three years.
Answer · Michael Russell: Teachers numbers are published on the Scottish Government website, available in tables 7.1 and 8.1 from the following link. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/teachcensus2011.
21 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary 1 to 3 pupils in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire primary schools was in a class size of (a) 18 and under, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30 and (d) over 30 in each year from 2007-08 to 2011-12.
Answer · Michael Russell: Data for the respective years in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire are shown in the following tables. (a) Percentage of P1-P3 pupils in Aberdeen City primary schools, by size of class: 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1-18 9 7 8 12 17 19-25 68 71 62 …
21 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils have been suspended for alcohol-related issues in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in the last year.
Answer · Michael Russell: In 2010-11 there were 15 pupils temporarily excluded from Aberdeen City for alcohol substance misuse and 10 from Aberdeenshire. These figures have been rounded to the nearest five for disclosure and quality reasons.
21 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many exclusions there were from (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Aberdeen, (ii) Aberdeenshire and (iii) Angus in 2011-12, broken down by reason for exclusion.
Answer · Michael Russell: Information on exclusions from 2011-12 is not being collected and published centrally. The next publication of exclusions data will be from the academic year 2012-13 in December 2013. Tables 1 and 2 below show how many exclusions there were in Aberdeen, Abe…
21 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether class sizes in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire have decreased since May 2007.
Answer · Michael Russell: Information on class sizes in secondary schools is not routinely collected. (i) In Aberdeen City, the average primary class size has decreased from 23.8 in September 2006 to 23.6 in September 2011. (ii) In Aberdeenshire, the average primary class size has r…
17 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of services available from Portlethen railway station and what discussions it has had with First ScotRail on this issue.
Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland meet regularly with ScotRail and Network Rail to consider and discuss what opportunities there are to vary calling patterns on services to further improve capacity and meet passenger demand to travel. Discussions with ScotRail are ongoing …
17 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Network Rail on the potential for reopening the railway station at (a) Kintore and (b) Newtonhill.
Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland officials regularly meet with representatives with Network Rail on the potential re-opening of Kintore station as it forms part of the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvements Project. In addition, we have regular discussions about the deve…
17 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last had discussions with NESTRANS regarding the Aberdeen Crossrail project.
Answer · Keith Brown: Scottish ministers and officials from Transport Scotland regularly meet with representatives with Nestrans to discuss a range of transport issues, including progress on the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvements Project and proposals for cross Aberdeen rail …
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of physical education are given to pupils in each (a) primary and (b) secondary school in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The latest information available on the amount of physical education provided to pupils in schools was collected in April 2005 and was published in Tables 1 and 2 of the Progress towards the recommendations of the Physical Education Review Group publication. …
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of dualling the A90 between Balmedie and Tipperty.
Answer · Keith Brown: The current estimated cost of the A90 Balmedie to Tipperty scheme is £51-64 million (excluding VAT). However the estimated cost will have to be reviewed and updated as part of the overall package of work to be included in the Aberdeen western peripheral route…
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated for dualling the A90 between Balmedie and Tipperty.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Balmedie to Tipperty scheme will be funded through a Non Profit Distributing model form of contract alongside the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) once the legal challenges surrounding the AWPR have been resolved.
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is of the planned improvements to the Haudagain roundabout.
Answer · Keith Brown: The STAG Report prepared by Aberdeen City Council estimated that the preferred option (Option 5) would cost in the region of £14.5 million (May 2007 prices and excluding VAT).
14 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is allocated for improvements to the Haudagain roundabout.
Answer · Keith Brown: As announced in February this year, £3 million has been allocated to take forward, at the appropriate time, the design work to improve the Haudagain Roundabout.
9 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of S2 pupils in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire has reached the required standards in (i) mathematics, (ii) English and (iii) science in each year since 2003.
Answer · Michael Russell: The large amount of available data covering this question are published on the government website. The data cover 2003 to 2008, no data for later years are available. Data are not always available for both local authorities. A collation of the relevant tables…
9 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children has left primary school in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire with the required level of competency in (i) arithmetic, (ii) reading and (iii) writing in each year since 2003.
Answer · Michael Russell: The large amount of available data covering this question are published on the government website. The data cover 2003 to 2008, no data for later years are available. Data are not always available for both local authorities. A collation of the relevant tables…