Parliamentary questions
Jamie Hepburn
761 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) higher and (b) further education students there were in (a) 1950, (b) 1960, (c) 1970, (d) 1980 and (e) each year since 1990.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The following tablelists the number of student enrolments at Scottish higher education institutionsand further education colleges from 1951-52 to 2005-06.</p><p>Students StudyingHigher and Further Education at Scottish Institutions: 1951-52 to 2005-06</p><tab…
7 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many floods there have been that required a response from at least one of the emergency services each year since 1980.
Answer · Michael Russell: Flooding is dealtwith at the local level by local authorities. Each local authority publishes bienniallya report covering instances of flooding in their area. While these reports may containsome of the requested information there is no prescribed form. The mo…
7 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what average rainfall has been each year since 1950.
Answer · Michael Russell: Figures on rainfallin Scotland are published by the Met Office at <ahref="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/seriesstatistics/scotrain.txt">http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/seriesstatistics/scotrain.txt</a>.The average annual rainfall in Scotland si…
3 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions it is making to ensure better diagnosis of dyslexia within the education system.
Answer · Adam Ingram: Under the Education(Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities havea duty to identify, provide for and keep under review the additional support needsof each pupil for whose education they are responsible. This should ensure tha…
3 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers dyslexia to be a disability.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Governmentrecognises that the definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act1995 may include people with dyslexia. Our policies in relation to disability aretherefore inclusive of people with dyslexia.</p>
3 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how dyslexia awareness is included in teacher training courses.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Student teachers are given generaltuition and guidance on how to recognise and support pupils with additional supportneeds, including dyslexia, as part of a series of core and elective modules withininitial teacher education courses.</p><p>The Executive are a…
2 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the total value of the housing stock to be, broken down into (a) privately owned homes, (b) council owned homes and (c) housing association homes.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The value of the housingstock varies considerably depending on market conditions. The latest estimates arebased on November 2006 valuations of the sample of 3,090 dwellings in the 2003-04Scottish House Condition Survey for which both a full social interview a…
2 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-2223 by Stewart Maxwell on 1 August 2007, what it estimates the total value was of all discounts for the sale of council houses under the right to buy scheme in each year since 1979.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The following tableshows the amount of discount for sales of public authority stock to sitting tenantsunder the right to buy and rent to mortgage schemes, and through voluntary sales.</p><p>Total Value ofDiscount of Public Authority Stock Sold through Right t…
1 Aug 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the non-executive board members of Scottish Water are appointed and what period of time each appointment covers.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Water''s Board members were appointed by ministers in 2002 after a widely advertised recruitment campaign under rules laid down for public appointments by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS). Current members were re-appointed…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people per medical doctor there are and what comparative information it has for (a) the United Kingdom as a whole, (b) each EU member state and (c) each OECD nation.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: 1. Scotland had2.7 physicians per 1,000 population in 2005, (Scottish Health Statistics (ISD) andGeneral Register Office (GRO)).</p><p>2. The UK had 2.4 physiciansper 1,000 population in 2005, (Organisation for Economic Development and Organisation,OECD.</p><…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many personnel have been employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service in each year since 1990, broken down by grade.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information prior to 1994 innot centrally held, however headcount andwhole-time equivalent (WTE) numbers in each staff group employed from 1994 in the Scottish Ambulance Service by grade are outlined in the following tables 1 and 2.The information is shown as…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many personnel have been employed by each fire and rescue service or predecessor body in each year since 1990.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information relatingto firefighters and control room staff is given in the tables <i>Establishment andStrengths of Fire Brigades 1990 – 2006</i>. A copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43394). Information f…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans are in place to develop the Allandale railway station proposed as Castlecary railway station in Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies, published in January 2003.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: There are no plansto develop the Allandale rail station.</p><p>The STAG appraisal,submitted to Transport Scotland by consultants acting on behalf of FalkirkCouncil early in 2006, concluded that the development of an alternative park andride facility at Bannoc…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much brownfield site it estimates is available for (a) residential and (b) other development in each city and each of the five formerly designated new towns.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Brownfield land isdefined in <i>Scottish Planning Policy 3 (SPP3</i>) as land which has previouslybeen developed. The Scottish Government does not hold centrally information on thequantity of brownfield land within cities and new towns.</p><p>A significant pr…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists have (a) not accepted and (b) accepted new patients in each year since 1995, broken down by (i) Scottish parliamentary constituency; (ii) Scottish parliamentary region, (iii) local authority area and (iv) NHS board area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held.Dentists are not obliged to advise NHS boards if they are accepting or have stoppedaccepting new NHS patients.</p>
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population lived in (a) an owned property and (b) a council house in (i) 1950, (ii) 1960, (iii) 1970, (iv) 1980, (v) 1990, (vi) 2000 and (vii) the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The information requestedis provided in the following table. Data on tenure for Scotland are not available prior to the 1961 Census.</p><p>Population byTenure: Scotland 1961-2006</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=44 now…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been registered as homeless in each local authority area in each year since 1995.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-313 on 7 June 2007. 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.sear…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties it estimates have not been the primary residence of the owner in each local authority area in each year since 1995.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The following tableprovides estimates of the number of vacant dwellings and second homes by unitarylocal authority area from 1996, the year in which unitary local authorities werecreated. The footnotes to the table explain the derivation of the figures.</p><p…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average age of first-time house buyers has been in each year since 1995.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Estimates of the medianage of first-time buyers in Scotland are set out in the following table. Thesedata are sourced from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The notes to the tables explainthe coverage of the estimates and the reasons for a possible break in co…
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many first-time house buyers there have been in each local authority area in each year since 1995.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The requested informationis not held centrally.</p>
31 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average house price has been in each local authority area in each year since 1995.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The information requestedruns to six pages and is detailed in <i>Annual average house price in each LocalAuthority since 1995</i>, a copy of which has been placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 43334).</p>
27 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion and number of skillseekers went on to enter the Modern Apprenticeship programme in each year since 1999.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The number of skillseekerswho progressed to the modern apprenticeship programme is an operational matterfor Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. This informationis not held centrally.</p>
27 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school leavers it estimates have not acquired the basic standards of (a) numeracy and (b) literacy in each year since 1999.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The number and percentageof school leavers who left school without a maths or English qualification at SCQFlevel 3 or better is contained in the following table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap rowspan=2> <p>Schoo…
27 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion and number of businesses established with the assistance of Business Gateway start-up grants were still in operation beyond the (a) first, (b) second, (c) third, (d) fourth, and (e) fifth year.
Answer · Jim Mather: This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you inresponse to this question.</p>
26 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that serious injuries to victims in road traffic incidents should be included in any subsequent criminal charges for road traffic offences.
Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Procurator Fiscalis entitled to include details of the consequences of driving, including injury,in charges of dangerous or careless driving in order to allow the court to considerthese consequences in assessing whether the driving was dangerous or carele…
26 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address inconsistencies in sentencing for fatal road traffic offences.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The ScottishGovernment wishes to see greater consistency and transparency in the sentencingdecisions of our courts across all areas of the criminal law. We plan to holdfurther consultation and dialogue with key interests, principally the judiciary,on how to a…
25 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what housing association waiting lists have been in each local authority area each year since 1980.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I have askedAngiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Herresponse is as follows:</p><p>Information aboutthe number of applicants on housing association waiting lists is collected byhousing association and not by local authority are…
25 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what local authority housing waiting lists have been in each local authority area in each year since 1980.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The numbers onlocal authority housing lists at March of each year are shown as follows. Data isnot available prior to March 2001.</p><p>Table 1: Applicantson Housing List at 31 March by Local Authority: 2001-2006</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3…
25 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the (a) urban and (b) rural population is classified as living in relative poverty.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Information onthe percentage of the (a) urban and (b) rural population that is classified asliving in relative poverty is not available at present. It is planned howeverto publish this analysis on 21 September 2007 on the Scottish Government Income and Povert…
25 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to the social enterprise sector.
Answer · John Swinney: Our current frameworkfor support to the social enterprise sector is contained in <i>Better business – a strategy and action plan forsocial enterprise in </i><i>Scotland</i> (Bib. number 42840) which highlights the importantcontribution a social enterprise bus…