Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-24623

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners have spent more than 10% of their disposable income on council tax in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

The following table presentsresults from the Family Resources Survey on the number of pensioner householdswhich have paid more than 10 per cent of their gross income on council taxbetween 1999-2000 to 2004-05.

Table: Estimates of the numberof pensioner households which have paid more than 10 per cent of their grossincome on council tax between 1999-2000 to 2004-05

Thousands

Years	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Number of pensioner households	80	80	70	120	110	110

Source: Family ResourcesSurvey.

Data is not available at localauthority level.

Council tax benefit isdeducted from council tax in calculating the 10 per cent threshold, and is notincluded in gross income.

A pensioner household isdefined as either one pensioner living alone or a couple where at least one isa pensioner and the household does not contain any children.

The figures are estimatesbased on a sample survey and are therefore subject to sampling variation.Identification of trends should be based on several years of data.

Question reference: S2W-24624

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of pensioners who have been entitled to claim council tax benefit in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested isnot available. This data is available only at Great Britain level.

Latest estimates of thenumber of pensioners in Great Britain who are entitled to Council Tax Benefit, along withPension Credit, Minimum Income Guarantee and Housing Benefit can be found inthe DWP report entitled Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in2003/2004. The publication can be found at:-

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/income_analysis/final0304.pdf.

Question reference: S2W-24610

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of issuing Executive strategy documents in each year since 1999, broken down by ministerial portfolio.

Question reference: S2W-24609

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 20 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many strategy documents it has issued in each year since 1999, broken down by ministerial portfolio.

Links to strategy, policy,consultation and other documents issued by the Scottish Executive in each yearsince 1999 are available on the Scottish Executive website. Each document isidentified against a policy heading (which may cover the interests of more thanone ministerial portfolio). Details of the Scottish Executive PublicationScheme are also available on the Scottish Executive website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/FOI/19260/18084.

Question reference: S2W-24523

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to exempt people diagnosed with cancer from prescription charges.

No decision on whether to changethe current criteria for exemption on medical grounds will be taken until the ScottishExecutive’s review of NHS prescription charges and exemption arrangements is complete.

The consultation phase of thereview is under way and responses are invited up to the closing date of 30 April 2006. The Executivewill subsequently consider what action to take, based on the outcome of the review.

Question reference: S2W-24544

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30754 by Mr Andy Kerr of 7 February 2003, what the cost was of each of its public information campaigns in each year since 2002-03, broken down into (a) press, (b) radio (by network), (c) TV (by region), (d) production, (e) ambient and (f) cinema advertising.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15204 on 12 April 2005 which details the reconciled spendfor 2003-04, to answers S2W-1857 and S2W-2481 for 2002-03 spend by department andcampaign and the answer to question S1W-26485 on 3 July 2002 providing informationon advertising spend by the Scottish Office/Scottish Executive Departments from1991-92 to 2001-02.Information on the Executive’sadvertising spend for 2004-05 by department and campaign can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/media/17963/adspend05.All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Scottish Executive advertisingspend for 1 August 2004 to 31 March 2006 by campaign for Radio (by network) and TV (by region)is detailed in the following tables:

Radio by Network, 1 August 2004 to 31 March 2005

Campaign	SRH/ Emap	Gcap	First	GMG*	Impact	Kingdom	Saga	Opus	Awaz	NECR**
Alcohol		8,873
Anti-Social Behaviour	54,687	6,512		17,355	979			6,056		677
Broadband	208,570	26,034		67,253				30,053
Care	41,904	3,943							700
Children’s Charter	5,324
Child Protection on the Internet	13,295			15,107
Domestic Abuse	59,631						2,265
Drink Drive	42,424	7,062		11,187		1,549
Drug Drive	21,251	4,242		7,138		986
Drug Misuse	11,293	9,829
E-Coli	17,159
Flu	36,505
Health Service Recruitment/ NHS Careers	54,738	10,165		9,775
Organ Donation				13,076
Race	68,611	13,566		23,244		2,752	4,370
Travel Awareness	22,672	5,300				3,882	6,000
Young Driver	26,812	4,648		7,252		794
Total	684,876	100,174		171,387	979	9,963	12,635	36,109	700	677

Radio by Network 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006

Campaign	SRH/ Emap	Gcap	First	GMG*	Impact	Kingdom	Saga	Opus	Awaz	NECR**
Alcohol	38,871	7,692				2,254				383
Children’s Hearings	26,400	4,132		7,269			1,204
Domestic Abuse	38,223	8,842	661	15,138			2,904
Drug Misuse	71,573	63,277	403	6,875	2,613	1,766
Fire	29,238
Health Service Recruitment/ NHS Careers	38,282	6,183		10,502			5,495		585	735
Race	64,169	13,619	927	23,750		1,859	4,572		975
Road Safety (Drink Drive/Drug Drive)	40,190	7,119	227	11,913
Smoking	42,586	9,087	911	15,931		1,743
Teacher Recruitment	73,968	8,397		26,426
Volunteering	44,621			14,401
Total	508,121	128,348	3,129	132,205	2,613	7,622	14,175		1,560	1,118

Notes:

* Guardian Media Group.

** North East Community Radio.

TV by Region 1 August 2004 to 31 March 2005

Campaign	Setanta	SMG (Scottish/Grampian)	Border	C4 Scot	Five Scot
Broadband		66,391	6,052	108,937	44,957
Domestic Abuse				56,570	11,680
Drugs		46,300		31,000	23,673
Environment				62,906	16,239
Fire				59,955	9,720
Flu/Pneumoccal		81,088	7,392	30,240	1,226
Foolsspeed				103,864	44,249
Healthy Living		93,800	7,300	90,711	32,882
Race				54,651	37,773
Violence against Public Sector Workers		65,739	5,923	23,086	0
Total		353858	26,667	621,920	222 ,399

TV by Region, 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006

Campaign	Setanta	SMG (Scottish/Grampian)	Border	C4 Scot	Five Scot
Alcohol		98,600		31,960	5,440
Domestic Abuse		57,420		18,612	3,168
Drugs		130,745		45,015	7,740
Fire		186,151		23,971	4,080
Flu/Pneumoccal		108,244		35,084	5,972
Smoking	8,000	147,592		46,233	8,076
Healthy Living		370,108		88,525	15,067
Health Service Recruitment/ NHS Careers		77,575		25,145	4,280
Race	17,500	211,344		66,097	11,560
Road Safety (Foolsspeed)		145,073		47,023	8,004
Sustainable Development/Environment		97,000
Violence against Public Sector Workers		77,575		25,145	4,280
Total	25,500	1,707,427		452,810	77,667

The information on spend forthe period November 2002 to 31 March 2003 is no longer held by our previous mediabuying agency. However, for the 2003-2004 prior to 31 July 2004 the information canobtained at cost from the agency.

Question reference: S2W-24795

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 18 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a reported drop in recruitment levels in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, resulting in a possible reduction from five battalions to four within a year, would have on the Scottish economy over the same period.

Question reference: S2W-24794

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 18 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a reported drop in recruitment levels in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, resulting in a possible reduction from five battalions to three in five years, would have on the Scottish economy over that time period.

Question reference: S2W-24612

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken a comparison of the cost-effectiveness of its public service broadcasts in the south of Scotland and the rest of Scotland and, if so, what the conclusion was.

We continually review the cost-effectivenessof all of our media platforms to ensure that we use the right media to reach therelevant audience for each of our campaigns.

The south of Scotland is coveredin a number of ways including television (Channels 4 and 5), radio (Radio Bordersand Westsound) and press (Tweeddale Press Group and Dumfries and Galloway Group).

We do not currently use BorderTV as it is not competitive in both cost and reach.

Question reference: S2W-24611

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the cost-effectiveness of its public information broadcasts.