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-16290

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on relocation costs for new employees in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-16288

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants worked for each of its departments in each year since 1999, broken down by division.

The number of permanent civil servants working in the Scottish Executive core departments at 1 April each year since 1999 is shown in the following table. It is not possible to provide the information by division.

Number of Full-Time Equivalent Permanent Staff in Post in Scottish Executive Core Departments at 1 April Each Year

	April 1999	April 2000	April 2001	April 2002	April 2003	April 2004	April 2005
SE Core Total	3,706.5	3,929.3	3,985.6	4,144.6	4,332.6	4,411.0	4,412.9
Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries	940.6	..	..	..	..	..	..
Environment and Rural Affairs	..	963.7	1,017.2	1,074.1	1,086.1	1,086.2	1,072.2
Central Services	1,005.4	1,081.8	..	..	..	..	..
Corporate Services	..	..	705.5	640.8	624.9
Executive Secretariat	..	..	283.6	341.1	..	..	..
Finance	..	..	128.3	143.1	..	..	..
Finance and Central Services	..	..	..	..	556.1	569.0	453.2
Legal and Parliamentary Services	..	..	..	..	173.5	179.2	192.8
Ministerial Group	..	..	..	85.2	89.2	..	..
Education and Industry	582.6	..	..	..	..	..	..
Education	..	355.4	384.8	295.6	268.5	275.4	271.0
Enterprise and Lifelong Learning	..	296.9	309.4	331.3	340.8	..	..
Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning	..	..	..	..	..	517.2	556.1
Health	251.5	308.0	337.3	374.8	382.9	396.0	386.4
Home	369.8	..	..	..	..	..	..
Justice	..	326.2	234.1	215.1	227.2	253.4	247.9
Development	482.2	517.3	506.5	564.2	486.0	312.4	287.0
Office of the Permanent Secretary	..	..	..	..	..	745.0	867.4
Centrally Managed Staff	74.4	80.0	78.9	79.3	97.4	77.2	78.9

Question reference: S2W-16286

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 11 May 2005

Centrally held information on expenditure on hosting receptions for UK ministers is set out in the following table. This is likely to cover the majority of receptions for UK ministers. Further information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Year	Cost (£)
1999	Nil
2000	Nil
2001	947
2002	393
2003	Nil
2004	705

Question reference: S2W-16284

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 11 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what its expenditure in respect of the G8 summit will be (a) in the run-up to, and preparation for, the summit and (b) during the summit.

It will not be possible to give an accurate figure for G8-related expenditure until after the summit because planning will be continuing right up until the event. The information will be made available once it has been collected and analysed. The Executive and Scottish Enterprise have also commissioned an economic impact assessment to enable us to quantify the economic benefits of the summit for Scotland. The report of the assessment will be published.

Question reference: S2W-16285

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 11 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to build a metal security fence around its offices at Victoria Quay in the run-up to the G8 summit.

Question reference: S2W-16202

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many children have been detained at Dungavel House immigration removal centre since September 2001, broken down by month, on how many of these children were referred to the Reporter to the Children's Panel and, of those referred, on how many were deported before the reporter had concluded his investigations.

The operation of Dungavel is a matter for the Home Office. As such, the Scottish Executive does not collect information on the number of children held in Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre.

I understand that six children who were resident in Dungavel have been referred to the Principal Reporter under section 52 of the Children (Scotland) Act. None of these were subsequently referred onto a hearing. All six children were deported before the Reporter had completed his investigations.

Question reference: S2W-15791

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 April 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports have been recorded to the police involving racism in each year from 1999 to date, broken down by police force.

The information is as follows

Number of Racist Incidents

Force	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Dumfries and Galloway	24	57	54	62	53
Fife	186	166	405	438	541
Grampian	103	180	236	303	125
Lothian and Borders	552	551	594	676	601
Northern	25	75	82	98	116
Strathclyde	866	1,241	1,495	1,615	1,833
Tayside	302	308	254	212	305
Central	184	153	235	189	227
Total	2,242	2,731	3,355	3,593	3,801

Source: Annual Statistical Returns from forces to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-16077

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 April 2005
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 3 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend section 20 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to allow a third-party to request a review of a refusal to disclose information where the applicant does not seek such a review and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Question reference: S2W-16141

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 28 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in the debate on dental health services on 21 April 2005 anent "200 extra dentists by 2008, which means 200 more than we already have" (Official Report c. 16274), how many NHS dentists there are currently; how many there will be, counted on the same basis, by 2008, and how many dentists (a) retiring and (b) otherwise removing themselves from NHS provision have been taken into account to support the comments.

Question reference: S2W-16142

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 28 April 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments by the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in the debate on dental health services on 21 April 2005 anent "200 extra dentists by 2008, which means 200 more than we already have" (Official Report c. 16274), whether the Executive's stated target that all adults will have free dental checks by 2007 will be met if there is not a net increase in dentists by 200 in 2007.