Questions and answers

Question reference: S1W-13323

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 February 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 27 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many elderly day care places are currently provided in total by (a) voluntary and (b) statutory agencies, both expressed as a percentage of the over 65s population.

Figures for elderly day care places expressed as a percentage of the 65+ population are presented in the table, split by local authority, private and voluntary sectors. Figures for elderly day care in Scotland are available and can be found in the publication Scottish Community Care Statistics 1999 (Table 1.8, page 9) and also on the Scottish Executive website.

Day Care places for Older People in Scotland, as a percentage of the 65+ population 1998

Sector	Number of places	Proportion of over 65 population
Local Authority	5,599	0.71%
Private	214	0.03%
Voluntary	1,924	0.25%
Scotland	7,737	0.99%

Source: SEHD Community Care Statistics - D1-B Return Population Estimates, Scotland - prepared by GRO.It is for local authorities to decide whether day care centres should be available for older people in their areas. There is no common definition of statutory agencies.

Question reference: S1W-13289

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) nursing home and (b) residential home places have been lost in each of the last three years, both nationally and broken down by local authority.

Information on places lost in private nursing homes and residential care homes is not available centrally.However, a census of bed complement is carried out as part of an annual return for each private nursing home and registered residential care home. Table 1 shows the number of places available in Residential Care Homes.

Table 1: Residential care homes - places (Older People Only)
Local Authority	1998	1999	2000
Aberdeen City	686	691	675
Aberdeenshire	620	675	655
Angus	606	593	535
Argyll & Bute	701	612	557
Clackmannanshire	83	83	83
Dumfries & Galloway	650	716	818
Dundee City	628	507	481
East Ayrshire	368	479	432
East Dunbartonshire	187	138	118
East Lothian	332	324	268
East Renfrewshire	201	206	200
Edinburgh, City of	1,403	1,361	1,289
Eileanan Siar	192	195	201
Falkirk	313	284	284
Fife	1,008	958	964
Glasgow City	1,915	1,918	1,783
Highland Council, The	1,088	975	937
Inverclyde	313	316	270
Midlothian	279	269	278
Moray Council, The	271	272	257
North Ayrshire	389	393	418
North Lanarkshire	604	567	556
Orkney Islands	101	104	106
Perth & Kinross	722	755	704
Renfrewshire	433	439	455
Scottish Borders	460	459	442
Shetland Islands	139	144	135
South Ayrshire	337	294	293
South Lanarkshire	711	673	849
Stirling	407	361	305
West Dunbartonshire	264	275	271
West Lothian	266	264	232
Scotland	16,677	16,300	15,851

Source: SEHD Social Work Statistics.Table 2 shows the bed complement at 31 March in 1998, 1999 and 2000, split by local council area.Table 2: Number of beds in Private Nursing Homes in Scotland as at 31 March 1998-2000. by Local Council Area

	1998	1999	2000
Local Authority	Number of beds	Number of beds	Number of beds
Aberdeen City	777	1 019	910
Aberdeenshire	1 126	1 227	1 333
Angus	542	561	536
Argyll & Bute	268	265	211
Clackmannanshire	100	60	120
Dumfries & Galloway	584	604	532
Dundee City	720	593	654
East Ayrshire	724	597	639
East Dunbartonshire	335	355	343
East Lothian	497	431	497
East Renfrewshire	434	459	357
Edinburgh, City of	2 109	2 147	2 031
Eilean Siar	65	65	65
Falkirk	557	557	579
Fife	1 362	1 424	1 376
Glasgow City	2 933	2 926	2 794
Highland	1 354	1 155	1 086
Inverclyde	358	295	302
Midlothian	355	242	355
Moray	285	305	305
North Ayrshire	888	863	848
North Lanarkshire	1 160	1 167	1 285
Orkney	-	-	-
Perth & Kinross	870	816	766
Renfrewshire	797	816	614
Scottish Borders	633	652	604
Shetland	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	796	739	777
South Lanarkshire	1 745	1 569	1 622
Stirling	607	598	576
West Dunbartonshire	292	356	146
West Lothian	565	617	687
Scotland	23 838	23 480	22 950

Source: ISD Scotland, ISD(S)34.Ref: HCIU 2001/0157Notes:1. Private Nursing Homes subject to the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 (as amended) or the Mental Health Act 1960/1984. Also includes a few "other" establishments, e.g. hospices, which are registered under the Act. Private hospitals registered under the Act are excluded from this table.2. The figures shown are based on information supplied by nursing homes at the end of each financial year. It is understood from health boards that a small number of other nursing homes in Scotland have been unable to provide the information requested. Data from these nursing homes are not included in the table and account for approximately 30 homes at 31 March 1999 and 2000 and approx. 15 homes at 31 March 1998. The bed complements of these homes are not known and may explain the fluctuation in bed numbers and residents over the four-year period. 3. The figures represent a "snap shot" on 31 March each year and do not necessarily reflect the position between the censuses or at present.

Question reference: S1W-13290

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2001
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) private residential homes, (b) private nursing homes and (c) local authority residential homes have been closed in each of the last three years, both nationally and by local authority.

Information on closures of private nursing homes and residential care homes is not available centrally.However, a census is carried out annually for each private nursing home and registered residential care home. Table 1 shows the number of residential care homes in each of the three years.

Table 1: Residential care homes - numbers of (Older People Only)
	1998				1999				2000
Local Authority Area	Local Authority	Private	Voluntary	All	Local Authority	Private	Voluntary	All	Local Authority	Private	Voluntary	All
Aberdeen City	10	2	9	21	10	2	9	21	9	3	9	21
Aberdeenshire	14	8	7	29	12	10	7	29	13	10	6	29
Angus	6	19	2	27	6	19	2	27	4	19	2	25
Argyll & Bute	7	22	4	33	7	20	4	31	7	17	4	28
Clackmannanshire	2	0	1	3	2	0	1	3	2	0	1	3
Dumfries & Galloway	11	16	5	32	0	22	12	34	0	21	12	33
Dundee City	9	8	5	22	6	7	5	18	6	7	5	18
East Ayrshire	4	9	2	15	4	12	2	18	4	12	2	18
East Dunbartonshire	1	3	2	6	1	3	1	5	0	3	1	4
East Lothian	4	4	4	12	4	4	4	12	3	3	3	9
East Renfrewshire	1	2	4	7	1	2	4	7	1	2	4	7
Edinburgh, City of	14	13	23	50	14	12	22	48	14	9	18	41
Eilean Siar	14	1	1	16	15	1	1	17	15	1	1	17
Falkirk	7	5	3	15	6	4	3	13	6	3	3	12
Fife	12	22	11	45	12	20	10	42	11	20	9	40
Glasgow City	23	15	20	58	23	15	20	58	23	13	19	55
Highland Council, The	18	31	11	60	18	29	10	57	19	29	8	56
Inverclyde	2	4	7	13	2	4	6	12	3	3	4	10
Midlothian	3	3	2	8	3	3	2	8	3	3	3	9
Moray Council, The	6	4	1	11	6	4	1	11	5	4	1	10
North Ayrshire	6	13	2	21	6	12	2	20	6	13	3	22
North Lanarkshire	11	11	1	23	10	9	1	20	10	8	1	19
Orkney Islands	2	3	0	5	2	3	0	5	2	3	0	5
Perth & Kinross	4	18	8	30	3	19	8	30	3	18	8	29
Renfrewshire	6	7	2	15	6	6	2	14	6	6	3	15
Scottish Borders	6	7	5	18	6	8	4	18	6	8	4	18
Shetland Islands	4	0	5	9	4	0	5	9	3	0	6	9
South Ayrshire	5	5	5	15	5	5	3	13	5	4	3	12
South Lanarkshire	10	8	7	25	8	11	5	24	8	10	6	24
Stirling	4	6	7	17	4	5	6	15	4	5	5	14
West Dunbartonshire	7	2	1	10	7	2	1	10	7	2	1	10
West Lothian	6	2	2	10	6	2	2	10	5	2	2	9
Scotland	239	273	169	681	219	275	165	659	213	261	157	631

Source: SEHD Social Work Statistics.Table 2 shows the number of homes in each of the three years.Table 2: Number of Private Nursing Homes¹ in Scotland ^2,3 at 31 March 1998 - 2000 by Local Council Area

	31-Mar	31-Mar	31-Mar
	1998	1999	2000
Aberdeen City	15	20	18
Aberdeenshire	30	32	33
Angus	11	12	12
Argyll & Bute	11	11	9
Clackmannanshire	2	1	2
Dumfries & Galloway	16	15	14
Dundee City	17	15	16
East Ayrshire	19	16	17
East Dunbartonshire	5	7	7
East Lothian	12	10	12
East Renfrewshire	10	11	8
Edinburgh, City of	46	46	44
Eilean Siar	2	2	2
Falkirk	10	10	10
Fife	29	32	32
Glasgow City	54	52	47
Highland	34	29	30
Inverclyde	9	7	8
Midlothian	7	6	7
Moray	7	8	8
North Ayrshire	16	16	15
North Lanarkshire	22	22	24
Orkney	-	-	-
Perth & Kinross	21	21	20
Renfrewshire	12	11	12
Scottish Borders	16	17	16
Shetland	-	-	-
South Ayrshire	22	20	22
South Lanarkshire	38	32	34
Stirling	12	12	11
West Dunbartonshire	4	5	3
West Lothian	9	10	12
Scotland	518	508	505

Source: ISD Scotland, ISD(S)34.Ref.: HCIU 2001/0157.Notes:1. Private nursing homes subject to the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 (as amended) or the Mental Health Act 1960/1984. Also includes a few "other" establishments, e.g. hospices, which are registered under the Act. Private hospitals registered under the Act are excluded from this table.2. The figures shown are based on information supplied by nursing homes at the end of each financial year. It is understood from health boards that a small number of other nursing homes in Scotland have been unable to provide the information requested. Data from these nursing homes are not included in the table and account for approximately 30 homes at 31 March 1999 and 2000 and approximately 15 homes at 31 March 1998. The bed complements of these homes are not known and may explain the fluctuation in bed numbers over the four-year period.3. The figures represent a "snap shot" on 31 March each year and do not necessarily reflect the position between the censuses or at present.

Question reference: S1W-11411

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 22 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10798 by Sarah Boyack on 14 November 2000, how many individuals in Scotland will have lost jobs following the relocation of the Seacat from Stranraer to Troon and thereafter from Troon to Belfast.

Question reference: S1W-10538

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether charging older people for personal care through compulsory sale of their home accords with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Question reference: S1W-12540

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11525 by Mr Jim Wallace on 10 January 2001, what the total annual cost per prisoner place at Kilmarnock Prison would be if it was calculated using the same methodology as is used to calculate annual costs per prisoner place in relation to Scottish Prison Service prisons and excluding any capital costs such as designing, construction and financing costs.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The SPS annual cost per prisoner place is based on the net current expenditure. This excludes all capital expenditure and financing costs of the service.

The Kilmarnock prison contract won in open competition is for the provision of a complete custodial service over 25 years and the price includes all design, construction, financing and management costs and cannot therefore properly be compared with this SPS figure.The only meaningful comparison is between the cost of the winning bid for Kilmarnock and the estimated cost of SPS providing the equivalent custodial service as specified in the contract over the whole period of the contract. This is properly done by comparing the respective net present values over the 25 year period. On this basis, the average net present value per prisoner place for HMP Kilmarnock amounts to £11,000 compared to an SPS equivalent of £21,000 or £23,000 including risks.

Question reference: S1W-12923

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8788 by Sarah Boyack on 21 August 2000, whether it was aware at that time that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report which informed the Borders railway feasibility study's conclusions on tourism pre-dated the feasibility study by three years and looked only at the effect a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels could have on tourism and, if not, whether it adheres to its position that a supplementary study looking at the potential impact on tourism of the reopening of the line from Edinburgh to Carlisle is not necessary.

Question reference: S1W-12924

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 14 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4363 by Sarah Boyack on 15 February 2000, whether it was aware at that time that the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report which informed the Borders railway feasibility study's conclusions on tourism pre-dated the feasibility study by three years and looked only at the effect a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels could have on tourism and, if not, whether it adheres to its statement that the feasibility study was the product of a detailed assessment of the economic, social and environmental impacts of reopening part or all of the railway line from Edinburgh to Carlisle.

Question reference: S1W-12925

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 13 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10209 by Sarah Boyack on 28 November 2000, whether, in the absence of any publicly available documentary evidence on the impact of a Borders railway on tourism other than the Scottish Borders Tourist Board report dating from 1996 on the effect of a train line from Edinburgh to Galashiels on tourism in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian, it will now convert the information obtained in the consultants' interviews into a publishable form and publish this information.

Question reference: S1W-12469

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 9 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9643 by Henry McLeish on 19 September 2000, how many textile-related projects have been developed by (a) the enterprise network and (b) the textile industry, and which of these projects are receiving or are to receive financial support, specifying the amount of support in each case.

We are determined to help the textile sector in its transition from volume manufacturing to higher added-value markets. Since the Scottish Textile Forum was established on 6 June last year, nearly £3 million of public support has been provided to the textile sector in Scotland. The Scottish Executive and its agencies have over this period provided: over £2 million towards retraining of those made redundant by textile companies; £300,000 in Regional Selective Assistance to textile companies; £10,000 to support companies attending London Fashion Week; £449,000 over two years for the cashmere club; £20,000 support for in-store promotion; £20,000 for the development of a website for the Scottish textile industry; £15,000 to support companies attending industry trend presentations; and £20,000 support for the development of a national textile action plan. The DTI has also provided £70,000 under their Engineering Technicians programme to raise skill levels in the Borders and are currently considering support for various other projects from Scottish companies. The £3 million figure does not include a £1.2 million DTI Faraday award for the UK-wide Technitex project led by Heriot-Watt University in Galashiels.

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