- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 3 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been invested by it and The Scottish Office in the transport infrastructure for the Scottish Borders broken down for each of the last ten consecutive years.
Answer
Scottish Executive and Scottish Office investment in transport infrastructure in the Scottish Borders has been mainly in the trunk road network. Capital expenditure on trunk road improvements and repairs in each of the last three completed financial years (the period for which information is available), is shown below. The figures exclude revenue expenditure on routine cyclical and winter maintenance.
Year | Investment (£ million) |
1996-97 | 6.2 |
1997-98 | 3.7 |
1998-99 | 1.1 |
In addition, a contract has just been placed for the £3.7 million Hawick Traffic Relief Scheme on the A7 trunk road. Funding for this will be shared by the Scottish Executive (61%) and Scottish Borders Council (39%). This scheme is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.The Scottish Executive (and previously The Scottish Office) also provides support for local authority capital investment by way of capital allocations. This is a single allocation covering all services (except housing for which there are separate arrangements) and it is entirely a matter for individual local authorities to allocate the overall amount reflecting local priorities for services. Under the Transport Challenge Fund, a competition administered by the Scottish Office, Scottish Borders Council was awarded additional capital allocations totalling £6.5 million in financial years 1997-98 and 1998-99 for the Kelso Bridge and Bypass project. Since 1998-99 grant of £158,000 per annum has been paid to the Council to aid rural public passenger transport services. This grant is principally to be used for revenue purposes. However, in 1998-99 up to 20% and in 1999-2000 up to 10% of the grant could be used for capital purposes. During 1998-99 a grant of £8,000 was made from the Cycle Challenge Fund to the Forestry Commission (Forest Enterprise South Borders Forest District) for the purpose of creating a historical cycle route from Peebles passing through Glentress Woodland Park.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 3 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the environmental and agricultural implications of low level flying in the Borders.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to low-level flying. Aviation matters, both civil and military, are reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including aviation matters.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 27 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1355 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000 and to question S1W-3497 by Mr Jack McConnell on 25 January 2000, whether it will now make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers in relation to the Noel Ruddle proceedings and, if not, why not.
Answer
Any copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers which were inherited by the Scottish Executive on 1 July 1999 or have come into its possession since that date were or are provided by the UK Government on the basis that these may not be disclosed outwith the Executive.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 23 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the local government spending settlement is on elderly people.
Answer
For the second year running local authority expenditure and grant are both set to increase in real terms. Much of the expenditure will benefit older people.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 14 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what was the projected social work expenditure on care of the elderly and what was the actual expenditure in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
Budgeted social work expenditure on care of the elderly is given below. Final outturn figures were given in my response to your question S1W-4398, dated 22 February 2000. Data are only given for years since local government reorganisation in April 1996.
Comparison between budgeted and final outturn expenditure on the elderly is not directly possible due to a number of differences in the classification of expenditure between the two returns to the Scottish Executive.Budgeted Social Work Expenditure1 on Care for the Elderly - 1996-97, 1997-98 & 1998-99| Local Authority | 1996-97 £ millions | 1997-98 £ millions | 1998-99 £ millions |
| Aberdeen City2 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 19.7 |
| Aberdeenshire | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| Angus | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.5 |
| Argyll and Bute | 8.4 | 8.1 | 9.1 |
| Clackmannanshire | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 13.1 | 13.6 | 15.9 |
| Dundee City | 17.9 | 15.3 | 16.7 |
| East Ayrshire | 6.9 | 8.6 | 9.1 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 5.3 | 4.2 | 6.3 |
| East Lothian | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| East Renfrewshire | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 |
| Edinburgh | 37.3 | 38.4 | 38.0 |
| Eilean Siar | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.7 |
| Falkirk | 7.9 | 3.2 | 6.6 |
| Fife | 29.7 | 28.7 | 27.0 |
| Glasgow | 59.4 | 58.1 | 63.7 |
| Highland | 15.1 | 15.1 | 18.5 |
| Inverclyde | 5.7 | 6.1 | 7.7 |
| Midlothian | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
| Moray | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| North Ayrshire | 9.9 | 8.7 | 9.8 |
| North Lanarkshire | 17.6 | 23.4 | 25.4 |
| Orkney Islands | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| Perth and Kinross | 10.0 | 10.5 | 10.4 |
| Renfrewshire | 10.0 | 13.9 | 14.7 |
| Scottish Borders | 8.2 | 8.9 | 8.3 |
| Shetland Islands | 2.6 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| South Ayrshire | 7.8 | 9.2 | 10.0 |
| South Lanarkshire | 16.2 | 26.4 | 21.7 |
| Stirling | 1.5 | 4.3 | 6.8 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 10.9 | 10.9 | 9.2 |
| West Lothian | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.1 |
| Scotland Total | 374.6 | 396.6 | 428.8 |
Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Provisional Outturn Budget Estimate (POBE) returns.
Notes:1. Figures are net expenditure excluding loan and leasing charges and Capital from Current Revenue (CFCR).2. In 1996-97 and 1997-98, part of Aberdeen City's expenditure on the elderly was entered outwith the elderly section of the POBE return. This accounts for the high increase in the council's budgeted expenditure for 1998-99.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 14 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many elements of the recommendations of the Sutherland Report With Respect to Old Age for a National Care Commission have been accepted; how many have not been accepted and what they are, and what criteria were used for selection or rejection.
Answer
In the debate on older people on 2 December 1999, I indicated that the Scottish Executive accepted the recommendation of the Royal Commission that there should be a National Care Commission "to monitor trends, including demography and spending, ensure transparency and accountability in the system, represent the interests of consumers and set national benchmarks". I proposed that the recommendation would be fulfilled in Scotland through the establishment of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.We intend that the Commission will be responsible for ensuring that all social care is provided to national standards. It will create a national database of care services and will be able to use this, together with demographic and resource data collected by the Scottish Executive, to advise on trends. It will have the power to investigate complaints about care services and report on them. It will advise on changes needed to the national care standards. It will also provide advice to those offering services on how to meet the standards and improve the service they provide.We are at present consulting on our proposal for the Commission.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 8 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding it is proposing to allocate for research into and prevention of cardiomyopathy.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has received no research proposals of a sufficiently high standard on cardiomyopathy recently and therefore does not directly fund research into heart muscle disease at present. However, we would be pleased to receive research applications on any of the three types of cardiomyopathy (dilated, restrictive and hypertrophic), especially as cardiovascular problems remain a priority of the Scottish Executive.We are aware of 129 research projects on cardiomyopathy which are currently taking place in the UK, five of which are taking place in Scotland. The results of the projects undertaken throughout the UK will inform the future direction of research and treatment of this disease.Details of all the UK projects are available from the National Research Register (NRR), a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) whether there is "no crisis" in the farming industry as stated in the recent report published by the Cabinet Office, (b) how it determines whether there is a crisis in the industry and (c) what its definition is of an industrial crisis.
Answer
The report referred to was a publication of the UK Government, not the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive acknowledges that agriculture is facing major problems, and many sectors and people within it are facing real difficulties.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have left the Scottish Borders since 1998.
Answer
The latest, mid-1998, population estimates published by the Registrar General estimate net migration gain to the Scottish Borders of 360 in the year ending 30 June 1998. The Registrar General intends to publish mid-1999 population estimates, including estimates of migration, for Scotland and its administrative areas in April 2000.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much inward investment has been attracted to the Scottish Borders by Locate in Scotland for the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and what it estimates the figure will be for 2000-01.
Answer
In the Scottish Borders Enterprise area between 1996 and 1999, Locate in Scotland was involved in expansion projects by Mainetti and Viasystems.
In the current financial year, the following projects which have been attracted to the Scottish Borders Enterprise area have been announced:COMPANY | JOBS | DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT |
| Mainetti | 100 | June 1999 |
| Manpower | 60 | July 1999 |
| Allflex | 40 | October 1999 |
Locate in Scotland does not produce estimated figures for individual areas.
