Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-30025

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into the effectiveness of ignition interlock systems for convicted drink drivers as a way to reduce this type of repeat offending, lower the rate of death and injury on Scotland’s roads and reduce pressure on the resources on police and emergency health professionals.

Road traffic legislation is reserved and as such is the responsibility of the Department for Transport.

The Department for Transport will shortly be completing a two and a half year research project (in Manchester and West Midlands) on the operation of alcohol ignition interlocks, in which drivers who had, in the past, been convicted of drink driving were invited to use an interlock for six months. The project has collected a large amount of data about their driving behaviour and attitudes and how they may have changed. A final report is expected in the spring of 2007.

Enabling powers have been created in the Road Safety Act 2006 to allow for a regime of alcohol ignition interlock programmes as a court disposal in Great Britain. This regime is modelled on the Drink-Drive Rehabilitation Courses that have been available throughout Great Britain since 2000.

Question reference: S2W-30028

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated or actual cost has been to the public purse of dealing with individuals who commit drink-driving offences in terms of (a) costs to the courts, (b) associated health resources for dealing with the victims of such offences and (c) police and other emergency services' clean-up and operational time and resources, broken down by year since 1996.

(a) The following table showsestimated court running costs for hearing cases involving drink driving relatedoffences, the majority of which are prosecuted through the courts by way of summarycriminal procedure.

The costs used in the table havebeen estimated by extrapolation from average court running and shrieval costs aspublished by the Scottish Executive in the annual Costs, Sentencing Profiles andthe Scottish Criminal Justice System report published by the Scottish Executivein terms of section 306 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act1995. Costs for 2004-05 have not yet been published.

Prosecution and witness costsare not included in the figures below.

Number of Convictions for Drink-DrivingRelated Offences and Associated Average Court Time Costs

1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
9,843	9,452	8,345	8,527	7,238	7,477	10,688	9,192
£1.1 million	£990,000	£880,000	£810,000	£690,000	£830,000	£1.3 million	£1.2 million

Conviction figures extractedfrom Statistical Bulletin Criminal Justice Series: CrJ/2006/3 published by the ScottishExecutive http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/04/25104019/31.

(b) This information is not held centrally as regards health resources.

(c) This information is not held centrally as regards police and other emergency service resources.

Question reference: S2W-30053

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 December 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people have been charged with committing offences while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in each year since 1999, broken down by police authority area.

Information on the drink or drugsstatus of accused persons is not generally available from the statistics collectedcentrally on court proceedings. The exceptions to this are offences where by definitionthe accused was drunk or under the influence of drink or drugs. The available informationin relation to these offences is given in the following table.

Persons Aged Under 21Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selected Offences¹, byPolice Force Area, 1999-2000 to 2004-05

Police Force Area	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Central	39	52	34	86	68	56
Dumfries and Galloway	19	22	22	31	34	35
Fife	56	55	49	135	77	65
Grampian	173	79	134	129	149	118
Lothian and Borders	91	116	134	174	129	151
Northern	115	40	71	100	101	81
Strathclyde	373	316	310	417	335	366
Tayside	81	57	91	119	115	89
Scotland	947	737	845	1,191	1,008	961

Note: 1. Where main offence includescausing death by careless driving when under influence of drink or drugs, drunkennessor drink driving.

Question reference: S2W-29849

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses the performance of members appointed by Scottish ministers to the boards of non-departmental public bodies and what powers it has to remove board members who it considers consistently underperform.

Under the terms and conditionsof their appointment, board members and chairs of regulated non-departmentalpublic bodies are subject to annual performance appraisal. Board members are normallyassessed by their board chair who in turn is normally assessed by a senior civilservant. Performance is assessed against agreed objectives.

In addition, allnon-departmental public bodies operate within the parameters of the Executive’sPerformance Management framework and are monitored by dedicated sponsor teams withinScottish Executive Departments.

Legislation establishing individualnon-departmental public bodies provides authority for ministers to appoint boardmembers and chairs, and subject to the Nolan principles, should they under-perform,for ministers to remove board members and chairs from their posts. Similar provisionsare also specified in the terms and conditions attached to individual appointments.

Question reference: S2W-30052

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 30 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 1,426 young people referred to the Children’s Reporter in 2005-06 on grounds of misuse of alcohol or drugs are currently on rehabilitation programmes.

Question reference: S2W-30148

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population have been in receipt of income support in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.

The following table shows thepercentage of population aged 16 to 59 claiming Income Support by Scottishlocal authority.

Percentage of the PopulationAged 16 to 59 Claiming Income Support, 1999-2006

Local Authority	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Aberdeen City	5.6	5.9	6.1	6.4	6.4	6.3	5.9	5.8
Aberdeenshire	3.3	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.4	3.3	3.2
Angus	4.9	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.5	5.2	5.1
Argyll and Bute	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.0
Clackmannanshire	8.2	8.4	8.8	8.6	8.7	8.3	8.0	8.1
Dumfries and Galloway	5.5	5.6	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.7
Dundee City	10.1	10.2	10.4	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.0	9.7
East Ayrshire	8.4	8.6	8.8	8.8	8.7	8.8	8.5	8.4
East Dunbartonshire	3.7	3.8	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.8	3.7	3.6
East Lothian	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.8	5.6	5.3	5.1	5.1
East Renfrewshire	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.1	3.9	3.8
Edinburgh, City of	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.6	6.5	6.2	6.0	5.9
Eilean Siar	5.0	5.1	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.0	4.7	4.5
Falkirk	6.8	7.1	7.0	7.0	6.9	6.6	6.4	6.2
Fife	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.4	6.2	6.2
Glasgow City	16.2	16.5	16.4	16.2	15.5	14.8	14.1	13.7
Highland	5.6	5.8	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.5
Inverclyde	11.5	11.6	11.7	11.9	11.5	10.9	10.5	10.3
Midlothian	6.4	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.2	6.1	5.8	5.5
Moray	4.5	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.5	4.3	4.2	4.1
North Ayrshire	9.4	9.6	9.8	10.0	9.7	9.5	8.9	8.8
North Lanarkshire	9.5	9.7	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.3	9.0	8.7
Orkney Islands	3.2	3.2	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.3	3.2	3.2
Perth and Kinross	4.6	4.7	4.9	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.4
Renfrewshire	8.4	8.6	9.0	8.9	8.9	8.4	8.0	7.9
Scottish Borders	4.3	4.5	4.7	4.9	4.8	4.5	4.4	4.4
Shetland Islands	3.3	3.5	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4
South Ayrshire	6.7	6.8	6.9	7.1	7.1	6.9	6.9	6.6
South Lanarkshire	7.9	8.0	8.2	8.2	8.1	7.8	7.3	7.1
Stirling	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.2	5.2
West Dunbartonshire	10.9	11.1	11.2	11.4	11.4	10.8	10.5	10.3
West Lothian	6.9	6.9	6.9	7.0	7.0	6.7	6.5	6.4
Scotland	7.8	8.0	8.1	8.1	8.0	7.7	7.4	7.2

Source: Benefit claimants fromDWP Information Directorate: Work and PensionsLongitudinal Study. Populations from GRO(S) mid year population estimates.

Note: August snapshot for allyears except May 2006.

Question reference: S2W-30049

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 29 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24528 by Hugh Henry on 11 April 2006, how many individuals were unable to access residential drug rehabilitation places in each year since 2001-02 due to insufficient numbers of beds.

Question reference: S2W-30050

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 29 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24528 by Hugh Henry on 11 April 2006, what funding was provided for residential rehabilitation services in each year since 2001-02.

The Executive provided £6.8million per annum to local authorities in the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04 specificallyto support drug rehabilitation services. Thereafter this funding was incorporatedinto Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE).

In addition, we provide £23.7million annually to NHS boards for drug treatment services.

Planning of services is doneat local rather than national level. Alcohol and Drug Action Teams (ADATs) and theirpartner agencies are responsible for assessing needs and commissioning servicesin their local areas, including residential services aimed at the rehabilitationof drug users.

Question reference: S2W-29155

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 October 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much direct funding through business grants or other financial assistance was given to businesses in Scotland under (a) R&D Plus, (b) Research and Development Assistance, (c) Regional Selective Assistance, (d) SMART awards, (e) SPUR support and (f) venture capital investment, broken down by (i) year since 1996 and (ii) local authority area.

The information that my departmentholds is set out in the following tables.

R&D PLUS*

Expenditure by Financial Year

Financial Year	Actual Amount Paid
2003-04	£2,299,842
2004-05	£2,602,963
2005-06	£3,865,570
Total	£8,768,375

Expenditure During Period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 BrokenDown by Local Enterprise Company Area

Local Enterprise Area	Actual Amount Paid
SEn Ayrshire	£485,870
SEn Dumfries and Galloway	£950,000
SEn Edinburgh and Lothian	£6,750,281
SEn Forth Valley	£325,008
SEn Lanarkshire	£10,091
SEn Renfrewshire	£186,250
SEn Tayside	£60,875
Total	£8,768,375

Note: *R&D Plus is administeredby Scottish Enterprise and was launched in 2003-04. The information is recordedby Local Enterprise Company (LEC) area. Expenditure figures for individuallocal authority areas are not maintained centrally.

Research and Development Assistance*

Expenditure by Financial Year

Financial Year	Actual Amount Paid
2003-04	£1,381,132
2004-05	£930,023
2005-06	£1,750,146
Total	£4,061,301

Expenditure During Period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 BrokenDown by Local Enterprise Company Area

Scottish Enterprise LEC Area	Actual Amount Paid
SEn Ayrshire	£152,894
SEn Borders	£337,497
SEn Dumfries and Galloway	£138,497
SEn Dunbartonshire	£95,632
SEn Edinburgh and Lothian	£268,595
SEn Fife	£251,581
SEn Forth Valley	£197,896
SEn Glasgow	£400,865
SEn Grampian	£231,240
SEn Lanarkshire	£372,177
SEn Renfrewshire	£312,883
SEn Tayside	£207,687
Highlands and Islands LEC Areas
Argyll and The Islands Enterprise	£151,185
Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise	£33,005
Highlands and Islands Enterprise	£425,718
Inverness and Nairn Enterprise	£176,328
Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise	£20,229
Orkney Enterprise	£5,174
Ross and Cromarty Enterprise	£71,545
Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise	£72,425
Shetland Enterprise	£80,435
Western Isles Enterprise	£57,813
Total	£4,061,301

Note: *The figures quoted arefor Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s R&D Scheme for SMEs and the R&D componentof Scottish Enterprise’s equivalent Small Company Innovation Support Scheme. Theinformation is recorded by local enterprise company area. Expenditure figures forindividual local authority areas are not maintained centrally.

Regional Selective Assistance,SMART, SPUR and SPUR^PLUS*

Actual Expenditure by FinancialYear

Financial Year	Regional Selective Assistance	SMART	SPUR	SPUR^PLUS
1996-97	£69,819,389	£1,236,901	£828,115	£32,002
1997-98	£74,262,000	£1,088,108	£1,405,225	£303,553
1998-99	£73,388,795	£1,105,874	£1,876,711	£630,503
1999-2000	£51,966,770	£1,595,409	£1,724,540	£1,246,901
2000-01	£70,054,355	£1,390,492	£582,599	£1,251,306
2001-02	£44,204,850	£1,771,989	£275,845	£2,134,638
2002-03	£36,381,856	£2,532,689	£308,111	£3,638,633
2003-04	£41,992,800	£2,293,843	£624,160	£3,165,202
2004-05	£45,482,300	£2,105,530	£1,312,949	£3,933,627
2005-06	£35,995,000	£2,126,104	£2,587,653	£2,455,196
Total	£543,548,115	£17,246,939	£11,525,908	£18,791,561

Actual Expenditure During Period1 April 1996 to 31 March 2006 Broken Down by Local Authority Area

Council Area	Regional Selective Assistance	SMART	SPUR	SPUR^PLUS
Aberdeen City	0	£2,463,363	£1,242,091	£716,051
Aberdeenshire	0	£264,983	£172,599	0
Angus	£3,805,000	£316,135	£226,739	0
Argyll and Bute	£114,000	£121,834	0	0
Borders	£2,402,200	£253,615	0	0
Clackmannanshire	£3,189,600	£75,000	0	£437,079
Dumfries and Galloway	£4,764,000	£45,000	£33,682	0
Dundee City	£12,656,889	£441,481	£434,604	£2,777,117
East Ayrshire	£11,679,200	£91,667	0	0
East Dunbartonshire	£11,328,000	£161,486	£11,061	0
East Lothian	0	£151,964	£262,755	£221,980
East Renfrewshire	£2,210,000	0	0	£317,602
City of Edinburgh	£3,155,000	£3,384,622	£2,171,607	£4,484,429
Falkirk	£4,783,100	£399,756	£373,210	0
Fife	£67,970,100	£918,489	£484,836	£425,000
Glasgow City	£67,423,803	£2,777,711	£2,152,216	£1,982,586
Highland	£1,100,000	£323,994	£101,992	0
Inverclyde	£16,369,000	£45,000	0	0
Midlothian	0	£1,161,145	£623,186	£2,244,845
North Ayrshire	£41,240,750	£79,171	£54,805	0
North Lanarkshire	£60,953,093	£533,180	£511,635	£1,658,873
Orkney Islands	0	£45,000	0	0
Perth and Kinross	£275,000	£256,821	£219,958	£393,164
Renfrewshire	£45,571,000	£185,779	£274,061	£555,820
South Ayrshire	£9,091,000	£284,290	£196,002	£338,300
South Lanarkshire	£66,617,724	£377,960	£144,060	£567,947
Stirling	£1,912,000	£485,514	£420,409	0
West Dunbartonshire	£8,380,000	£548,684	0	0
Western Isles	0	£61,626	0	0
West Lothian	£96,557,656	£991,668	£1,414,400	£1,670,770
Total	£543,548,115	£17,246,938	£11,525,908	£18,791,563

Note: *The above figures areactuals. The Scottish Executive moved to accruals accounting in 2000-01. Therefore,the figures above may differ from other published figures. Accruals figures forindividual Council Areas are not held.

Venture Capital Investment*

Expenditure by Financial Year

Financial Year	Actual Amount Invested
1996-97	£5,486,000
1997-98	£5,799,000
1998-99	£6,559,000
1999-2000	£8,983,000
2000-01	£18,533,000
2001-02	£10,906,000
2002-03	£4,410,000
2003-04	£10,322,000
2004-05	£12,325,000
2005-06	£23,105,000
Total	£106,428,000

Note: *The above figures aretaken from the Scottish Enterprise published accounts for the years in questionand relate to investments undertaken on commercial terms. Information on expenditurewithin individual local authority or local enterprise company areas is notmaintained centrally.

Question reference: S2W-29784

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many eligible applicants it estimates will have to wait until after the winter for (a) the provision of free central heating and insulation under its central heating programme and (b) grants to have their homes insulated under the Warm Deal scheme, broken down by local authority area.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

Information is not kept in theform requested covering local authority area but by main postcode area.

The central heating and WarmDeal Programmes are demand-led. The number of people waiting and the length of timeeach individual has to wait are dependent on the number of eligible applicants andthe target number of installations in any one year. The average waiting time iscurrently around six months. Where householders require gas connections, electricalupgrades, building warrants etc it may, in some circumstances, take longer for themto receive the measures.

The target number of centralheating and warm deal installations in 2006-07 is 12,000 and 12,800 respectively.However, to address the continuing high demandwe are allocating an additional £5 million, between now and the end of this financialyear, to help up to 5,000 more householders benefit from these successfulprogrammes.

Chamber and committees