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: S3W-08380

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 January 2008

The number and percentage offull-time first year students at Scottish higher education institutions (HEI) whodid not continue their education at an HEI in the United Kingdomafter one year is shown in table 1.

Table 1: Number andPercentage of Full-Time First Year Students at Scottish Higher Education InstitutionsNot Continuing in Higher Education 2002-03 to 2004-05

Academic Year	First Degree		Other Undergraduates
Academic Year	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
2002-03	3,760	12.1	1,505	25.4
2003-04	3,645	11.6	1,655	29.1
2004-05	3,205	10.7	1,225	21.8

Source: Higher Education StatisticsAgency.

Other undergraduates are studentsstudying for HNC or HND qualifications, professional qualifications below degreelevel or are undertaking related modules. The figures for 2005-06 will be publishedon 5 June 2008.

Student retention statisticsfor higher education courses delivered in Scotland’s colleges are calculated on a different basis, as manycourses at colleges last one year or less. The Scottish Funding Council measures“early student retention” describing the percentage of initial students who stayedfor 25% of the course duration, and “student retention”, the number of studentscompleting the programme, expressed as a percentage of those passing the early retentionthreshold. In the ‘student retention’ indicator each student is weighted by theamount of teaching input he or she receives. Table 2 combines these two percentagesto provide an approximate percentage of students who do not complete their course.These students could have transferred to another course or a higher educationinstitution, terminated their studies because they found work or for other reasons.

Table 2: Percentage ofFull-Time Higher Education Students at Scotland’s Colleges Not Completing their Course, 2002-03 to 2005-06

Academic Year	Percentage Not Completing their Course
2002-03	27%
2003-04	27%
2004-05	24%
2005-06	24%

Source: Scottish Funding Council.

Question reference: S3W-08003

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make available details of its Scottish Futures Trust initiative.

Question reference: S3W-05822

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, for every $1 increase in the price of oil above $60, or the price that had been assumed in the UK budget, what information it has on approximately how much of that $1 goes to HM Treasury.

Question reference: S3W-07132

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the (a) Airdrie and Shotts and (b) Hamilton North and Bellshill parliamentary constituencies will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Question reference: S3W-06273

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 27 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the possible introduction of a regional minimum wage policy and, if so, what the outcome has been of these discussions.

Question reference: S3W-05775

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by Alex Fergusson on 9 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will list for each individual MSP who submitted their name at least once for a computerised ballot for oral questions since 3 May 2007, excluding Scottish Ministers and the Presiding Officer, the number of times each member has been selected to ask a question and the proportion of their submissions which were successful.

During the period between 3 May and 31 October 2007 selections were made, by computerised ballot, for question times taken in 14 meetings of the Parliament. The maximum number of times that members could have submitted their names for selection was 40 times and the maximum number of times that they could have been selected to lodge a question was 14 times.

The following table shows the number of times that each member submitted their name, the number of times that they were selected and the proportion of their submission that were successful, for the period between 3 May and 31 October 2007.

Member Number*	Number of Times Name Submitted	Number of Times Selected	Proportion of Successful Submissions
1	40	7	17.5%
2	34	4	11.8%
3	40	1	2.5%
4	9	0	0%
5	28	3	10.7%
6	16	1	6.2%
7	22	3	13.6%
8	40	4	10%
9	40	3	7.5%
10	3	0	0%
11	18	1	5.6%
12	40	3	7.5%
13	40	4	10%
14	34	5	14.7%
15	34	2	5.9%
16	40	3	7.5%
17	40	4	10%
18	40	1	2.5%
19	40	3	7.5%
20	40	7	17.5%
21	40	4	10%
22	40	4	10%
23	40	1	2.5%
24	40	3	7.5%
25	40	4	10%
26	1	0	0%
27	31	5	16.1%
28	40	3	7.5%
29	27	4	14.8%
30	34	2	5.9%
31	40	4	10%
32	31	1	3.2%
33	34	3	8.8%
34	40	4	10%
35	40	9	22.5%
36	40	5	12.5%
37	33	8	24.2%
38	40	4	10%
39	21	2	9.5%
40	21	3	14.3%
41	34	3	8.8%
42	36	4	11.1%
43	40	5	12.5%
44	40	5	12.5%
45	9	3	33.3%
46	19	4	21%
47	40	6	15%
48	40	4	10%
49	24	4	16.7%
50	33	6	18.2%
51	40	4	10%
52	18	1	5.6%
53	40	5	12.5%
54	40	2	5%
55	36	4	11.1%
56	39	7	17.9%
57	40	5	12.5%
58	19	0	0%
59	20	2	10%
60	19	4	21%
61	40	5	12.5%
62	40	4	10%
63	40	4	10%
64	34	4	11.8%
65	34	3	8.8%
66	40	2	5%
67	40	4	10%
68	35	5	14.3%
69	40	2	5%
70	31	4	12.9%
71	40	4	10%
72	40	2	5%
73	40	2	5%
74	40	5	12.5%
75	37	3	8.1%
76	4	0	0%
77	33	1	3%
78	40	5	12.5%
79	40	6	15%
80	28	3	10.7%
81	40	7	17.5%
82	25	6	24%
83	40	5	12.5%
84	36	7	19.4%
85	40	4	10%
86	40	3	7.5%
87	25	1	4%
88	40	3	7.5%
89	40	4	10%
90	40	5	12.5%
91	40	7	17.5%
92	34	3	8.8%
93	40	6	15%
94	33	3	9.1%
95	40	7	17.5%
96	21	1	4.8%
97	40	7	17.5%
98	40	5	12.5%
99	24	1	4.2%
100	37	4	10.8%
101	40	4	10%
102	40	6	15%%
103	21	2	9.5%
104	24	2	8.3%
105	22	3	13.6%
106	34	3	8.8%
107	40	5	12.5%
108	28	5	17.9%
109	40	3	7.5%

Note: *These numbers represent the order in which staff processed the information reproduced in the table.

Question reference: S3W-05717

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 8 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints it has received about Network Rail's treatment of angling clubs and those who engage in freshwater fishing in lochs in central Scotland; what the nature of the complaints has been, and what action is being taken to deal with such complaints.

Question reference: S3W-05436

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 1 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its agencies have powers of compulsory purchase and, of these, which have used such powers in each of the last four years, also showing the general purpose in each case for using the powers.

Question reference: S3W-05470

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the gross number of jobs (a) lost and (b) created in Scotland in each of the last five years.

There is noinformation held centrally on the number of jobs lost or created in Scotland. However, data is available on the net change injobs over time. Table 1 shows the net change in employee jobs in Scotland in each year since 1999.

Table 1 Annual Changein the Level of Employee Jobs, 2000-05

Year	Annual Change
1999-2000	66,200
2000-01	65,900
2001-02	-20,000
2002-03	27,700
2003-04	33,300
2004-05	51,700

Source:Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

1.The data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

2.ABI data are workplace based.

Question reference: S3W-05045

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the public appointments that it has made since January 2005 which do not fall within the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland or the commissioner’s code of practice.