- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information on any follow-up action taken in response to the recommendation contained in the report by Audit Scotland, Local economic forums: A follow-up report, that it should work with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to investigate wide regional variations in the business sector's views of public sector business support services.
Answer
Yes. All of Audit Scotland’s recommendations will inform policy development and implementation relating to Local Economic Forums (LEF). Progress will be reported in a variety of ways including at a stakeholder conference planned for later this year and through the LEF website.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 12 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outline business case costs were for the PFI/PPP initiatives undertaken (a) at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and (b) for the South Lanarkshire secondary schools refurbishment programme; what the actual costs of these initiatives are, and what the percentage difference is between these figures.
Answer
In respect of part (a) the outline costs for the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary were £173.315 million. The actual cost in the Full Business Case was £180.923 million which is a percentage increase of 4.4%. The Full Business Case is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 6950).
Regarding part (b), South Lanarkshire Council’s schools PPP project is currently in procurement. The Full Business Case will not be available until financial close is reached, and then it will be made publicly available having due regard to any issues of commercial confidentiality. The costs of the PPP option set out in the Outline Business Case are a matter for the procuring body, but would not normally be published whilst the procurement is in progress.
The cost of the PPP option is formally compared with a conventional procurement approach at both Outline and Final Business Case stages. The key test is an assessment of value for money of the PPP project which is carried out at both these stages i.e. the PPP option must still show value for money over the conventional option. All PPP projects have to be assessed for value for money before being able to proceed. Whole life costs and benefits, for example risk transfer, are taken into account for the length of the contract in order to show this. It is for the public sector body concerned to analyse outturn costs and to ensure that the project remains affordable at contract close.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide information on any follow-up action taken in response to the recommendation contained in the report by Audit Scotland, Local economic forums: A follow-up report, that it should review the added value delivered by local economic forums and whether they still have a worthwhile role to play, against the backdrop of more comprehensive, statutory community planning arrangements.
Answer
Yes. All of Audit Scotland’s recommendations will inform policy development and implementation relating to Local Economic Forums (LEF). Progress will be reported in a variety of ways including at a stakeholder conference planned for later this year and through the LEF website.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 6 July 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the position is in respect of the approximately 1,400 pieces of correspondence sent to its Ministerial Correspondence Unit from the residents of Greengairs and the surrounding area concerning Eden Waste Recycling Ltd's application for a new landfill site and why any of the correspondence has not been dealt with.
Answer
Responses to over 700 postcards received to date are presently being issued.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 28 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government on the impact of increased oil prices on the Scottish economy.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the impact of oil prices on the Scottish economy.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3508 by Colin Boyd QC on 14 November 2003, whether the work of the Scottish Criminal Record Office in general was examined prior to January 1997 and, if so, how many years' work prior to this date was examined and who undertook such an examination.
Answer
The work of the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) in general is routinely examined as part of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s (HMIC) inspection programmes. Prior to 1997, the SCRO was inspected by HMIC in 1993 and 1995.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S2W-7721 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2004, whether it was consulted by the Electoral Commission before the announcement on the referendum was made.
Answer
The Scottish Executive was not consulted by the Electoral Commission before the Prime Minister announced that a referendum would be held on the European Constitution. The Electoral Commission will be responsible for approving detailed arrangements for the referendum in due course.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual capital charges as a percentage of income have been of each PFI and PPP initiative undertaken since 1999, broken down by year of operation in comparison with the projected capital charges as set out in the outline business case for each initiative.
Answer
The information requested is not collated centrally. This is a matter for individual public sector procuring bodies.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for qualified nurses in each NHS board area.
Answer
Information on staff in NHSScotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.Details on nursing vacancy rates are given in tables E10 and provide a summary ofqualified nursing and midwifery vacancies by NHS board area in each year since 2001.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7587 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2004, whether it can provide any examples of where a police board or chief constable has been granted costs in the past, but chosen not to recover them.
Answer
The recovery of costs awarded by the court is a matter for the party or parties concerned. The Scottish Executive does not hold a central record of decisions in relation to such costs.
