- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged over 60, 65, 70 and 75 have been refused operations over each of the past three years for (a) heart conditions; (b) prostate conditions; (c) cancer; (d) eye ailments, and (e) hearing difficulties.
Answer
No one has been refused an operation solely on the grounds of age.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost would be of making available grants of up to #1,800 per household for installing central heating under the Warm Deal programme, similar to the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme which operates in England and Wales.
Answer
I understand that under the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in England it is proposed to introduce new arrangements from June 2000 under which, in certain restricted circumstances, the maximum grant will be £2,000. It is not possible to estimate the cost of introducing similar arrangements in Scotland but plainly the higher the maximum grant in individual cases the fewer the number of dwellings which can be improved for a given budget.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses Scottish Enterprise currently invests in, what the total value of these investments is and what rate of return is being obtained.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and I have asked the Chairman to write to Alex Neil MSP. A copy of the reply will be placed in SPICe.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of Regional Selective Assistance grants awarded in the last two years to (a) inward investors and (b) indigenous companies already based in Scotland.
Answer
The figures requested are as follows:
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) Offers Accepted April 1997 to March 1999.
Ownership | Value of RSA Offers Accepted £millions |
UK owned companies | 97.5 |
Foreign owned companies | 162.4 |
TOTAL | 259.9 |
Note: The above figures relate to the total amounts offered. RSA grants are generally paid in instalments over a number of years.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new jobs forecast by projects supported by Locate in Scotland between April 1998 and April 1999 have so far been created.
Answer
In the year to 31 March 1999, Locate in Scotland and its partners helped to attract to Scotland a total of 78 projects involving planned investment of £760 million and the anticipated creation or safeguarding of nearly 11,000 jobs.
Inward investment projects are recorded in the year in which the investing company announces the decision to implement the project in Scotland, and using the data in the company's announcement. Such projects typically build up over several years. Where financial assistance is offered, this is drawn down in line with the actual creation of jobs and actual incurring of capital expenditure.
While many of the projects announced by investors in the year ending March 1999 will still be at an early stage of development, analysis of inward investment projects during the 1990's suggests that over 70% of announced jobs actually come to fruition. This figure does not include cases where projects have, in fact, created more jobs than originally planned, or the large number of expansion projects which are secured on the positive experience of an investor's initial project in Scotland.The very positive experience of inward investors in Scotland is underlined by the fact that as many as 50% of inward investment decisions in a typical year represent expansions or new projects by existing foreign investors.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, further to the answer to question number S1W-2395 by Sarah Boyack on 22 November 1999, it will confirm that the A77 upgrade from Fenwick to Malletsheugh will take place within the 2002-05 timescale.
Answer
I refer Mr Neil to my answer to question S1W-3423.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost is of subsidies from the Scottish Executive and its agencies to ferry operations in Scotland in the current financial year and what percentage of the total revenues and costs of the ferry operations this figure represents.
Answer
Details of total estimated revenue, subsidy and costs for Caledonian MacBrayne for the current financial year are as follows:
Total Estimated | Plan | Estimated |
Revenue (including subsidy) | Subsidy | Expenditure |
£52.0 million | £14.8 million | £52.6 million |
For P&O Scottish Ferries, estimated figures for this financial year are not available. However, total actual revenue, subsidy and costs for P&O Scottish Ferries for the period 1 January to 31 December 1998 are as follows:
Total Actual | Subsidy | Actual |
Revenue (including subsidy) | | Expenditure |
£30.2 million | £11.0 million | £27.5 million |
In the case of CalMac, the subsidy represents 28.5% of the total estimated revenue; for P&O SF the subsidy represents 36.5% of their actual 1998 revenue. The figures do not include subsidy of shipping services under the Tariff Rebate Subsidy scheme, or assistance to either company in the form of capital grants.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how many tenders have been awarded to undertake activities of Local Enterprise Companies and when will such invitations to tender next be issued.
Answer
No competitive tendering for the appointment of Local Enterprise Companies has been carried out. However, LECs themselves operate competitive tendering for the provision of some of their own goods and services.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals for the appointment of a Public Appointments Commissioner for Scotland.
Answer
I recently announced earlier that the Executive will embark on a wide-ranging consultation exercise early in the New Year which will invite views on options for change to the public appointments system in post-devolution Scotland.The consultation paper will seek views on whether a separate Scottish Commissioner for Public Appointments should be established and if so, what powers, responsibilities and reporting arrangements he/she might have.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost would be of increasing the grant available under the Warm Deal programme from #500 to #700.
Answer
The total cost would depend on the number of grants paid and the amount of grant in each case. I have announced that the budget for the Warm Deal for 2000-01 will be £13 million which would yield 26,000 grants of £500. The cost of 26,000 grants at £700 would be £18.2 million. These figures assume that all grants would be at the maximum level, but in practice the average level of grant will be lower than the maximum.
