Chamber and committees

As I made clear in my oral evidenceto the Justice 1 Committee on 12 September 2006, I do not intend to publish the reportand recommendations prepared by Mr Gilchrist.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28528 on 28 September 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Statements were provided by thepolice officers responsible for guarding the scene of crime and, where appropriate,these officers were precognosced by the Procurator Fiscal.

I refer the member to the questionS2W-22085 answered on 20 January 2006 which provided information on out-patient andin-patient and day case waiting times for each quarter since 31 December 1997 to30 September 2005 by NHS Board.

Information on waiting timesfor a first out-patient consultation and in-patient and day cases treatment foreach quarter since 31 December 2005 to 30 June 2006 by NHS board and informationon waiting times by NHS hospital for in-patient and day case treatment on 30 June1997 to 2006, will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 40469) as it runs to 23 pages. Out-patient waiting time information is notavailable by NHS hospital, as the out-patient Waiting List is only collected atNHS board level.

All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliaments website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The scotlandistheplace.com websitewas set up as part of the Relocation Advisory Service to offer a comprehensiveand interactive advice service to those interested in living and working in Scotland.The success of www.scotlandistheplace.comis assessed by tracking the number of visits to the web site and the number of enquiriesthat are made to the Relocation Advisory Service via the e mail links on www.scotlandistheplace.com.

The Relocation Advisory Service is a three year pilot project and a review of phase2 is currently underway. The phase 2evaluation of the Relocation Advisory Service includes a survey of customersand qualitative research with customers, some of whom will have had cause touse the website. There will also be a specific survey of website users.

Yes. The Relocation AdvisoryService has been operational since October 2004. To date over 11,500 people fromover 150 countries have received advice from the service.

The service is free and can beaccessed in a number of ways:

Use the online form at www.scotlandistheplace.comEmail the team at [email protected]

By telephone +44 141 248 2808

Or in writing to Relocation AdvisoryService, Scottish Executive, Third Floor, Meridian Court, 5 Cadogan Street, Glasgow G2 6AT.

We welcome all talented andhard working people who want to live and work in Scotland and contribute togrowing Scotland’s economy. The New Scots report, published inFebruary 2004, recognised that we would need to target our efforts and theScots diaspora was identified as one group who have a strong emotional andcultural link with Scotland, and expatriate Scots are an important part of thisgroup.

To help take this workforward, the First Minister launched the diaspora Strategy in October 2005, andin March 2006 the first edition of the quarterly e-magazine Scotland-Now waspublished. The e-magazine connects Scots and those with an affinity to Scotlandwith modern Scotland. Showcasing Scotland as a great place to live and work, visit, study andinvest.

We do not collect or holdcentrally data relating to the number of empty buildings in Scotland.However, an estimate of the total amount of non-domestic rates not collecteddue to properties being unoccupied or partly occupied is available fromScottish Executive non-domestic rates returns. The total amount estimated for2004-05, as reported in the final audited return, is £116,955,932. Theprovisional (not yet audited) figure for 2005-06 is £130,667,734.

These figures however areonly indicative of the potential additional revenue that could be collected, asthe rateable values of these unoccupied properties could be subject torevaluation following occupation, or a range of other forms of relief,depending on the status of the business.

The members of the Joint Teamon financial issues are officials from: Communities Scotland, Glasgow Housing Association,Glasgow City Council and potential purchasers.

Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has made representations tothe Scottish Executive about the financial implications of second stage transfers(SST). Following these representations, ministers set up the Ministerial ProgressGroup on SST to bring together key partners – GHA, local housing organisations,the Scottish Executive, Communities Scotland and Glasgow City Council – in orderto consider how best to move SST forward. In addition, a joint team of officialsfrom these organisations is currently looking at the complex financial issues raisedby SST. Its report will be made available in due course and will include informationabout the points raised by GHA.