- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 24 September 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names of the special advisers currently in post; what their responsibilities are; what their pay bands are for 2010-11; how many special advisers are in each pay band, and what the total salary cost of employing special advisers was in 2009-10.
Answer
There are currently 10 special advisers including one part-time. The Special Advisers and their specific responsibilities are as follows:
| Name | Specific Responsibilities |
| Kevin Pringle Senior Special Adviser | Strategic co-ordination across all portfolios, political spokesperson and senior adviser on communications issues. |
| Noel Dolan Senior Special Adviser | Senior policy adviser to the Deputy First Minister on Health, Wellbeing, and Housing policy. |
| Alex Bell Senior Special Adviser | Senior adviser on policy matters, First Minister''s Questions, constitutional issues and renewable energy issues. |
| Geoff Aberdein Special Adviser | Liaison with FM''s Private office; adviser on FM diary issues. Lead on sports issues and 2014 Commonwealth Games including legacy. |
| Jennifer Erickson Special Adviser | Support on Policy for Economic Issues (Part time) |
| Stephen Gethins Special Adviser | Support on policy for Finance & Sustainable Growth, Europe and External Relations, Environment & Rural Affairs, Energy and Climate Change. |
| Colin McAllister Special Adviser | Policy support for Education and Culture issues. |
| John McFarlane Special Adviser | Policy Adviser on justice issues, Parliamentary liaison working with Minister for Parliamentary Business and the Parliamentary Liaison Officers |
| Will McLeish Special Adviser | Political spokesperson, advice on communications issues and liaison with broadcasters. |
| Stuart Nicolson Special Adviser | Political spokesperson, advice on communications issues. |
The number of salaried special advisers in each pay band from 1 April 2010 is:
| Pay Band | Pay Range | Number of salaried Special Advisers |
| 1 | £39,445 “ £52,904 | 5 |
| 2 | £51,041 - £67,709 | 2 |
| 3 | £65,017 - £83,963 | 3 |
| 3 (premium) | £83,549 - 100,942 | 0 |
| 4 | £86,965 - 104,462 | 0 |
The total salary cost for the 10 salaried Special Advisers in post in 2009-2010 including ERNIC and employer pension contributions was £701,627. By comparison the cost of the 12 Special Advisers employed by the previous administration in
2006-07 was £854,376.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 April 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 29 April 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding proposals to increase national insurance contributions.
Answer
Besides the impact on Scottish employers in the private sector the increase in national insurance contribution rates will result in approximately £104 million of the Scottish Government''s budget being returned to the Treasury in the form of higher tax payments. Were the money to stay in Scotland it could pay for approximately 2,300 more police officers or 4,000 more nurses each year.
We have made it clear that we disagree with this increase especially when the country is emerging from a long and severe recession. We will continue to protest that this cut should be reversed to avoid further burdens on Scottish employers and protect front line public services in Scotland.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 March 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 25 March 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to encourage businesses to recycle.
Answer
Scottish Government funds the Zero Waste Scotland delivery programme to provide a one-stop-shop to businesses, organisations and individuals seeking advice and support on reducing waste, recycling and resource efficiency.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how much each NHS board spent on implementing the Gold Standards Framework Scotland in 2008-09.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. The Gold Standards Framework Scotland (GSFS) programme ended in October 2006. The GSFS was funded in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund, Macmillan Cancer Relief and NHS Scotland via the three cancer networks (South East of Scotland Cancer Network, North of Scotland Cancer Network and West of Scotland Cancer Network).
In October 2008, Living and Dying Well (L&DW) a national action plan for palliative care in Scotland was published by the Scottish Government and accessible from:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/LivingandDyingWell.
Whilst L&DW reflects the ethos of the GSFS programme it also builds on it, to develop a single, comprehensive approach to the provision of palliative care to enable it to be embedded across Scotland, regardless of age, condition or care setting.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 25 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how much each NHS board spent on performance reporting in 2008-09.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged 30 to 60 were given NHS hearing aids in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 26 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents involving motorcycles and cars were reported in the last five years, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.
Answer
The following tables show the number of reported injury road accidents where at least one motorcycle and a car were involved in the accident.
| Council Area | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Aberdeen City | 44 | 44 | 33 | 45 | 38 |
| Aberdeenshire | 26 | 28 | 31 | 20 | 30 |
| Angus | 6 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 |
| Argyll and Bute | 19 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 22 |
| Clackmannanshire | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 13 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 13 |
| Dundee City | 12 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 18 |
| East Ayrshire | 9 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| East Lothian | 16 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
| East Renfrewshire | 5 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Edinburgh, City of | 88 | 63 | 72 | 92 | 56 |
| Eilean Siar | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Falkirk | 14 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 9 |
| Fife | 34 | 36 | 44 | 36 | 35 |
| Glasgow City | 58 | 63 | 55 | 39 | 38 |
| Highland | 41 | 49 | 23 | 33 | 47 |
| Inverclyde | 3 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 6 |
| Midlothian | 9 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 7 |
| Moray | 13 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 9 |
| North Ayrshire | 13 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| North Lanarkshire | 16 | 22 | 15 | 28 | 17 |
| Orkney Islands | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Perth and Kinross | 13 | 31 | 27 | 22 | 18 |
| Renfrewshire | 18 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 19 |
| Scottish Borders | 15 | 19 | 7 | 22 | 20 |
| Shetland Islands | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Ayrshire | 10 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| South Lanarkshire | 8 | 23 | 16 | 17 | 20 |
| Stirling | 15 | 15 | 21 | 13 | 15 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| West Lothian | 16 | 21 | 16 | 24 | 20 |
| Scotland | 562 | 591 | 558 | 584 | 535 |
| Parliamentary Constituency | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Not known | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Aberdeen Central | 15 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 15 |
| Aberdeen North | 15 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| Aberdeen South | 15 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 9 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 6 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 7 |
| Angus | 3 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Argyll and Bute | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| Ayr | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Banff and Buchan | 3 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| Carrick Cumnock and Doon Valley | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 5 |
| Fife Central | 7 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Clydesdale | 2 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Cunninghame North | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Cunninghame South | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Dumbarton | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| Dumfries | 6 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 8 |
| Dundee East | 9 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
| Dundee West | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Dunfermline East | 6 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 5 |
| Dunfermline West | 10 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| East Kilbride | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| East Lothian | 12 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| Eastwood | 5 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Edinburgh Central | 17 | 13 | 11 | 23 | 13 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 18 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 5 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 14 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 11 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | 13 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Edinburgh South | 13 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 7 |
| Edinburgh West | 17 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Falkirk East | 6 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| Falkirk West | 8 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 4 |
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | 7 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 5 |
| Glasgow Anniesland | 4 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Glasgow Baillieston | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Glasgow Cathcart | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Glasgow Govan | 10 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 8 |
| Glasgow Kelvin | 17 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Glasgow Maryhill | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Glasgow Pollok | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Glasgow Rutherglen | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Glasgow Shettleston | 11 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Glasgow Springburn | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Gordon | 15 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 15 |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 4 |
| Hamilton North and Bellshill | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Hamilton South | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Inverness East Nairn and Lochaber | 21 | 20 | 11 | 14 | 17 |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 8 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
| Kirkcaldy | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Linlithgow | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 6 |
| Livingston | 10 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 13 |
| Midlothian | 6 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 8 |
| Moray | 12 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Fife North East | 7 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 9 |
| Tayside North | 9 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| Ochil | 14 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Orkney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paisley North | 9 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Paisley South | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Perth | 6 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 7 |
| Ross Skye and Inverness West | 15 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 18 |
| Roxburgh and Berwickshire | 6 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 12 |
| Shetland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stirling | 13 | 12 | 20 | 11 | 14 |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Tweeddale Ettrick and Lauderdale | 12 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 8 |
| Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
| Renfrewshire West | 2 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| Western Isles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Scotland | 562 | 591 | 558 | 584 | 535 |
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged over 60 were given NHS hearing aids in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged under 30 were given NHS hearing aids in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The information requested is currently not held centrally.
- Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 26 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents involving bicycles and cars have been reported in the last five years, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency.
Answer
The following tables show the number of reported injury road accidents where at least one bicycle and a car were involved in the accident.
| Council Area | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Aberdeen City | 18 | 32 | 29 | 21 | 37 |
| Aberdeenshire | 19 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 15 |
| Angus | 21 | 18 | 19 | 12 | 13 |
| Argyll and Bute | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
| Clackmannanshire | 4 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 9 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 10 |
| Dundee City | 17 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 21 |
| East Ayrshire | 16 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| East Lothian | 15 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 7 |
| East Renfrewshire | 5 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Edinburgh, City of | 123 | 134 | 155 | 131 | 139 |
| Eilean Siar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Falkirk | 15 | 23 | 10 | 14 | 19 |
| Fife | 31 | 24 | 32 | 35 | 27 |
| Glasgow City | 100 | 96 | 96 | 91 | 96 |
| Highland | 26 | 22 | 29 | 32 | 27 |
| Inverclyde | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| Midlothian | 11 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 6 |
| Moray | 9 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| North Ayrshire | 10 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 13 |
| North Lanarkshire | 25 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 16 |
| Orkney Islands | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Perth and Kinross | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 |
| Renfrewshire | 23 | 22 | 23 | 6 | 15 |
| Scottish Borders | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 4 |
| Shetland Islands | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| South Ayrshire | 22 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 9 |
| South Lanarkshire | 29 | 26 | 22 | 23 | 17 |
| Stirling | 20 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 9 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| West Lothian | 10 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 20 |
| Scotland | 641 | 651 | 649 | 576 | 599 |
| Parliamentary Constituency | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Not known | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Aberdeen Central | 5 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 20 |
| Aberdeen North | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Aberdeen South | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Angus | 12 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 12 |
| Argyll and Bute | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Ayr | 13 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Banff and Buchan | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross | 2 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Carrick Cumnock and Doon Valley | 13 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
| Fife Central | 4 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 5 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Clydesdale | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Cunninghame North | 4 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Cunninghame South | 6 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
| Dumbarton | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Dumfries | 8 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
| Dundee East | 9 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
| Dundee West | 8 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Dunfermline East | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Dunfermline West | 4 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 9 |
| East Kilbride | 7 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| East Lothian | 13 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
| Eastwood | 5 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 8 |
| Edinburgh Central | 36 | 46 | 49 | 40 | 46 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 16 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 19 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 21 | 31 | 40 | 21 | 27 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | 14 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 12 |
| Edinburgh South | 23 | 19 | 16 | 27 | 18 |
| Edinburgh West | 15 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| Falkirk East | 8 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| Falkirk West | 7 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | 1 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Glasgow Anniesland | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Glasgow Baillieston | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Glasgow Cathcart | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 11 |
| Glasgow Govan | 7 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 17 |
| Glasgow Kelvin | 30 | 33 | 26 | 14 | 20 |
| Glasgow Maryhill | 16 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 11 |
| Glasgow Pollok | 14 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 8 |
| Glasgow Rutherglen | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Glasgow Shettleston | 6 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 11 |
| Glasgow Springburn | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Gordon | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Hamilton North and Bellshill | 10 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| Hamilton South | 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| Inverness East Nairn and Lochaber | 19 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 12 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| Kirkcaldy | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Linlithgow | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Livingston | 7 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 12 |
| Midlothian | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Moray | 9 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Fife North East | 13 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Tayside North | 13 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
| Ochil | 8 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 11 |
| Orkney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Paisley North | 16 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| Paisley South | 3 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| Perth | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| Ross Skye and Inverness West | 5 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Roxburgh and Berwickshire | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Shetland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stirling | 16 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 8 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| Tweeddale Ettrick and Lauderdale | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1 |
| Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine | 8 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
| Renfrewshire West | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Western Isles | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scotland | 641 | 651 | 649 | 576 | 599 |
