Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-06470

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency will benefit from proposals to abolish prescription charges.

This information isnot held centrally.

The Scottish Governmentis committed to abolishing prescription charges for all in Scotland within the lifetime of this Parliament, and we are currentlyexamining in detail how best to deliver that commitment. Our proposals will benefitthe 50% of the population of Scotland who currently pay for their prescriptions,two thirds of whom are estimated to have a chronic condition.

We will make an announcementto Parliament in due course.

Question reference: S3W-06469

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Clydebank and Milngavie parliamentary constituency will benefit from proposals to abolish prescription charges.

Question reference: S3W-06474

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 28 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families in the Clydebank and Milngavie parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed increase in nursery provision.

All eligiblechildren will be entitled to 570 hours of pre-school education from August2010. The number of children attending pre-school education in Clydebank and Milngavie parliamentary constituency as ofJanuary 2007 was 1,380.

The figure usedis the number of three, four and five-year-old children in pre-school educationat January 2007 and is taken from the Pre-school and Childcare Statistics2007.

See: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/26094517/0.

Information isnot held on the number of families with children in pre-school education.

Question reference: S3W-06475

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 28 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed increase in nursery provision.

All eligiblechildren will be entitled to 570 hours of pre-school education from August2010. The number of children attending pre-school education in Dumbartonparliamentary constituency as of January 2007 was 1,340.

The figure usedis the number of three, four and five-year-old children in pre-school educationat January 2007 and is taken from the Pre-school and Childcare Statistics2007.

See: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/26094517/0.

Information isnot held on the number of families with children in pre-school education.

Question reference: S3W-06476

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 28 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families in the Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed increase in nursery provision.

All eligible childrenwill be entitled to 570 hours of pre-school education from August 2010. The numberof children attending pre-school education in Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentaryconstituency as of January 2007 was 1,560.

The figure used is the number of three, four andfive-year-old children in pre-school education at January 2007 and is taken fromthe Pre-school and Childcare Statistics 2007.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/26094517/0.

Information is notheld on the number of families with children in pre-school education.

Question reference: S3W-06471

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information on smalland medium-sized enterprises in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which maybe eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available for eachof the local authority areas concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk). This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
West Dunbartonshire	1,505	164	241	1,910
Argyll and Bute	6,118	236	338	6,692

Notes:

(i) The rateable valueranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget:Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table showsthe number of non-domestic properties with rateable values of up to £15,000 in allof West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute.Part of each of these local authority areas falls within the Dumbarton parliamentaryconstituency.

(iii) The number ofeligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties ineach area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affecteligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will dependon:

- the combined rateable valueof all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or is otherwiseentitled to occupy;

- whether the property iseligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level of otherpublic sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-06472

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Clydebank and Milngavie parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information on smalland medium-sized enterprises in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which maybe eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available for eachof the local authority areas concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk). This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
West Dunbartonshire	1,505	164	241	1,910
East Dunbartonshire	1,146	197	260	1,603

Notes:

(i) The rateable valueranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget:Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table showsthe number of non-domestic properties with rateable values of up to £15,000 in allof West and East Dunbartonshire. Part of each of these local authority areasfalls within the Clydebank and Milngavie parliamentary constituency.

(iii) The number ofeligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties ineach area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affecteligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will dependon:

- the combined rateable valueof all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or is otherwiseentitled to occupy;

- whether the property iseligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level of otherpublic sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-06473

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information on smalland medium-sized enterprises in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which maybe eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available for eachof the local authority areas concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk). This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties by Local Authority Area	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
East Dunbartonshire	1,146	197	260	1,603

Notes:

(i) The rateable valueranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table showsthe number of non-domestic properties with rateable values of up to £15,000 in allof East Dunbartonshire, which is the local authority area in whichthe Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency is situated.

(iii) The number ofeligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties ineach area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affecteligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will dependon:

- the combined rateable valueof all properties in Scotland which a business owns, leases or is otherwiseentitled to occupy;

- whether the property iseligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level of otherpublic sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-06464

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists worked in the Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency in each year from 1997 to 2007.

The number of NHSdentists who provide General Dental Services in the Strathkelvin and Bearsdenparliamentary constituency in each year from 1997 to 2007 is shown in the followingtable.

Number of NHS Dentists^1,2,3Providing General Dental Services in the Years Ending 31 March 1997-2007

Parliamentary Constituency⁴	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Strathkelvin and Bearsden	30	30	34	34	33	35	40	47	50	51	47

Source: MIDAS (Management Information and DentalAccounting System).

Notes:

1. Includesnon-salaried and salaried GDS dentists, assistants and vocational dentalpractitioners. Excludes dentists working in NHS hospitals and the CommunityDental Service in Scotland.

2. An NHS generaldental practitioner may have more than one arrangement with an NHS board ifhe/she has more than one practice, or an arrangement with more than one NHSboard if he/she practises in more than one NHS board area.

3. The number ofdentists in post, not the whole-time equivalent figure, as information on theworking hours of each dentist is not collected.

4. Based onlocation of dental practice.

Question reference: S3W-06467

Asked by: Gil Paterson, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many salaried NHS dentists worked in the Strathkelvin and Bearsden parliamentary constituency in each year from 1997 to 2007.

Chamber and committees