Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-03691

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 25 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what scrutiny measures are in place to ensure that the Scottish Qualifications Authority is transparent and provides value for money.

As an executive non-departmentalpublic body (NDPB), the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is fullyaccountable to ministers and the Scottish Parliament for the money it spendsand the services it provides. As an NDPB the SQA must operate within aframework of controls which is monitored and enforced through a sponsor team inthe Scottish Government’s Schools Directorate. The framework compriseslegislative measures and a number of sets of guidance including the ScottishPublic Finance Manual and a Management Statement and Financial Memorandum.Under the framework all NDPBs are required, among other things, to make anexplicit commitment to openness and to deliver value for money.

The SQA haspublicly declared that it is committed to openness, transparency and the publicinterest in the exercise of its functions. It demonstrates this commitment bypublishing Board minutes, corporate plans, annual reports, annual accounts andother corporate and operational documents. The SQA also fully recognises andembraces its obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and has made clear the internal policiesit has established to meet these obligations.

The SQA’s statutoryauditor is the Auditor General for Scotland (AGS), who is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for ensuring propriety and value for money in thespending of public funds. The Auditor General has currently appointedAudit Scotland to undertake the annual audit of SQA’saccounts in order to ensure that they present a true and fair view of SQA’sfinancial affairs. Once the SQA’s accounts have been audited and the AGS hasconsidered the results of the audit the accounts are laid before Parliament. TheAuditor General may also undertake investigations into the use of resources bySQA and whether they achieve economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The AuditorGeneral published the results of his review of SQA’s performance managementarrangements in November 2006.

The chief executiveof the SQA is also its accountable officer and as such has a specific, personalresponsibility for the propriety and regularity of the SQA’s public finances. Asaccountable officer, the chief executive is responsible for ensuring that SQA’sresources are used economically, efficiently and effectively. If called upon todo so, the chief executive is expected to appear before the Audit Committee of the Scottish Parliament to answer questions concerning the SQA’s expenditureand receipts and related activities.

Question reference: S3W-04271

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 21 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money, including housing association grant, was paid to registered social landlords under the Scottish Homes approved development programme in each year from 1989-90 to 1995-96.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

Grants paid to registered social landlords, through ScottishHomes approved development programme from 1989-90 to 1995-96 were as follows:

Financial Year	Amount (£ Million)
1989-90	202.600
1990-91	198.642
1991-92	224.451
1992-93	266.797
1993-94	274.127
1994-95	277.93
1995-96	287.119

We do not hold recordsof any other public money registered social landlords might have received duringthis period.

Question reference: S3W-03690

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 20 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review charges imposed on schools by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, in light of recent figures stating that exam presentation costs have increased substantially in recent years.

The Scottish QualificationsAuthority (SQA) is required to meet the full cost of exam delivery from charges.Every year the SQA prepares a draft budget and, as part of the budgeting process,reviews its charging levels. The SQA’s draft budget and its proposals for chargeincreases are then considered by ministers for approval. In each of the two mostrecent years, 2006-07 and 2007-08, SQA’s charges have increased by 3%.

Question reference: S3W-03949

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 11 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs were reported stolen in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S3W-03950

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 11 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were prosecuted for stealing one or more dogs in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S3W-03692

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on external consultants in each year since the establishment of the Parliament.

Question reference: S3W-03689

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 10 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Scottish Qualifications Authority has charged across Scotland for exam presentations in each year since the establishment of the Parliament.

Question reference: S3W-03545

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have received free personal care in each year since its introduction, broken down by local authority.

The number of peoplewho received free personal care in each year since 2002-03, broken down by localauthority are detailed in the following table.

These figures includeall older people resident in care homes who are supported by local authorities andall people receiving personal care services in their own homes which are providedor purchased by local authorities.

Table 1: Numberof People Receiving Free Personal Care

Local Authority	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Aberdeen City	3,140	3,140	3,140	3,220	3,390
Aberdeenshire	2,560	2,660	2,770	3,020	3,190
Angus	1,460	1,510	1,550	1,510	1,510
Argyll and Bute	1,050	1,110	1,050	1,070	1,140
Clackmannanshire	500	610	610	700	730
Dumfries and Galloway	2,210	2,240	2,210	2,170	2,180
Dundee City	1,480	1,620	1,700	2,100	2,020
East Ayrshire	1,230	1,600	1,730	1,810	1,940
East Dunbartonshire	900	1,120	1,240	1,310	1,170
East Lothian	1,250	1,280	1,310	1,430	1,470
East Renfrewshire	980	990	1,030	1,110	1,090
Edinburgh, City of	4,400	5,000	5,370	5,490	5,660
Eilean Siar	510	610	590	640	650
Falkirk	1,620	1,700	1,880	1,910	1,930
Fife	4,750	5,200	5,330	5,350	5,440
Glasgow city	8,170	8,780	9,830	10,860	9,340
Highland	2,610	2,820	3,000	3,280	3,230
Inverclyde	1,460	1,450	1,520	1,500	1,590
Midlothian	750	800	810	990	760
Moray	1,070	1,120	1,130	1,260	1,320
North Ayrshire	1,540	1,680	1,810	1,830	1,840
North Lanarkshire	2,950	3,220	3,490	4,310	3,760
Orkney Islands	240	260	270	300	280
Perth and Kinross	1,490	1,880	2,120	2,170	2,090
Renfrewshire	1,590	1,740	1,860	2,000	2,080
Scottish Borders	1,460	1,620	1,790	1,860	1,770
Shetland Islands	280	300	300	270	290
South Ayrshire	1,860	1,890	1,970	2,040	2,140
South Lanarkshire	2,490	2,730	3,010	3,460	3,820
Stirling	910	980	970	1,000	970
West Dunbartonshire	960	1,180	1,140	1,550	1,520
West Lothian	1,740	1,900	1,650	1,540	1,570
Scotland estimate	59,580	64,760	68,190	73,060	71,870

Source: CommunityCare Quarterly Key Monitoring.

Note: All figuresare yearly averages rounded to the nearest 10.

Question reference: S3W-03544

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority spent per client on free personal care in each year since its introduction in (a) real and (b) cash terms.

Free personal careis available to people aged 65 and over who live in their own home, or are selffunding and living in a care home. For those in care homes, local authorities pay£145 per week to the care provider towards their personal care costs. This paymentlevel has remained static since the policy was introduced in July 2002. The ScottishGovernment will increase payments for personal and nursing care in line with inflationfrom April 2008.

Table 1 shows theweekly expenditure per client for free personal care in a care home in both realand cash terms.

Table 1: WeeklyExpenditure Per Client for Free Personal Care in a Care Home

	Year
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Free Personal Care payment – cash terms	£145	£145	£145	£145	£145	£145
Free Personal Care payment – real terms ¹	£157	£156	£153	£151	£148	£145

Note: 1. Figures arein real terms; they have been adjusted to 2007 prices using the Consumer Price Indexas inflation measure.

Table 2 shows theannual net expenditure per client on personal care services for older peopleliving in their own homes.

Local Authority	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeen City	3,458	3,734	4,552	4,931
Aberdeenshire	3,036	2,692	2,898	3,049
Angus	2,246	2,060	1,950	2,707
Argyll and Bute	7,721	6,334	8,530	12,119
Clackmannanshire	2,453	2,645	2,781	3,975
Dumfries and Galloway	3,159	4,631	5,275	5,840
Dundee City	6,547	7,840	6,531	4,954
East Ayrshire	3,506	3,382	3,737	4,060
East Dunbartonshire	3,103	3,649	3,480	4,197
East Lothian	2,451	4,112	5,597	5,322
East Renfrewshire	2,767	2,094	2,026	1,834
Edinburgh, City of	3,829	4,267	4,723	6,450
Eilean Siar	2,905	5,473	5,611	4,798
Falkirk	2,762	3,574	2,144	3,132
Fife	3,227	3,136	4,123	4,297
Glasgow city	2,774	3,116	3,083	3,204
Highland	3,261	2,651	2,482	2,241
Inverclyde	2,521	2,998	3,133	4,545
Midlothian	5,208	3,571	3,578	7,321
Moray	3,100	3,394	4,658	4,692
North Ayrshire	1,764	1,581	1,510	2,222
North Lanarkshire	5,395	5,348	4,325	3,749
Orkney Islands	2,662	2,179	2,599	3,430
Perth and Kinross	5,470	4,171	3,518	4,220
Renfrewshire	2,987	3,130	2,838	2,773
Scottish Borders	2,830	2,852	2,865	2,173
Shetland Islands	6,674	6,520	7,097	9,579
South Ayrshire	3,535	4,576	4,866	5,213
South Lanarkshire	3,687	5,908	7,425	6,170
Stirling	3,616	3,128	3,580	2,776
West Dunbartonshire	2,255	2,126	2,966	2,054
West Lothian	3,294	3,138	3,265	3,049
Scotland estimate	3,386	3,673	3,863	4,082

Sources:Community Care Quarterly Key Monitoring and Local Financial Return (LFR3).

Table 3 shows thesame information but adjusted to take inflation into account.

AnnualExpenditure Per Client Receiving Personal Care at Home (Real Terms)

Local Authority	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeen City	3,625	3,862	4,645	4,931
Aberdeenshire	3,182	2,784	2,957	3,049
Angus	2,354	2,131	1,990	2,707
Argyll and Bute	8,093	6,551	8,704	12,119
Clackmannanshire	2,572	2,735	2,838	3,975
Dumfries and Galloway	3,311	4,789	5,382	5,840
Dundee City	6,862	8,108	6,665	4,954
East Ayrshire	3,675	3,497	3,813	4,060
East Dunbartonshire	3,253	3,774	3,551	4,197
East Lothian	2,569	4,253	5,711	5,322
East Renfrewshire	2,900	2,166	2,067	1,834
Edinburgh, City of	4,014	4,413	4,819	6,450
Eilean Siar	3,045	5,660	5,726	4,798
Falkirk	2,896	3,696	2,188	3,132
Fife	3,383	3,243	4,207	4,297
Glasgow city	2,908	3,222	3,146	3,204
Highland	3,419	2,741	2,532	2,241
Inverclyde	2,643	3,100	3,197	4,545
Midlothian	5,460	3,694	3,651	7,321
Moray	3,250	3,511	4,753	4,692
North Ayrshire	1,849	1,635	1,541	2,222
North Lanarkshire	5,656	5,531	4,413	3,749
Orkney Islands	2,791	2,253	2,652	3,430
Perth and Kinross	5,733	4,313	3,589	4,220
Renfrewshire	3,131	3,237	2,896	2,773
Scottish Borders	2,966	2,950	2,924	2,173
Shetland Islands	6,996	6,743	7,242	9,579
South Ayrshire	3,706	4,733	4,966	5,213
South Lanarkshire	3,865	6,110	7,576	6,170
Stirling	3,791	3,235	3,653	2,776
West Dunbartonshire	2,364	2,198	3,027	2,054
West Lothian	3,453	3,245	3,332	3,049
Scotland estimate	3,550	3,799	3,942	4,082

Source: CommunityCare Quarterly Key Monitoring.

Note: 1. Figuresare in real terms; they have been adjusted to 2007 prices using the ConsumerPrice Index as inflation measure.

Question reference: S3W-03693

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 4 September 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on external advertising in each year since the establishment of the Parliament.

I refer the memberto the following answers, which give the spend details of the Scottish Office/ScottishExecutive’s Public Information campaigns for the dates requested.

S1W-26485 - answeredon 3 July 2002 providing spend from 1991-1992 to 2001-02.

S2W-2481 – answeredon 22 September 2003 providing spend for 2002-03.

S2W-15204 – answeredon 12 April 2005 providing spend for 2003-04.

These answers areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be foundat http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Advertising spendon Public Information campaignsfor 2004-05 to 2006-07 is publishedon the Scottish Executive Marketing Unit website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/17963/advertising-marketing.

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