- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of improvement services for local authorities, including the level of funding used for commissioning consultants’ reports, in each financial year since 2003.
Answer
Local authorities are expected to provide for the cost of improving their services from their budget each year. There is a wide range of work aimed at improving services carried out by local authorities.
The only Executive funding specified for improvement services, however, is the budget allocated to the Local Government Improvement Service. The Improvement Service was officially launched in April 2005 and its funding levels over the next three years have been set as:
£1,700,000 in 2005-06;
£1,655,000 in 2006-07, and
£1,256,000 in 2007-08.
The Improvement Service Grant Agreement requires the service to provide an updated Business Plan on an annual basis in order to receive funding.
It is open to the Improvement Service to commission consultants to undertake work to support their work with local authorities.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding has been allocated to local authorities for improvement services and what the source of funding has been in each financial year since 2003.
Answer
Local authorities are expected to provide for the cost of improving their services from their budget each year. There is a wide range of work aimed at improving services carried out by local authorities.
The only Executive funding specified for improvement services, however, is the budget allocated to the Local Government Improvement Service. The Improvement Service was officially launched in April 2005 and its funding levels over the next three years have been set as:
£1,700,000 in 2005-06;
£1,655,000 in 2006-07, and
£1,256,000 in 2007-08.
The Improvement Service Grant Agreement requires the service to provide an updated Business Plan on an annual basis in order to receive funding.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 12 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21248 by Patricia Ferguson on 12 December 2005, what efficiency savings sportscotland has already achieved and where these savings have been reallocated.
Answer
Sportscotland
had undergone significant organisational restructuring in recent years to provide a more responsive service to client and partner groups.
Sportscotland commissioned a report by KPMG with the specific objectives of identifying how it could deliver much stronger partnerships with its key partners with less bureaucracy. This led to
sportscotland amalgamating their separate funding streams and consolidating their operations into their headquarters building at South Gyle.
As set out in the answer to question S2W-21248, under the Efficient Government initiative, sportscotland has been asked to deliver further efficiency savings of £200,000 by 2007-08.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 12 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the funding for sports facilities announced on 20 December 2005 is Exchequer or lottery funding and over what period of time the funding will be made available.
Answer
The awards announced on 20 December were funded from
sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme, which is a combination of Exchequer and Lottery funds. The awards made are set out in the following table. Recipients must be in a position to start the relevant project within one year of the offer of award date and complete the work within two years of the offer of award date. Further information on specific awards can be obtained from
sportscotland direct.
| Project | Location | Award (£) |
| Spartans Community Football Academy | Edinburgh | 400,000 |
| Greenfield Football Centre | Glasgow | 200,000 |
| Aulton Pavilion and Pitch Developments | Aberdeen | 450,000 |
| Bayhead Pitch Development Programme | Stornoway | 115,920 |
| Point Sport and Recreation Association | Nr Stornoway | 139,000 |
| Additional Changing Rooms and Referees Room | Livingston | 153,455 |
| Transition Extreme Sports Centre | Aberdeen | 150,000 |
| New Clubhouse Facilities | Edinburgh | 125,000 |
| East Lothian Yacht Club Equipment Project | North Berwick | 33,500 |
| Tennis Court Floodlighting | Nairn | 11,000 |
| Whinhill Junior Golf Practice Area | Greenock | 29,400 |
| Compendium Park | Glasgow | 195,427 |
| | | £2,002,702 |
Note: Those projects in italics received Exchequer funds.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 21 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21027 by Johann Lamont on 6 December 2005, how many applicants, broken down by local authority area, have had to wait for five months or more to have their central heating replaced under the central heating programme in each of the last three years.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:
The information requested is not held by local authority area, but by main postcode area. The details are shown in the following table:
| Area | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
| AB Aberdeenshire | 659 | 625 | 350 |
| DD Tayside | 425 | 267 | 212 |
| DG - Dumfries and Galloway | 379 | 377 | 285 |
| EH Lothian | 1,095 | 671 | 379 |
| FK Stirlingshire | 173 | 239 | 147 |
| G Glasgow | 1,986 | 1,417 | 1,263 |
| HS Western Isles | 216 | 291 | 191 |
| IV Highland | 344 | 488 | 271 |
| KA - Ayrshire | 319 | 413 | 401 |
| KW Orkney and Caithness | 203 | 258 | 160 |
| KY Fife | 233 | 283 | 266 |
| ML Lanarkshire | 203 | 285 | 276 |
| PA Renfrewshire and Argyll | 707 | 559 | 489 |
| PH Perthshire | 257 | 211 | 152 |
| TD Borders | 219 | 241 | 140 |
| ZE Shetland | 65 | 105 | 61 |
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was informed by the Minister of State for Sport about his review of football governance and whether the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport will be participating in the review, given that Scottish football has its own independent status in world football.
Answer
The Minister for Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened a meeting, under the auspices of the UK Presidency, to discuss corporate and social governance in football with a view to agreeing terms of reference for a review of corporate and social governance in football. I understand that agreement was reached at the meeting that UEFA will conduct a review and that it will consult its members (which include the SFA) and others in that process.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 21 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Premier League regarding the forthcoming European meeting on football between the sports ministers of England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy and, if so, what issues were discussed.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the length of time which applicants have to wait for their central heating system to be installed under the central heating programme; whether it has established any targets in this respect and, if so, what these targets are.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:
Eaga is the managing agent contracted to deliver the central heating programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive. Monthly progress meetings are held between Eaga and Communities Scotland to consider performance in terms of progressing applications through to installation of heating systems. Specific targets are set for Eaga in respect of individual elements of the application process. However, no maximum waiting target has been set as there are many factors outwith Eaga’s control which have a bearing on the installation timetable. These factors include: upgrades of local electricity and gas infrastructure; planning permission; building warrants, and access delays.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current review of NHS eye care services will include consideration of the NHS spectacle voucher scheme and, in particular, the fact that of the scheme does not meet the full cost of prescribed spectacles.
Answer
No. The current review of Eyecare Services in Scotland will not consider the NHS optical voucher scheme.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 12 December 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set guidelines on how Exchequer funding is spent by sportscotland.
Answer
Sportscotland, like any other non-departmental public body, is subject to a number of guidelines and requirements regarding its Exchequer expenditure. These are set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
The conditions governing how particular elements of the Exchequer funding should be spent by sportscotland are set out in the grant in aid letter issued to sportscotland by the Scottish Executive.
Sportscotland’s corporate plan, setting out longer term expenditure plans, is also subject to ministerial approval.
