Questions and answers

Question reference: S1W-21501

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefit will result from the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill for the North East of Scotland parliamentary region.

The access provisions of the bill apply equally to the whole of Scotland and will not only provide the public with greater confidence to visit the Scottish countryside, but will result in more opportunities for them to do so by the creation of new paths. There is growing interest in outdoor recreation on the part of both Scots themselves and visitors from elsewhere. The legislation will help encourage greater participation in outdoor pursuits, creating opportunities for rural communities and bringing benefits to rural economies.The community right to buy will benefit rural communities in the North East, and throughout Scotland, by providing greater opportunities for them to determine their own future. It will enable them to register an interest in, and subsequently purchase, land with which they can demonstrate a connection. This will provide rural communities with a right to buy when the land which is subject to the registered interest comes to be sold, and time to raise the necessary funding. Community ownership of land can bring social, economic and environmental benefits to rural communities.The North East of Scotland parliamentary region should have the same opportunity to benefit from these proposals as other areas to which the legislation applies.

Question reference: S1W-21503

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20836 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 December 2001, whether it will provide the figures on the number of district nurses employed broken down by health board area.

The following table shows the whole time equivalent of district nurses in post at 30 September in each of the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by health board. Data for the year 2000 are the latest available.District Nurses directly employed by NHSScotland by Health BoardWhole Time Equivalent at 30 September:

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000^P
Scotland¹	1,780.0	1,799.7	1,852.5	1,940.7	1,935.8
Argyll and Clyde	155.0	157.9	154.7	159.0	147.5
Ayrshire & Arran	146.6	150.9	158.7	160.2	157.5
Borders	9.1	8.2	7.6	9.4	10.0
Dumfries and Galloway	47.1	45.5	52.9	62.3	67.4
Fife	137.1	105.2	109.9	145.7	150.2
Forth Valley	122.9	129.7	130.3	138.1	136.1
Grampian	162.7	161.0	164.5	158.2	158.4
Greater Glasgow	354.0	360.9	359.2	354.3	343.5
Highland	52.5	51.4	63.1	65.4	70.1
Lanarkshire	152.1	150.5	146.8	184.9	184.0
Lothian	267.4	276.0	287.5	299.1	296.8
Orkney	14.5	15.5	14.6	12.7	13.7
Shetland	7.1	7.7	9.3	8.7	9.7
Tayside	151.3	178.9	193.3	182.7	190.8
Common Services Agency	0.5	0.5	-	-	-

Source: National Manpower Statistics from Payroll (NAMs) ISD Scotland.^P. ProvisionalNote:1. Total includes district nursing teaching staff working in the field without a District Nurse qualification.

Question reference: S1W-21500

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive whether provision for a right to buy for farm tenants can be included within the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S1W-21502

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive when its review of the law relating to aggravated bail will be concluded.

To inform the review, two separate but related research projects were planned. The first was completed in June 2001 and concluded, among other things, that under half of all charges proved between April 1996 and March 2000 involving offending on bail attracted an aggravated sentence; that the practice of imposing aggravated sentences had declined slightly over that period; and that the greatest use of aggravated sentences was made by the High Court and sheriff solemn courts. The second research project is scheduled to commence in March and be completed early in 2003. We aim to complete the review in the middle of that year.

Question reference: S1W-21498

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average si'e of GP patient lists has been in each health board area in each of the last three years, and what the current figures are.

The average size of GP patient lists for each health board area in the years 1998 to 2001 is shown in the following table. Average Size of GP Patient Lists ¹, by Health Board: 1998-2001²Based on Whole-Time Equivalent (WTE)

	1998	1999	2000	2001
Scotland	1,527	1,523	1,510	1,508
Argyll & Clyde	1,445	1,439	1,415	1,406
Ayrshire & Arran	1,558	1,556	1,539	1,539
Borders	1,374	1,348	1,351	1,365
Dumfries & Galloway	1,248	1,260	1,254	1,243
Fife	1,564	1,551	1,528	1,529
Forth Valley	1,501	1,500	1,494	1,498
Grampian	1,559	1,559	1,543	1,533
Greater Glasgow	1,614	1,611	1,600	1,610
Highland	1,140	1,121	1,104	1,091
Lanarkshire	1,734	1,732	1,728	1,722
Lothian	1,605	1,597	1,586	1,588
Orkney	797	792	806	768
Shetland	1,185	1,178	1,179	1,175
Tayside	1,531	1,545	1,529	1,522
Western Isles	945	967	953	944

Source: General Medical Practitioner Database Information & Statistics Division. NHSScotland.Notes:1. The average list size of a health board is calculated as follows: for WTE basis - by dividing the total number of patients registered with GPs by the total estimated WTE of unrestricted principals and their equivalents in PMS practices (UPEs). Vacant posts and the patients attached to these posts are included in the calculations.2. Data for 1998-2000 are as at 1 October. Data for 2001 are as at 1 April and are provisional.

Question reference: S1W-21499

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Mike Watson on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many visitors there were to each tourist board area in each of the last three years, expressed also as a ratio of the budget for each board in each year.

The information in respect of 1998, 1999 and 2000 is shown in the following table. Information for 2001 is not yet available.Number of Visitors (millions) to each ATB 1998-2000

Area Tourist Board	1998		1999		2000¹
Area Tourist Board	Number of Visitors	Ratio of the budget for 1998-99³	Number of Visitors	Ratio of the budget for 1999-2000³	Number of Visitors	Ratio of the budget for 2000-01³
Aberdeen & Grampian	1.6	0.93	1.3	0.63	2.1	0.91
Angus & Dundee	0.5	0.52	0.5	0.54	0.9	0.98
Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomand, Stirling and Trossachs	1.8	0.55	1.7	0.52	2.7	0.84
Ayrshire & Arran	1.1	0.83	1	0.75	1	0.84
Dumfries & Galloway	0.7	0.65	0.7	0.76	1.3	1.4
Edinburgh & Lothians	2.8	0.8	2.7	0.68	4.3	1.16
Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley	2.3	0.72	2.3	0.75	3.9	1.12
Highlands of Scotland	2.1	0.72	2	0.69	3.2	0.99
Kingdom of Fife	0.9	0.92	0.8	0.81	0.9	0.89
Perthshire	0.7	0.5	0.7	0.53	1.3	1.02
Scottish Borders	0.5	0.39	0.5	0.37	2.8	1.85
Islands ATBs²	N/A		N/A		N/A

Sources: United Kingdom Tourism Survey, International Passenger Survey.Notes:1. Revised methodology applied to United Kingdom Tourism Survey.2. Sample size for Orkney Tourist Board, Shetland Isles Tourist Board and the Western Isles Tourist Board is too small for a robust estimate of the data.3. Figures for ATB budgets are based on estimated out-turns, and include income from public and non-public funds.

Question reference: S1W-21998

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 31 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of junior doctor training posts complied with the average 56-hour weekly duty limit in each year since 1991, broken down by (a) NHS and health board and (b) NHS trust.

Comprehensive information on compliance with junior doctor hour's limits is not available prior to 1999 and does not reflect the current configuration of NHS Scotland (NHSS) Trusts or the current New Deal contract for junior doctors. The New Contract for junior doctors phases in compliance with New Deal hour's limits over a three-year period according to grade. Compliance for Pre Registration House Officers (PRHO) was made obligatory from 1 August 2001. Senior House Officers (SHO) and Specialist Registrars (SpR) are to be compliant from 1 August 2003. The following table shows the current configuration of NHSS Trusts (column A); and the number and percentage of compliant junior doctor posts declared by trusts for the period 1999-2001 (column B). These figures include the SHO and SpR grades for which New Deal compliance is not yet mandatory. Column C shows the % compliance of PRHO grades over the same period.The New Deal Implementation Support Group (ISG) was established by the Minister for Health and Community Care in September 1999 as a partnership arrangement between the Scottish Executive Health Department and the Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) of the BMA. The group's remit is to work with NHSS trusts in identifying appropriate measures at local level to secure compliance with the New Deal. The work of the ISG has concentrated on obtaining increasingly accurate data on New Deal compliance by NHSS Trusts. These efforts are reflected in the levels of compliance recorded since 1999. NHSS Trusts, the Scottish Executive Health Department and the BMA all agree that current data on compliance is an accurate reflection of those posts that meet New Deal limits both on hours of work and rest.

A	B						C
Trust	All Grade Compliance						PRHO
	1999		2000		2001		1999	2000	2001
	No	%	No	%	No	%	%	%	%
Argyll & Clyde Acute	133	76	80	51	98	47	82	27	100
Ayrshire & Arran Acute	100	55	82	44	64	28	38	25	100
Ayrshire & Arran PC	13	100	19	100	14	100	0	0	0¹
Borders General	4	8	43	86	26	43	0	45	100
Borders Primary Care	6	100	7	100	14	100	0	0	0¹
Dumfries & Galloway PC	10	100	13	100	12	100	0	0	0¹
Dumfries & Galloway Acute	53	84	64	89	49	70	100	100	100
Fife Acute	89	65	30	24	68	43	52	0	84
Fife Primary Care	15	75	6	40	18	100	0	0	0¹
Forth Valley Primary Care	13	100	13	100	15	100	0	0	0¹
Forth Valley Acute	42	33	88	59	55	39	0	21	100
Glasgow Primary Care	32	60	53	100	0	0	0	0	0¹
Grampian Primary Care	32	90	40	89	49	100	0	0	100
Grampian Acute	236	51	129	34	218	48	36	4	90
Highland Primary Care	3	33	9	100	0	0	0	0	100
Highland Acute	87	66	25	24	54	42	70	8	100
Lanarkshire Acute	147	61	88	35	178	73	49	37	100
Lanarkshire Primary Care	0	0	7	54	0	0	0	0	0¹
Lomond & Argyll PC	5	36	15	100	9	64	0	0	0¹
Lothian Primary Care	23	58	57	100	75	80	0	0	0¹
Lothian Acute	292	70	213	40	337	55	64	34	86
North Glasgow Acute	483	77	158	34	386	52	69	6	100
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde PC	19	100	17	100	17	100	0	0	0*
South Glasgow Acute	149	51	91	31	186	61	21	7	100
Tayside Primary Care	19	79	27	100	29	53	100	0	100
Tayside Acute	242	78	175	67	230	46	94	67	100
West Lothian	57	75	56	62	41	33	44	0	45
Yorkhill	30	28	102	92	76	64	0	100	100

Note:1. These NHSS Trusts do not have PRHO training grades

Question reference: S1W-21992

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 30 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of direct grants from the Scottish Office to the voluntary sector was in 1998-99.

Question reference: S1W-21919

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 29 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in response to the comments as reported on the BBC News Website by George Lyon MSP on 5 January 2002 in connection with the negotiations between the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs and the European Union on levels of agricultural support and the effect on Scotland of any reduction in this support.

It is not our practice to comment on individual opinions expressed by MSPs. Ministers and officials from all four UK Agriculture Departments are already engaged in discussions which will shape the UK negotiating position for the forthcoming mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Scottish Executive is committed in the review process to ensure that Scotland's farmers and crofters continue to receive appropriate support.

Question reference: S1W-21918

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 January 2002
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 29 January 2002

To ask the Scottish Executive how many definitions of "rural" it uses; what plans it has to review these definitions; who would conduct any such review and what role Her Majesty's Government would have.

A review of rural definitions in use across the Executive revealed that around 20 different definitions of rural were in use. To ensure a more consistent approach to defining rural Scotland within the Executive, a core definition was adopted. It defines rural Scotland as being areas outside settlements of more than 3,000 residents. A framework approach ensures that, where appropriate, variations on the core definition, or indeed, alternative definitions can be adopted, where it can be demonstrated that those variations will allow individual policies or programmes to be targeted more effectively. An article giving details about this review was published in the Scottish Economic Report, published in June 2001. The Executive has no immediate plans to carry out a further review of rural definitions.

Chamber and committees