- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times each minister has travelled overseas on official duties since being appointed, detailing the destination and date of each visit.
Answer
For the period 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2004, I refer the member to the answers given to S1W-29052, S2W-2904 and S2W-9345 answered on 9 September 2002, 25 September 2003 and 25 June 2004 respectively. Information for the current financial year will be published before the summer recess in 2005.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 1 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new homes have been financed by Communities Scotland, expressed as a percentage of the estimated overall demand in each local authority area.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:
Working in close partnership with its key stakeholders, including local authorities, RSLs and other agencies, Communities Scotland bases its investment decisions on a combination of assessments in respect of the need for new housing supply, replacing poor quality housing stock and making provision for housing for particular needs. There is no single measure which encompasses the demand from these separate pressures.
The following table sets out the total number of housing approvals issued by Communities Scotland since 2001-02 until 2003-04, although it should be noted that Communities Scotland came into being in November 2001.
| | Approvals 2001-02 to 2003-04 |
| Aberdeen City | 457 |
| Aberdeenshire | 723 |
| Angus | 299 |
| Argyll and Bute | 238 |
| Clackmannanshire | 105 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 348 |
| Dundee City | 759 |
| East Ayrshire | 76 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 27 |
| East Lothian | 197 |
| East Renfrewshire | 79 |
| City Of Edinburgh | 1,112 |
| Falkirk | 82 |
| Fife | 698 |
| Glasgow City | 4,600 |
| Highland | 696 |
| Inverclyde | 447 |
| Midlothian | 60 |
| Moray | 106 |
| North Ayrshire | 276 |
| North Lanarkshire | 941 |
| Orkney Islands | 195 |
| Perth and Kinross | 482 |
| Renfrewshire | 898 |
| Scottish Borders | 198 |
| Shetland Islands | 85 |
| South Ayrshire | 235 |
| South Lanarkshire | 956 |
| Stirling | 208 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 442 |
| West Lothian | 260 |
| Western Isles | 102 |
| Scotland | 16,387 |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed in agriculture in each of the last five years, giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.
Answer
Statistics on the number of people employed in agriculture in each of the last five years are published in the
Abstract of Scottish Agricultural Statistics 1982 to 2003. This report is available on the Scottish Executive website at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00317-00.asp.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) each local authority area and (b) total were defined as living in poverty in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the population and giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.
Answer
The following table presents the number and proportions of persons living in low income in Scotland in each of the last five years. Estimates are available at Scotland level only, not by local authority area.
Proportion and Number of Individuals in Low Income Households, below 60% of GB Median Income, Scotland Thousands
| Year | Absolute | Relative |
| Before Housing Costs | After Housing Costs | Before Housing Costs | After Housing Costs |
| % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers | % | Numbers |
| 1998-99 | 17 | 870 | 21 | 1,070 | 19 | 940 | 23 | 1,150 |
| 1999-2000 | 15 | 770 | 19 | 950 | 18 | 920 | 22 | 1,110 |
| 2000-01 | 15 | 740 | 18 | 880 | 19 | 960 | 24 | 1,190 |
| 2001-02 | 11 | 540 | 13 | 650 | 18 | 890 | 21 | 1,070 |
| 2002-03 | 12 | 580 | 14 | 690 | 19 | 960 | 22 | 1,100 |
The key low-income results, above, are for 60% of both the relative and absolute median thresholds. Estimates on the full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculated are published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 – 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).
The relative low income measure compares against the median in the same year. The absolute measure compares against the median in the baseline year of 1996-97. Both areas are uprated to remove the effects of inflation.
The figures are estimates based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to sampling variation. As such, small percentage changes are not significant when considered on a year-on-year basis; identification of trends should be based on several years of data.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) each NHS board area and (b) total were classified as clinically obese in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the population and giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.
Answer
Information on the prevalence of adult information in Scotland by NHS board for the last five years is not centrally available. The latest source of this information is from the 1998 Scottish Health Survey and is shown in the following table.
Percentage and Number of Persons Aged 16-64 Years who are Obese
| Health Board | % who are Obese, 1998 | Estimated Population who are Obese, 1998 | Percentage Difference 1998 to 19951 |
| Scotland | 19.8 | 653,277 | 17.8 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 22.8 | 62,452 | 42.1 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 21.7 | 51,252 | 30.1 |
| Borders | 17.7 | 11,642 | -5.5 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 19.5 | 17,979 | 22.0 |
| Fife | 20.2 | 44,756 | 24.4 |
| Forth Valley | 17.5 | 31,547 | 3.0 |
| Grampian | 18.6 | 64,690 | 6.6 |
| Greater Glasgow | 18.6 | 104,856 | 18.4 |
| Highland and Islands | 21.1 | 37,292 | 9.6 |
| Lanarkshire | 22.3 | 81,025 | 10.7 |
| Lothian | 19.0 | 97,044 | 35.2 |
| Tayside | 19.4 | 48,466 | 7.7 |
Note: 1. The percentage difference was determined by calculating the change in the percentage obese between 1995 and 1998.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of exercise the average adult undertakes weekly.
Answer
The minimum amount of physical activity required for health is 30 minutes a day of moderate activity on five or more days a week. In Scotland, 41% of men and 28% of women meet this minimum requirement.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in (a) each NHS board area and (b) total were classified as clinically obese in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the child population and giving the percentage change on a year-on-year basis.
Answer
Information for all NHS boards in Scotland is currently not available.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of exercise the average child undertakes weekly.
Answer
The minimum amount of physical activity required for health in children is one hour a day of moderate activity on five or more days a week. In Scotland, 73% of boys and 60% of girls meet this minimum requirement.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 29 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to promote marine sources of energy production and what future plans there are for such measures.
Answer
The world’s first commercial wave energy project - in Islay - received support under the Scottish Renewables Obligation. More recently, the Executive has contributed over £2 million towards the establishment of the wave test facility at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Discussions with our funding partners to extend the Centre to accommodate tidal projects are at an advanced stage.
The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS), which I chair, recently published a report identifying the way ahead for marine energy in Scotland. Three members of the sub-group which produced this report have since been among the partners which have formed the consortium based UK Centre for Marine Renewable Energy, which will drive forward some of the key tasks identifiedby the report.
Following the FREDS marine energy report, the DTI announced a £50 million UK fund for marine renewables. We will work closely with DTI colleagues on the details of this scheme. We will also consider how best the Executive can support marine developments from within our own renewables programme budget.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 29 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost has been of homes built by Communities Scotland, and its predecessor organisation, in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
The following table gives details of the average total build cost of homes approved for construction through registered social landlords and other bodies by Communities Scotland, and its predecessor organisation, in each of the last 10 years.
| Average Total Build Cost Of Houses Approved For Funding 1994-95 to 2003/04 (£ million) |
| 1994-95 | 0.051 |
| 1995-96 | 0.054 |
| 1996-97 | 0.056 |
| 1997-98 | 0.056 |
| 1998-99 | 0.059 |
| 1999-2000 | 0.061 |
| 2000-01 | 0.066 |
| 2001-02 | 0.071 |
| 2002-03 | 0.074 |
| 2003-04 | 0.079 |
Note: these figures relate to the average total build cost and not the average grant provided.
