Chamber and committees

The period 1999-2000 to 2003-04 covers the transition between cash and resource budgeting and accounting which makes it difficult to compare expenditure data on a like for like basis. However, by excluding non-cash items such as cost of capital and capital depreciation, it is possible to present figures in a comparable way so as to demonstrate trends in expenditure.

To allow such a comparison, it is necessary also to exclude any exceptional items of spending. The Table below sets out details of spending by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department on this basis and notes the year on year percentage changes for each of the Department’s Level 2 groups of spending.

£ Million

	Outturn	Outturn	Outturn	Outturn	Plans
1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Cap Market Support	335	341 (+2%)	330 (-3%)	353 (+7%)	397 (+13%)
Rural Development	87	80 (-8%)	106 (+32%)	120 (+13%)	141 (+18%)
Agricultural, Biological Science and Others	83	84 (+2%)	88 (+5%)	93 (+5%)	119 (+28%)
Fisheries	33	32 (-4%)	35 (+11%)	41 (+15%)	48 (+17%)
Natural Heritage	39	41 (+6%)	53 (+28%)	55 (+4%)	65 (+18%)
Environmental Protection	19	21 (+9%)	27 (+32%)	44 (+62%)	86 (+95%)
Research and Sustainable Action	2	2	3 (+50%)	5 (+71%)	7 (+38%)
Water Services	216	209 (-3%)	211 (+1%)	182 (-14%)	181 (-1%)
Total SEERAD	814	809 (-1%)	854 (+6%)	892 (+4%)	1,044 (+17%)

Notes:

1. Provision for CAP Market Support spending is agreed annually with theUK Treasury and is outside the Scottish Block.

2. Numbers shown for fisheries expenditure exclude the exceptional provision made for Decommissioning and Transitional Aid Schemes.

3. Figures for Natural Heritage spending in 2003-04 exclude exceptional provision for transfer of Pensions liabilities.

The tables below show the number of permanent full time equivalent staff employed in the environment sections of the Environment and Rural Affairs Department in each of the last three years, broken down by pay band and area of responsibility.

Table A

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2002

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	118.3	27.5	58.8	26.0	6.0
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	17.8	4.8	8.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	32.6	9.6	16.0	5.0	2.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	9.0	0.0	6.0	2.0	1.0
Environmental Protection Unit	28.6	5.6	15.0	7.0	1.0
Sustainable Development Directorate	7.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	0
Water Services Unit	21.3	4.5	11.8	4.0	1.0

 

Table B

Permanentstaff by band as at 1 April 2003

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	130.3	24.3	73.8	27.5	4.7
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	17.8	4.8	8.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	37.4	9.4	22.0	5.0	1.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	13.0	0	11.0	2.0	0.0
Environmental Protection Unit	31.8	3.6	19.0	7.5	1.7
Sustainable Development Directorate	8.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0
Water Services Unit	20.3	3.5	10.8	5.0	1.0

 

Table C

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2004

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	145.9	27.2	84.6	28.7	5.4
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	18.8	3.8	10.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	37.0	9.8	20.0	6.2	1.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	13.0	0.0	11.0	2.0	0.0
Environmental Protection Unit	40.1	5.1	26.8	6.5	1.7
Sustainable Development Directorate	13.7	3.0	6.0	4.0	0.7
Water Services Unit	21.3	4.5	10.8	5.0	1.0

 

 

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

The number of police stations closed as a percentage of the number of stations closed plus the current number of stations, for each police force area, is shown in the following table.

Force	Percentage
Central Scotland Police	0
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary	5
Fife Police	5
Grampian Police	20
Lothian and Borders Police	0
Northern Constabulary	10
Strathclyde Police	25
Tayside Police	15

Note: Percentages take no account of the size of stations closed. A significant number were single officer stations which were seldom used by the public.

The following tables show the number of permanent full time equivalent staff employed in the fisheries section of the Environment and Rural Affairs Department in each of the last three years, broken down by pay band and area of responsibility.

Table A

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2002

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Fisheries Group	52.4	13.0	27.4	9.0	3.0
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Freshwater	19.9	3.5	11.4	4.0	1.0
Sea Fisheries	30.5	8.5	16.0	5.0	1.0

 

Table B

Permanent staff by band as at 1 April 2003

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Fisheries Group	50.8	13.5	26.3	8.0	3.0
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Freshwater	22.3	5.0	12.3	4.0	1.0
Sea Fisheries	26.5	7.5	14.0	4.0	1.0

 

Table C

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2004

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Fisheries Group	55.1	15.0	28.1	10.0	2.0
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Freshwater	21.6	5.5	11.1	5.0	0
Sea Fisheries	31.5	8.5	17.0	5.0	1.0

A key aim of A Science Strategy for Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive in August 2001, is to ensure that enough people study science to a standard which will enable the future needs of the country to be met. However, the Executive does not have a policy in connection with the numbers of people taking particular degrees except in a few well-defined areas. My answer to question S2W-8365 answered on 7 June 2004 is also relevant. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

According to data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 13 Scottish higher education institutions ran single and/or joint degree programmes in chemistry in each year between 1998-99 and 2002-03.

These institutions were University of Abertay Dundee, The Robert Gordon University, The University of Paisley, Glasgow Caledonian University, Napier University, The University of Edinburgh, The University of Glasgow, The University of Strathclyde, The University of Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt University, TheUniversity of Dundee, The University of St Andrews and The University of Stirling.In 2002-03 Bell College also ran a degree programme in chemistry.

For the session 2004-05, information from the UCAS and institutional websites indicates that chemistry is no longer offered as a single subject and/or part of a degree programme at the University of Stirling and Napier University.

The overall time lost due to sickness absence for the three years 2000-01 to 2002-03 for which pilot data is available is set out at Section A of the May 2004 publication entitled NHSScotland Occupational Health and Safety Minimum Dataset Pilot Data. The pilot data is provided by organisation type, Scotland, acute trusts, primary care trusts and health boards and special health boards not providing health care and can be accessed on the Information Statistics Division of NHS National Services Scotland website at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/files/040525_web.pdf.

The Scottish Executive is currently considering its response to the No 10 Strategy Unit report Net Benefits: A sustainable and profitable future for UK fishing. The introduction of individual transferable quota (ITQ) is one of the recommendations within the report. No decision on the implementation of ITQ has been made. The Scottish Executive working closely with a range of key stakeholders, will carefully consider a range of economic and other data before reaching a view.

The numbers of applicant households on waiting lists for each local authority are published on an annual basis for 2000-01 onwards in the quarterly Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin (Housing Series) Housing Trends in Scotland. Table 16 in the latest bulletin HSG/2004/4 published August 2004 shows the snapshot position as at 31 March 2004 as well as changes to the lists during 2003-04. This publication can be accessed on-line through publications section of the Scottish Executive housing statistics branch website (www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref). The published figures for 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 can also be found on the housing statistics website in the housing trends bulletins HSG/2001/6, HSG/2002/3 and HSG/2003/4 respectively.

This data collection began in 2001 and data are not centrally available prior to that date. The numbers reported to the Scottish Executive are for applicant households and do not specify the number of people within each household.

The projections of the numbers of households by local authority area for the relevant years are available in the data library section of the Scottish Executive housing statistics branch website:

(http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/EAS/00014844/DataLibrary.aspx).

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

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 introduced the Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST)  for tenants of local authorities and registered social landlords, including housing associations registered with Communities Scotland. Under the SST landlords must give tenants not less than four weeks notice in writing, before increasing rents or other charges. Prior to increasing rents landlords must first consult with those tenants who would be affected. Landlords are required to have regard to the views expressed by those consulted.