- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours on average each adult prisoner spent on (a) education, broken down by (i) literacy, (ii) numeracy and (iii) other education-related activities, (b) exercise, (c) vocational work and (d) community work in each year since 1999.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:
The information is not available.
The Scottish Prison Service has recorded over the past four years the number of prisoner learning hours delivered to prisoners. This data, which includes young offenders, is set out below.
| Period | Prisoner Learning Hours |
| 2000-01 | 225,000 |
| 2001-02 | 307,222 |
| 2002-03 | 415,699 |
| 2003-04 | 429,465 |
Education, like other prisoner activities, is available to prisoners to undertake on a voluntary basis. Due to this and the fact that there are nearly 35,000 receptions into SPS prisons each year, many repeat offenders, SPS consider it would be misleading to compare these hours with the average prison population over the year.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 1 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many sexual offences prevention orders have been granted by each sheriff court in each year since their introduction, broken down into persons who were already on the Sex Offenders’ Register and those who were not.
Answer
The available information, which is by police force area, is given in the following table. All of the offenders were subject to registration prior to application for the Order except where indicated.
Number of Sex Offender Orders/Sex Offender Prevention Orders Granted1
| Police Force Area | 1999 to 30 April 20042 | 1 May 2004 to 10 Nov 20043 |
| Central4 | 3 | 0 |
| Dumfries and Galloway5 | 2 | 1 |
| Fife6 | 3 | 0 |
| Grampian7 | 6 | 0 |
| Lothian and Borders8 | 3 | 2 |
| Northern | 7 | 0 |
| Strathclyde9 | 4 | 2 |
| Tayside | 3 | 0 |
Notes:
1. Excludes interim orders.
2. Orders under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
3. Orders under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
4. One of the offenders was not subject to registration prior to application for the order.
5. One order in 1999 and two in 2004.
6. One order each in 1999, 2002 and 2004. One of the offenders was not subject to registration prior to application for the order.
7. Two orders in 2001, one in 2002, one in 2003 and two in 2004.
8. One order in 2002, one in 2003 and three in 2004. All but one of the offenders were subject to registration prior to application for the order.
9. Three orders in 2000 and three in 2004. All but one of the offenders were subject to registration prior to application for the Order.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in each (a) department, (b) agency and (c) non-departmental public body through staff sickness in each financial year since 1999; what the average annual number of days lost per employee was as a result of sickness in those years, and what the cost was of such time lost.
Answer
The details are set out in the following tables for the years for which records are available. It should be noted that information about sickness rates for all NDPBs is not held centrally. The estimated costs are derived from total working days lost through sickness multiplied by an average daily salary for a financial year.
Sickness Absence and Salary Costs in the Scottish Executive Core Departments 1999-2004
TABLE A: Total days of sickness absence
| | Total Sick Days |
| | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 |
| SE Core Department | | | | | |
| Legal and Parliamentary Services | - | - | - | 1,053 | 1,133 |
| Office of the Permanent Secretary | - | 5,477 | 4,599 | 5,438 | 5,545 |
| SE Development Department | - | 2,671 | 2,118 | 1,930 | 2,081 |
| SE Education Department | - | 2,036 | 1,253 | 1,598 | 1,746 |
| SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department | - | 5,646 | 4,401 | 6,127 | 7,031 |
| SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department | - | 2,093 | 1,413 | 1,989 | 3,243 |
| SE Finance and Central Services Department | - | 1,989 | 1,858 | 3,035 | 3,821 |
| SE Health Department | - | 1,670 | 1,228 | 1,782 | 2,327 |
| SE Justice Department | - | 955 | 688 | 965 | 1,298 |
| Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick) | - | 5,077 | 5,904 | 8,155 | 7,393 |
| Core departments Total | 29,874 | 27,611 | 23,460 | 32,070 | 35,615 |
| Agencies/other departments | | | | | |
| Accountants in Bankruptcy | - | - | - | 672 | 440 |
| Communities Scotland | - | - | - | - | 2,262 |
| Courts Group | - | - | - | 323 | 352 |
| Crofters Commission | 826 | 658 | 436 | 360 | 338 |
| Fisheries Research Services | 988 | 1,272 | 1,276 | 2,318 | 2,792 |
| General Register Office Scotland | 1838 | 1,611 | 1,271 | 2,096 | 2,259 |
| HMI Schools | - | - | 540 | 875 | 1,225 |
| National Archives of Scotland | 1107 | 1151 | 907 | 1,471 | 1,961 |
| Scottish Agricultural Science Agency | 1010 | 607 | 722 | 562 | 1,116 |
| Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency | 1778 | 2,202 | 1,997 | 2,532 | 1,585 |
| Scottish Public Pensions Agency | 2239 | 1,897 | 1,355 | 2,312 | 2,027 |
| Student Awards Agency for Scotland | 1602 | 921 | 789 | 1,317 | 1,110 |
| NDPBs for which sickness data are held | | | | | |
| Deer Commission | 178 | 199 | 125 | 135 | 38 |
| Local Government Boundary Commission | 100 | 86 | 35 | 46 | 34 |
| Total for Agencies/Other/NDPBs | 11,664 | 10,601 | 9,451 | 15,018 | 17,536 |
TABLE B: Average Sickness Days
| | Average Sickness (days) |
| | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 |
| SE Core Department | | | | | |
| Legal and Parliamentary Services | - | - | - | 5.8 | 6.0 |
| Office of the Permanent Secretary | - | 7.3 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 7.2 |
| SE Development Department | - | 5.1 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 6.5 |
| SE Education Department | - | 5.1 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 6.1 |
| SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department | - | 5.4 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 6.3 |
| SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department | - | 6.5 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 6.1 |
| SE Finance and Central Services Department | - | 4.7 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 6.5 |
| SE Health Department | - | 4.8 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 5.6 |
| SE Justice Department | - | 3.9 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.9 |
| Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick) | - | 83.2 | 72.9 | 81.6 | 93.6 |
| Average for all Core Departments | 7.4 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 7.8 |
| Agencies/other departments | | | | | |
| Accountants in Bankruptcy | - | - | - | 8.1 | 6.5 |
| Communities Scotland | - | - | - | - | 5.9 |
| Courts Group | - | - | - | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| Crofters Commission | 12.1 | 11.7 | 7.6 | 6.5 | 6.1 |
| Fisheries Research Services | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 7.0 | 8.2 |
| General Register Office Scotland | 7.6 | 6.7 | 5.3 | 9.4 | 10.5 |
| HMI Schools | - | - | 3.6 | 5.7 | 7.2 |
| National Archives of Scotland | 8.7 | 8.9 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 12.6 |
| Scottish Agricultural Science Agency | 7.6 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 7.9 |
| Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency | 6.3 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 9.3 | 5.7 |
| Scottish Public Pensions Agency | 13.9 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| Student Awards Agency for Scotland | 12.7 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 9.8 | 8.3 |
| NDPBs for which sickness data are held | | | | | |
| Deer Commission | 10.4 | 11.1 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 1.9 |
| Local Government Boundary Commission | 16.7 | 17.1 | 3.9 | 6.6 | 4.3 |
| Average for all for Agencies/Other/NDPBs | 8.2 | 7.3 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 7.8 |
TABLE C: Estimated Salary Cost
| | Estimated Total Salary Cost |
| | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 |
| SE Core Department | | | | | |
| Legal and Parliamentary Services | - | - | - | £94,521 | £110,884 |
| Office of the Permanent Secretary | - | £445,602 | £380,862 | £488,089 | £542,625 |
| SE Development Department | - | £217,288 | £175,420 | £173,243 | £203,613 |
| SE Education Department | - | £165,662 | £103,736 | £143,397 | £170,827 |
| SE Environment and Rural Affairs Department | - | £459,353 | £364,505 | £549,980 | £688,056 |
| SE Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department | - | £170,300 | £116,988 | £178,539 | £317,335 |
| SE Finance and Central Services Department | - | £161,797 | £153,844 | £272,387 | £373,902 |
| SE Health Department | - | £135,841 | £101,707 | £159,958 | £227,737 |
| SE Justice Department | - | £77,705 | £56,941 | £86,577 | £127,032 |
| Centrally Managed Staff (incl. Long Term Sick) | - | £413,056 | £488,988 | £732,021 | £723,484 |
| Core departments Total | £2,359,618 | £2,246,603 | £1,942,991 | £2,878,713 | £3,485,495 |
| Agencies/other departments | | | | | |
| Accountants in Bankruptcy | - | - | - | £60,321 | £43,062 |
| Communities Scotland | - | - | - | - | £221,376 |
| Courts Group | - | - | - | £28,994 | £34,449 |
| Crofters Commission | £65,242 | £53,498 | £36,070 | £32,270 | £33,030 |
| Fisheries Research Services | £77,998 | £103,498 | £105,641 | £208,072 | £273,197 |
| General Register Office Scotland | £145,136 | £131,081 | £105,227 | £188,144 | £221,082 |
| HMI Schools | - | - | £44,725 | £78,543 | £119,838 |
| National Archives of Scotland | £87,398 | £93,612 | £75,121 | £131,997 | £191,869 |
| Scottish Agricultural Science Agency | £79,776 | £49,349 | £59,757 | £50,447 | £109,220 |
| Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency | £140,397 | £179,168 | £165,357 | £227,281 | £155,071 |
| Scottish Public Pensions Agency | £176,849 | £154,311 | £112,225 | £207,533 | £198,328 |
| Student Awards Agency for Scotland | £126,535 | £74,898 | £65,348 | £118,174 | £108,584 |
| NDPBs for which sickness data are held | | | | | |
| Deer Commission | £14,020 | £16,192 | £10,353 | £12,118 | £3,719 |
| Local Government Boundary Commission | £7,899 | £6,957 | £2,899 | £4,129 | £3,327 |
| Total for Agencies/Other/NDPBs | £921,250 | £862,563 | £782,721 | £1,348,022 | £ 1,716,152 |
Notes:
1. Calculation of sickness absence does not take account of part time working patterns.
2. Core departments are backdated to reflect the current organisational structure, this information is not available for 1999-2000.
3. Proportion of working days assumes 225 working days for each member of staff per year (365, minus weekends, annual leave and public holidays).
4. Data are for permanent staff only.
5. Estimated total salary costs use average daily salary across the whole executive. Pensions and allowances are not included.
6. Average days sickness is sensitive to staff numbers, particularly in small agencies/departments.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 26 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when visitscotland.com is expected to become profitable.
Answer
Visitscotland.com is a world-class information andbooking facility which is playing a vital role in promoting tourism in Scotland. Likemany new businesses of this kind, it was always anticipated that it would take anumber of years before it made profits. The management of visitscotland.com isconfident that it is on track to achieve profitability in the next three tofour years.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 26 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties are applied when visitscotland.com is shown to be carrying information that is (a) obsolete, (b) incorrect and (c) materially incomplete.
Answer
There are no penalty clausesin place for information shown on the visitscotland.com website which is obsolete,incorrect or materially incomplete. But visitScotland.com works hard to ensure thatall of the information shown on its website is correct, and will immediately amendany inaccuracies brought to its attention.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many child (a) psychologists, (b) psychiatrists and (c) psychotherapists there are in each NHS board area.
Answer
Due to the detail required a copy of the data (Bib. number 34428), which provides the position at 30 September 2003, will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre in due course.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the Balmedie to Tipperty section of the A90 to dual carriageway status.
Answer
It is too early to say. We are committed to consult the North East Scotland Transport Partnership (NESTRANS) on the conclusions of the final report on this section of the A90. This is due to take place shortly. I will then take a decision on what upgrading should be carried out on this section.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 16 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many persons currently serve on more than one non-departmental public body (NDPB); what NDPBs these are; what remuneration each of these persons receive from each NDPB; how long each such person has served on each NDPB in each year since 1999, and whether any of these persons are politically affiliated.
Answer
As at 1 November 2004, there were 868 appointees serving on NDPBs sponsored by the Scottish Executive and regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland’s Code of Practice. Of these, 33 appointees (or 3.8% of the total) serve on more than one NDPB and only six (or 0.7%) have declared any political activity in the five years prior to appointment.
The information requested about the 33 individuals (which is also published on the Executive’s public bodies website www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicbodies) is as follows.
| Members of more than 1 public body | Names of Bodies involved | Appt from | Appt to | Remuneration Levels (£) | Term of appt | Details of party where political activity declared |
| Professor Alan Alexander | Scottish Water Accounts Commission for Scotland | 03-02 10-02 | 03-05 09-05 | 52,650 4,500 | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr James Barbour | NHS National Services Scotland Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards | 04-03 11-04 | 03-07 10-07 | 7,160 - | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr David Belfall | Lothian NHS Board Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission | 04-04 01-02 | 03-08 12-05 | 7,160 230 per day | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr William Brackenridge | Scottish Ambulance Service Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd | 07-03 12-02 | 06-07 11-05 | 22,495 6,568 | 1st 2nd | Member of Community Council |
| Dr Lindsay Burley | National Waiting Times Centre Board NHS Education for Scotland | 04-03 04-02 | 04-07 03-06 | 22,495 7,160 | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr George Campbell | Highlands and Islands Enterprise Deer Commission for Scotland | 10-04 01-02 | 10-07 12-04 | 9,651 4,194 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Mr Michael Cantlay | VisitScotland Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority | 10-01 07-02 | 09-05 07-06 | 8,235 178.50 per day | 2nd 1st | - |
| Mr Arthur Cormack | Scottish Arts Council BÒRD GÀIDHLIG na h-ALBA (The Gaelic Development Agency) | 04-04 01-03 | 03-07 12-05 | - 6,000 | 1st 1st | Member of the Highlands and Islands Alliance in 1999 |
| Mrs Jean Couper | Accounts Commission for Scotland Scottish Legal Aid Board | 10-02 04-02 | 09-05 03-06 | 4,500 28,603 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Ms Pamela Courcha | Highland NHS Board Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission) | 04-04 09-04 | 03-08 08-07 | 7,160 7,336 | 1st 2nd | SNP |
| Mr Gilbert Cox | North Lanarkshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee South Lanarkshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 11-00 11-00 | 08-10 08-10 | - - | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr Keith Geddes | Accounts Commission for Scotland Scottish Natural Heritage | 10-02 04-04 | 09-05 03-07 | 4,500 8,847 | 1st 2nd | Labour |
| Lady Isabel Glasgow | Scottish Natural Heritage Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority | 04-04 07-02 | 03-07 07-06 | 18,733 178.50 per day | 2nd 1st | - |
| Mr Lex Gold CBE | Lanarkshire NHS Board NHS National Services Scotland | 04-02 04-03 | 03-06 03-07 | 28,630 7,160 | 1st 1st | - |
| Brigadier Donald Hardie | West Dunbartonshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee East Dunbartonshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 04-96 04-96 | 01-11 01-11 | - - | 1st 2nd | - |
| Mrs Mary Hartnoll | Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission) Scottish Social Services Council | 08-04 07-04 | 07-07 07-07 | 22,009 Nil - Paid as Convenor of SCRC | 2nd 1st | - |
| Major Richard Henderson | South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee East Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 04-96 04-96 | 06-06 07-06 | - - | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr Pat Kelly | NHS 24 Scottish Water | 12-01 09-03 | 11-05 03-06 | 7,160 18,565 | 1st 1st | Labour |
| Mrs Alice Lambert | Scottish Ambulance Service Scottish Natural Heritage | 04-03 04-02 | 03-07 03-05 | 7,160 7,805 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Dr Isabelle Low | State Hospitals Board for Scotland Accounts Commission for Scotland | 12-01 10-03 | 11-05 09-06 | 7,160 10,500 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Mrs Neena Mahal | Lanarkshire NHS Board National Museums of Scotland | 04-04 04-04 | 03-08 03-08 | 7,160 - | 1st 2nd | - |
| Mrs Ann Markham OBE | NHS Education for Scotland NHS National Services Scotland | 01-02 09-04- | 12-05 08-08 | 22,495 7,160 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Professor James McGoldrick | Tayside NHS Board Scottish Higher Education Funding Council | 04-04 07-04 | 03-08 12-05 | 7,160 5,378 | 1st 2nd | - |
| Mr Iain McMillan | Scottish Ambulance Service Scottish Qualifications Authority | 04-04 01-02 | 03-08 12-05 | 7,160 4,120 | 2nd 2nd | - |
| Dr Joseph J Morrow | Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration | 10-02 04-02 | 09-06 03-06 | 2,138 4,230 | 2nd 1st | Labour |
| Mr Cameron Parker | East Renfrewshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee Inverclyde Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee Renfrewshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 05-98 05-98 05-98 | 04-07 04-07 04-07 | - - | 1st 1st 1st | - |
| Mr Ian Ritchie | National Museums of Scotland Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Scottish Enterprise | 10-02 06-02 12-02 | 09-06 05-06 11-05 | - 5,378 9,651 | 1st 1st 2nd | - |
| Mr James Royan OBE | Scottish Ambulance Service Grampian NHS Board | 09-03 09-03 | 08-05 08-07 | 7,160 28,630 | 2nd 2nd | - |
| Mr Satnam Singh | Scottish Legal Aid Board Lothian NHS Board | 04-04 04-04 | 03-08 03-06 | 8,125 7,160 | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr Ian Smith | Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration National Museums of Scotland | 04-04 04-03 | 04-08 03-07 | 4,230 | 2nd 2nd | - |
| Lieutenant Colonel James Stirling of Garden | Stirling Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee Falkirk Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee | 04-96 04-96 | 09-05 09-05 | - - | 1st 1st | - |
| Mr Alan Tripp | Scottish Further Education Funding Council Scottish Higher Education Funding Council | 04-03 08-04 | 03-07 01-06 | 5,378 5,378 | 2nd 2nd | - |
| Professor Susan Walker OBE | Deer Commission for Scotland Cairngorms National Park Authority Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Environment Protection Agency | 01-02 03-03 04-03 01-03 | 12-04 03-07 03-06 12-05 | 4,194 182.50 per day 8,587 5,909 | 1st 1st 2nd 1st | - |
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 16 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average public sector salary was in each year since 1999.
Answer
The following table shows the average gross salary in the public sector in each year since 1999.
Table 1. Average Annual Gross Pay (£) – for Full-Time Employee Jobs1: Scotland, 1999-2004
| Year | Public Sector Average Gross Pay (£) |
| 1999 | 19,670 |
| 2000 | 20,600 |
| 2001 | 21,605 |
| 2002 | 22,475 |
| 2003 | 23,093 |
| 2004 | 23,650 |
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
Note: 1. Employees on adult rates who have been in the same job for more than a year.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 15 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements there are to allow local events to be listed on visitscotland.com.
Answer
Local events are an important way of attracting visitors to different parts of the country. Visitscotland.com has recently improved the management and display of events information by using a Major Events Calendar which is featured prominently on the home page of its website. This facility allows users to search for events chronologically by month, and provides a short description of each event together with location and timing. A fuller report will also be available for most events. There is also a regional listing of major events accessible from the Calendar, where the events are organised to display a complete year's events in each area of Scotland. These regional listings can also be accessed via theappropriate “Explore by Map” section of the website.
