- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of debt held after leaving university by students was from (a) a lower, (b) a middle and (c) an upper income background in 2002-03.
Answer
Data from the Student Loans Company shows that the average student loan debt for Scottish domiciled borrowersentering repayment in April 2003 was £4,924. Disaggregated information is not available.Students may also have accumulated other debts whilst studying (e.g. from commercialbanks) but we are unable to provide an estimate of this.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of students from (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) upper income backgrounds (i) hold a part-time job during term-time, (ii) live with their parents during term-time and (iii) attend a university close to their home, and what changes there have been in these statistics since 1999.
Answer
(i) Information for the percentageof students who hold a part-time job during term-time for the three income groupsrequested is not available.
However, the proportion of allworking age full-time students in higher and further education who were in part-timeemployment for the spring quarter in years 1999-2003 is shown in the following table.
| Year | Proportion |
| Mar-May 1999 | 29% |
| Mar-May 2000 | 37% |
| Mar-May 2001 | 35% |
| Mar-May 2002 | 37% |
| Mar-May 2003 | 42% |
(ii) Information for the numberof students who live with their parents during term time for the three income groupsrequested is not available.
(iii) This information is notheld centrally.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the income thresholds for each decile of the household income distribution were in (a) 1997-98 and (b) the most recent available 12-month period.
Answer
The following table presentsresults from the 2002-03 Family Resources Survey on the decile bands for households’net income distribution for the total Scottish population (following an“equivalisation” adjustment to allow meaningful comparison between different householdtypes).
| | 1997/98 (in 2002-03 prices) | 2002-03 |
| Decile 1 | up to 109 | Up to 126 |
| Decile 2 | 109 to 135 | 126 to165 |
| Decile 3 | 135 to 169 | 165 to 200 |
| Decile 4 | 169 to 201 | 200 to 242 |
| Decile 5 | 201 to 239 | 242 to 281 |
| Decile 6 | 239 to 278 | 281 to 324 |
| Decile 7 | 278 to 328 | 324 to 370 |
| Decile 8 | 328 to 384 | 370 to 438 |
| Decile 9 | 384 to 491 | 438 to 558 |
| Decile 10 | 491+ | 558+ |
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect scallop conservation measures have had on scallop stocks since their introduction.
Answer
The measures came into effecton 22 September 2003 and it is unrealistic to expect scientifically robustevidence of their effect on stocks to emerge in such a short period of time. FisheriesResearch Services produce scallop stock assessment reports every two years and thenext assessment report will be available early in 2005.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address industry safety concerns that have emerged as a result of the introduction of scallop conservation measures.
Answer
Within the Scottish Scallop AdvisoryCommittee the Executive is working closely with the industry in considering theintroduction of new or amended conservation measures and the development of a long-termstrategy for scallop management. Maintaining safety standards at sea is a high prioritythat will be considered very carefully as part of that process.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review or refine the scallop conservation measures as introduced.
Answer
The Executive is developing along-term strategy for scallop management in partnership with the scallop industryand the Fisheries Research Service will produce a scallop stock assessment reportearly in 2005. Both of these processes will enable us to review the impact of theexisting conservation measures and consider whether any refinements are required.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the introduction of scallop conservation measures in terms of (a) their economic impact on scallop fishermen and (b) the practical and economic consequences of the measures for processing firms and supporting onshore industries and what steps it will take to offset any impacts.
Answer
The conservation measures whichcame into force in September 2003 were developed in detailed consultation with allsectors of the industry and a Regulatory Impact Assessment was produced as partof that process. The measures are due for review in 2005.
The Seafish Industry Authorityhas been asked to prepare a project specification for a detailed study into thescallop industry, including the economic situation. The study will help inform the Scottish Scallop Advisory Committee develop a long-term strategy for the scallopsector, with the objective of achieving a sustainable fishery.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend the resources available to primary healthcare providers for the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Answer
NHS boards are expected toprovide services for people with all chronic conditions from the unifiedbudgets made available to them by the Executive. Unified budgets for 2004-05were increased by an average of 7.25% more than the 2003-04 allocations, morethan twice the rate of inflation.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is supporting in connection with the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Awareness Week May 2004 campaign.
Answer
While the Executive is notdirectly supporting any initiative in connection with ME Awareness Week, itwelcomes this annual event and the focus it brings to this distressingcondition. The report of a Short Life Working Group on CFS/ME, set up by theExecutive, was issued to NHS boards last year. The Executive is currentlygathering information on the action NHS boards are taking in response to thereport.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people there are with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in (a) Scotland and (b) each parliamentary constituency.
Answer
Exact information is notavailable centrally. Information from samples of GP records in practices acrossScotland, whose population is nationally representative, suggests thatapproximately 6,700 patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis were seen by GPs inthe year ended December 2003. However, this complex condition may be recordedin different ways by GPs, which might lead to some significant undercounting.The Executive’s Short Life Working Group, on the basis of published prevalencerates and population figures, estimated that at least 10,000 people in Scotlandwere likely to be affected by ME.
