Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-32217

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent per capita on students with learning difficulties in each of the last five years.

Expenditure on students withlearning difficulties is not recorded specifically in local authority accounts.However, their information on the expenditure on special education is publishedin table 1.1 of Expenditure on School Education in Scotland, on the Executive’swebsite:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/07145319/0.

Numbersof pupils with additional support needs, both in mainstream and special schools,are published in tables 1.1 and 1.5 of Pupils in Scotland, on the Executive’swebsite:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/PubPupilCensus.

There may be some variation inthe way in which local authorities allocate spend on special education in theiraccounts, so per pupil calculations may not be accurate.

Question reference: S2W-32227

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have been employed to provide external consultancy advice on rebranding its departments since 1999 and what the costs have been of such advice.

Question reference: S2W-32215

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) children lived in overcrowded housing in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

The following table 1 shows thepercentage of Scottish households living in overcrowded housing for each healthboard area, and the following table 2 shows the percentage of children in Scotland wholive in overcrowded housing.

Table 1: Percentage of ScottishHouseholds Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

	1999-2000		2001-02		2003-04
	%	Base	%	Base	%	Base
Highland	1%	1,129	2%	1,206	1%	1,167
Grampian	3%	3,043	3%	3,123	2%	3,082
Tayside	3%	2,188	3%	2,275	2%	2,167
Fife	2%	1,894	2%	1,910	2%	2,083
Lothian	3%	4,490	3%	4,392	3%	4,490
Borders	2%	609	2%	642	2%	663
Forth Valley	3%	2,021	2%	1,937	2%	2,016
Argyll and Clyde	5%	2,471	4%	2,468	3%	2,526
Greater Glasgow	5%	4,677	4%	4,863	5%	4,721
Lanarkshire	5%	2,885	4%	2,871	4%	3,021
Ayrshire and Arran	3%	2,172	3%	2,165	2%	2,073
Dumfries and Galloway	2%	878	3%	822	2%	814
Orkney	1%	540	1%	649	2%	665
Shetland	3%	561	2%	624	1%	653
Western Isles	3%	658	3%	643	2%	563

Table 2: Percentage of ScottishChildren Living in Overcrowded Housing, by Health Board Area

	1999-2000		2001-02		2003-004
	%	Base	%	Base	%	Base
Highland	5%	564	8%	593	5%	575
Grampian	9%	1,526	9%	1,481	6%	1,430
Tayside	8%	967	11%	990	8%	814
Fife	7%	939	10%	925	8%	983
Lothian	10%	2,096	9%	2,060	12%	1,961
Borders	7%	298	7%	278	5%	287
Forth Valley	8%	1,045	6%	933	5%	929
Argyll and Clyde	16%	1,196	13%	1,088	12%	1,125
Greater Glasgow	17%	2,232	14%	2,177	17%	2,022
Lanarkshire	14%	1,567	13%	1,560	11%	1,471
Ayrshire and Arran	9%	1,058	10%	1,017	8%	934
Dumfries and Galloway	10%	417	12%	406	4%	341
Orkney	6%	261	4%	269	7%	311
Shetland	7%	379	6%	69	6%	302
Western Isles	11%	294	11%	267	7%	231

Source: The ScottishHousehold Survey, 1999-2004.

Notes:

1. Please interpret changes withcaution as the statistics can fluctuate from year to year because of sampling variability.

2. The results are given fortwo-year sweeps as the survey is not designed to be representative for all sub-Scotlandareas for a single year. In addition, it should be noted that the survey is designedto be representative for local authorities over a two-year period, not for healthboard areas.

3. Figures for 2006 have notyet been published.

4. For the purposes of thisquestion, “overcrowded households” are defined as being households which are belowthe bedroom standard. The calculation of the number of bedrooms required is basedon the assumption that a separate bedroom is required for:

each cohabiting couple;

any other person aged 21 yearsor over;

each pair of young persons of the same sex aged 10 to 20 years, and

each pair of children under 10years (regardless of sex).

Unpaired young persons aged 10to 20 are paired with a child under 10 of the same sex if possible or allocateda separate bedroom. Any unpaired children under 10 are also allocated a separatebedroom.

5. The basenumbers show the size of the population sub-group questioned in the survey (i.e.people examined in each area) but cannot be used to calculate how many respondentsgave a certain answer. The base in table 1 is the number of households, and in table 2 is the number of children in those households.

Question reference: S2W-32229

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of state-educated people with learning difficulties served prison sentences in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S2W-32233

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 16 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children committed suicide in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board area.

In presenting statistics on suicidesit is conventional to combine deaths classified as intentional self-harm (suicides)with those classified as events of undetermined intent. This is because the majorityof the latter are likely to have been suicides. However, this assumption is knownto be less valid for children, particularly those aged under 10. For this reasonthe following table shows the two categories separately and restricts the informationon events of undetermined intent to deaths aged 10‑15.

NHS Board Area¹	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
(a) Deaths aged under 16 from intentional self-harm (suicides)
Scotland	5	1	5	4	8	6	3	4	3	4
Ayrshire and Arran	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	-	-	-
Fife	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	2	1
Grampian	1	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-
Greater Glasgow and Clyde²	1	1	2	1	-	3	1	1	-	1
Highland²	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Lanarkshire	1	-	-	1	3	-	-	-	-	-
Lothian	1	-	1	1	2	1	2	-	-	1
Tayside	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	3	1	-
(b) Deaths aged 10 - 15 classified as events of undetermined intent
Scotland	2	4	3	3	4	-	2	1	-	2
Ayrshire and Arran	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fife	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Forth Valley	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Grampian	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Greater Glasgow and Clyde²	-	1	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	1
Highland²	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Lanarkshire	-	1	-	1	2	-	-	1	-	-
Lothian	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-

Notes:

1. NHSBoard Areas with no relevant deaths have been omitted.

2.Incorporating part of the former NHS Argyll and Clyde area.

Question reference: S2W-32256

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the number of nursing vacancies in the NHS at the end of August 2007.

From analysis of NHS board workforce plans submitted inApril 2006, the number of qualified nursing and midwifery vacancies at the endof August 2007 is expected to range from 593.6 to 766.6 whole-time equivalent,or 1.5% to 2.0% of the expected establishment in August 2007.

For comparison, the vacancy rate as a percentage ofestablishment was 4.5% at the 31 of March 2005 and 3.6% at the 31 of March2006.

Question reference: S2W-32259

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average (a) output of farm businesses by farm type and (b) change in output was in each year since 1997.

The information requested is given in the following table.The table uses data from the Farm Accounts Survey (FAS) which covers the farmtypes listed below but does not cover horticulture, specialist pigs and poultryfarms. The final column shows the number of farms sampled in 2005-06.

Average Output (Farm Type)	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02
LFA: Specialist Sheep	48,984	44,220	38,163	41,127	42,276
LFA: Specialist Beef	68,471	67,314	69,414	68,944	80,451
LFA: Cattle and Sheep	82,473	77,887	73,250	73,708	84,563
Cereals	102,403	95,560	103,664	101,106	79,921
General Cropping	146,502	156,289	171,966	170,946	134,124
Dairy	160,410	144,571	142,182	153,937	183,148
Lowground Cattle and Sheep*	-	-	-	64,500	-
Mixed	110,563	101,958	103,536	106,493	108,765
All	98,852	94,345	96,710	98,620	97,866

Note:*Results are not shown for farm types of less than five holdings, as theresults may not be reliable.

TheFAS covers farms that are equal to or greater than 0.5 Standard LabourRequirements - smaller farms are excluded. The FAS does not cover horticulture,specialist pigs and poultry farm types.

Average Output (Farm Type)	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2005-06
LFA: Specialist Sheep	50,977	54,968	54,939	51,039	47
LFA: Specialist Beef	102,797	104,152	106,646	104,523	118
LFA: Cattle and Sheep	99,951	108,983	110,556	107,621	70
Cereals	106,361	135,274	120,037	128,005	59
General Cropping	157,565	166,838	160,296	151,580	40
Dairy	181,554	195,698	209,731	209,945	63
Lowground Cattle and Sheep*	83,380	84,845	78,622	84,754	12
Mixed	120,772	148,982	140,520	140,984	65
All	112,225	124,123	121,960	120,912	474

Note:*Results are not shown for farm types of less than five holdings, as theresults may not be reliable.

The FAS covers farms that areequal to or greater than 0.5 Standard Labour Requirements - smaller farms areexcluded. The FAS does not cover horticulture, specialist pigs and poultry farmtypes.

Question reference: S2W-32253

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women are diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, broken down by age.

Question reference: S2O-12345

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive to where staff and prisoners from HM Prison Low Moss will be moved after its closure.

Question reference: S2W-32276

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursing graduates had not completed a preceptorship one year after their graduation in each of the last three years.

This information is not held centrally. NHS boards areresponsible for ensuring that newly qualified nurses and midwives are supportedinto the workforce. In addition, since January 2006, all newly qualified nursesand midwives who take up employment in NHS Scotland have the opportunity toundertake Flying Start NHS, a web-based blended learning programme whichsupports practitioners during the first year of employment. To date, 1,750nurses and midwives have registered with the Flying Start programme.