Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-28025

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has undertaken in respect of the impact on employment and productivity within the fishing industry of any clawback in pelagic quotas.

Question reference: S2W-28026

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what correspondence it has had regarding clawback in pelagic quotas.

The Scottish Executive has receiveda range of correspondence regarding clawback on this issue which, by its nature,covers a number of complex and sensitive issues (involving legal and commerciallyconfidential matters), including an on-going criminal investigation, internationalnegotiations with the EU authorities regarding payback of quotas, and liaison withfish Producer Organisations and their members on the management measures for theirpelagic fisheries to ensure that the Executive meets its obligations under the CommonFisheries Policy.

Question reference: S2W-28027

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that a strategy exists for quota management in the pelagic fishing industry.

Question reference: S2W-28347

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses currently employed by the NHS in Scotland will have reached their normal retirement age in each year from 2005 to 2020, broken down (a) into SRN, SEN, RMN or other qualification and (b) by NHS board.

While Scotland hasa slightly aging nursing and midwifery workforce, the age characteristics of thisparticular workforce are “normal” and “healthy”.

Table 1 shows the number of registeredand enrolled nurses and midwives as at 30 September 2005, aged between 50 and 64, who will reach the retirement age of 65 in eachyear from 2006 to 2020. Table 2 shows the combined information split by NHS board.

Table 1: Registeredand Enrolled Nurses and Midwives Reaching Retirement Age (65)

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Scotland	70	112	133	176	224	473	642	617	673	756	787	868	1,050	1,145	1,239
Registered	56	88	112	140	179	400	512	489	562	634	686	766	902	997	1,096
Enrolled	14	24	21	36	45	73	130	128	111	122	101	102	148	148	143

Source: ISD Scotland.

Table 2: Registeredand Enrolled Nurses and Midwives Reaching Retirement Age (65) – by NHS Board

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Scotland	70	112	133	176	224	473	642	617	673	756	787	868	1,050	1,145	1,239
Ayrshire and Arran	4	7	1	12	19	17	46	31	56	49	45	54	71	74	80
Borders	-	4	5	1	6	16	16	14	11	25	22	24	26	32	27
Dumfries and Galloway	3	4	5	6	11	18	22	19	25	28	35	46	44	45	45
Fife	5	6	7	11	13	35	51	45	54	56	54	58	76	92	96
Forth Valley	1	3	4	8	8	18	24	26	23	35	38	38	54	39	79
Golden Jubilee	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	-	1	-	-	6	3	4
Grampian	8	14	21	11	20	40	83	67	72	79	91	82	87	115	115
Greater Glasgow	20	29	27	47	54	117	140	146	147	165	189	173	264	275	293
Highland	10	8	8	19	15	32	39	43	46	59	46	61	59	55	63
Lanarkshire	2	4	12	19	15	32	48	51	68	62	76	69	92	87	93
Lothian	11	15	22	29	22	85	95	94	79	91	103	133	136	163	160
NHS 24	-	-	-	-	3	4	3	2	6	5	5	5	13	14	15
NSS	-	2	-	-	-	3	2	-	1	3	2	7	3	1	4
Orkney	1	-	1	-	3	4	2	3	5	2	3	7	4	4	6
Shetland	-	1	2	-	2	-	2	5	2	5	4	5	1	8	7
State Hospital	-	4	-	1	4	1	1	1	-	1	3	2	2	2	5
Tayside	3	10	14	9	24	46	58	60	70	83	64	92	104	118	131
Western Isles	2	1	4	3	5	5	8	8	8	7	7	12	8	18	16

Source: ISD Scotland.

This must be considered in thecontext of an increasing workforce. We remain on track to achieve and surpass the2002 Partnership Agreement target of attracting 12,000 nurses and midwives intoNHSScotland by 2007. Between September 2002 and September 2005 we recruited 11,504nurse and midwives.

The total number of nurses andmidwives employed within NHSScotland is at an all time high. Nursing and midwiferystaff numbers have risen to over 65,000 (headcount), including almost 47,000 registerednurses (head count). In addition, we have record numbers of nursing and midwiferystudents in training (9,726).

Question reference: S2W-28246

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, in terms of the total amount collected via water charges, what the split will be between domestic and non-domestic water charge payers in the each of the next two years and what the equalivalent figures were in each of the last five years.

The historical information soughtmay be found in the annual accounts published by Scottish Water and its predecessororganisations, for each of the financial years in question. Copies of the accounts may be found in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre the relevant Bib. numbers are:

Financial Year	North of Scotland Water Authority	East of Scotland Water Authority	West of Scotland Water Authority
2001-02	24607	24610	24612

Financial Year	Scottish Water
2002-03	28754
2003-04	33541
2004-05	36848
2005-06	39906

Estimates for future years canbe found on page 59 of Scottish Water’s Delivery Plan for 2006-10, which can befound on Scottish Water’s website at: http://www.scottishwater.co.uk.

Question reference: S2W-28109

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for patients before entering a methadone maintenance treatment programme in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Average waiting times are notregarded as a particularly effective measure of the availability and efficiencyof drug services. Rather, the information compiled by Alcohol and Drug Action Teams(ADATs) and submitted to Information Services Division specifies the number of peoplewho wait for less than a week, less than two weeks and so forth, for different typesof intervention. Table 1 presents information on the length of time waited, by NHSboard area, for (a) clients who have received prescribed drug intervention (whichincludes methadone maintenance programmes) and (b) clients who are still waitingfor prescribed drug intervention for the period January – March 2006, the most recentperiod for which comprehensive data is available.

Alcohol and Drug Action Teamssend aggregated data to the Information Services Division (ISD) on a quarterly basis.Reports from this data may be viewed on http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/wtpilot/reports.htm.

Table 1a: Prescribed Drug Treatment– Number of Clients Seen, January to March 2006

Time Waited NHS Board	<7 d	8-14d	15-21d	22-28d	5-8 wks	9-12 wks	13-26 wks	27-52 wks	52+ wks	Total
Argyll and Clyde	37	1	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	44
Ayrshire/Arran	34	5	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	47
Borders	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Dumfries and Galloway	31	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	35
Fife	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19
Forth Valley
Greater Glasgow	85	13	7	1	6	0	1	0	0	113
Grampian	78	18	7	1	3	0	0	0	0	107
Highland	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11
Lanarkshire	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Lothian	63	9	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	74
Orkney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8
Tayside	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
Western Isles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scotland	383	53	24	3	14	2	1	0	0	480

Table 1b: Prescribed Drug Treatment– Number of Clients Waiting at end of Quarter, January to March 2006

Time Waited NHS Board	<7 d	8-14d	15-21d	22-28d	5-8 wks	9-12 wks	13-26 wks	27-52 wks	52+ wks	Total
Argyll and Clyde	2	1	3	2	13	12	22	58	26	139
Ayrshire/Arran	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	4	4	12
Borders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dumfries and Galloway	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	5
Fife	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	7	9
Forth Valley
Greater Glasgow	3	3	1	1	3	3	23	36	24	97
Grampian	1	0	0	0	2	0	4	5	0	12
Highland	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2
Lanarkshire	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	9	10	23
Lothian	7	6	2	1	5	4	8	13	7	53
Orkney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tayside	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Western Isles	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3
Scotland	16	13	6	4	26	19	63	127	83	357

Notes:

1. Prescribed drug treatmentincludes detoxification, maintenance or reduction programmes, and is defined asthe prescribing of a substitute drug, (e.g. methadone, lofexidine, subutex) forfacilitating the complete cessation of the use of illicit drugs, controlling withdrawalsymptoms or reducing illicit drug use. GP prescriptions are not included in thisdata.

2. The waiting time is measuredfrom the date a decision is made regarding what is the appropriate treatment forthe client to the first date offered for beginning the treatment.

3. Information is collected byADAT rather than NHS board area. Lothian, Grampian and Tayside figures are thereforean aggregate of the Local Authority based ADATs in their area. Argyll and ClydeADAT is still in operation; no information is available on the new Greater Glasgowand Clyde NHS Board or Highland and Bute NHS Board.

4. Forth Valley, Midlothian (Lothian)and Perth and Kinross (Tayside) Alcohol and Drug Action Teams were unable to provideinformation for January – March 2006 due to technical problems.

Question reference: S2W-28334

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patients waited for (a) less than three months, (b) less than six months, (c) less than nine months, (d) less than 12 months and (e) 12 months or more for an NHS appointment in each year since 1998, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-28323

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) lowest, (b) highest and (c) average discount has been granted to tenants who purchased their home through right to buy in each local authority area, expressed in monetary terms.

The following table containsthe minimum, maximum and mean discounts granted between 1979 quarter 2 and 2006quarter 1, to tenants who purchased their home through right to buy, broken downby local authority. Data are at 2006 prices.

Discounts Granted to TenantsPurchasing their Home through Right-to-Buy – 2006 Prices

Local authority area	Right to Buy (Old terms)			Right to Buy (Modernised)
Local authority area	Mean (£)	Minimum (£)	Maximum (£)	Mean (£)	Minimum (£)	Maximum (£)
Scotland	22,533	23	179,145	13,114	1,574	20,971
Aberdeen City	27,398	62	76,517	14,436	9,189	15,735
Aberdeenshire	20,943	1,398	75,000	12,851	4,600	18,330
Angus	19,663	1,990	51,000	11,400	1,990	16,240
Argyll and Bute	22,418	3,590	63,000	13,497	10,647	15,315
Clackmannanshire	22,277	694	60,600	..	..	..
Dumfries and Galloway	18,538	222	44,924	12,016	9,808	15,315
Dundee City	22,688	1,533	63,000	12,870	6,984	15,315
East Ayrshire	18,816	2,949	64,200	11,987	6,126	19,465
East Dunbartonshire	26,495	1,512	108,000	14,428	11,250	15,315
East Lothian	27,669	860	114,000	15,273	15,000	15,735
East Renfrewshire	24,108	1,892	60,035	14,253	13,650	15,000
Edinburgh	27,384	298	156,213	13,345	7,279	15,315
Eilean Siar	17,131	1,504	42,770	9,336	9,336	9,336
Falkirk	21,244	1,296	110,250	12,596	7,000	15,315
Fife	18,960	23	93,000	13,014	4,302	15,735
Glasgow	26,582	781	99,548	13,804	1,574	15,735
Highland	20,101	806	78,311	13,732	8,076	20,971
Inverclyde	21,446	1,269	53,369	..	..	..
Midlothian	26,897	4,021	86,400	13,296	7,552	15,315
Moray	20,291	2,501	64,323	12,254	8,985	15,870
North Ayrshire	18,873	172	57,000	12,806	8,800	17,309
North Lanarkshire	21,450	93	179,145	12,993	7,200	15,315
Orkney	18,821	4,810	41,325	..	..	..
Perth and Kinross	21,850	3,942	66,500	13,561	8,985	15,735
Renfrewshire	24,099	590	58,100	12,635	6,412	15,735
Scottish Borders	19,170	1,630	73,500	12,938	8,686	15,540
Shetland	23,360	3,571	52,800	15,000	15,000	15,000
South Ayrshire	21,698	1,605	74,813	14,403	9,450	15,420
South Lanarkshire	22,204	1,080	61,200	12,509	1,888	15,735
Stirling	23,812	1,692	85,764	13,891	11,500	15,735
West Dunbartonshire	25,111	2,700	72,000	13,207	6,670	15,735
West Lothian	20,584	28	114,000	14,706	12,436	15,315

Source: Scottish Executive HousingStatistics branch.

Notes:

- For this analysis,the amount of each discount was inflated to 2006 prices using the UK GDP deflator.The GDP deflator can be viewed as a measure of general inflation in the domesticeconomy.

- Cases where no discountwas granted have been excluded from the data.

- Not applicable cells occurwhere no sales have taken place.

- Modernised right to buy saleswere introduced in 30 September 2002 and data collected separately for these sales from 2003quarter two onwards.

The following is a corrected answer(published on 2 October 2006); see below

Malcolm Chisholm: The table below containsthe minimum, maximum and mean discounts granted between 1979 quarter 2 and 2006quarter 1, to tenants who purchased their home through right-to-buy, brokendown by local authority. Data are adjusted to 2006 prices.

Discounts Granted to TenantsPurchasing their Home Through Right-to-Buy (2006 Prices)

Local Authority Area	Right to Buy (Old Terms)			Right to Buy (Modernised)
Local Authority Area	Mean (£)	Minimum (£)	Maximum (£)	Mean (£)	Minimum (£)	Maximum (£)
Scotland	22,533	23	156,213	13,114	1,574	20,971
Aberdeen City	27,398	62	76,517	14,436	9,189	15,735
Aberdeenshire	20,943	1,398	75,000	12,851	4,600	18,330
Angus	19,663	1,990	51,000	11,400	1,990	16,240
Argyll and Bute	22,418	3,590	63,000	13,497	10,647	15,315
Clackmannanshire	22,277	694	60,600	N/A	N/A	N/A
Dumfries and Galloway	18,538	222	44,924	12,016	9,808	15,315
Dundee City	22,688	1,533	63,000	12,870	6,984	15,315
East Ayrshire	18,816	2,949	64,200	11,987	6,126	19,465
East Dunbartonshire	26,495	1,512	108,000	14,428	11,250	15,315
East Lothian	27,669	860	114,000	15,273	15,000	15,735
East Renfrewshire	24,108	1,892	60,035	14,253	13,650	15,000
Edinburgh	27,384	298	156,213	13,345	7,279	15,315
Eilean Siar	17,131	1,504	42,770	9,336	9,336	9,336
Falkirk	21,244	1,296	110,250	12,596	7,000	15,315
Fife	18,960	23	93,000	13,014	4,302	15,735
Glasgow	26,582	781	99,548	13,804	1,574	15,735
Highland	20,101	806	78,311	13,732	8,076	20,971
Inverclyde	21,446	1,269	53,369	N/A	N/A	N/A
Midlothian	26,897	4,021	86,400	13,296	7,552	15,315
Moray	20,291	2,501	64,323	12,254	8,985	15,870
North Ayrshire	18,873	172	57,000	12,806	8,800	17,309
North Lanarkshire	21,445	93	64,500	12,993	7,200	15,315
Orkney	18,821	4,810	41,325	N/A	N/A	N/A
Perth and Kinross	21,850	3,942	66,500	13,561	8,985	15,735
Renfrewshire	24,099	590	58,100	12,635	6,412	15,735
Scottish Borders	19,170	1,630	73,500	12,938	8,686	15,540
Shetland	23,360	3,571	52,800	15,000	15,000	15,000
South Ayrshire	21,698	1,605	74,813	14,403	9,450	15,420
South Lanarkshire	22,204	1,080	61,200	12,509	1,888	15,735
Stirling	23,812	1,692	85,764	13,891	11,500	15,735
West Dunbartonshire	25,111	2,700	72,000	13,207	6,670	15,735
West Lothian	20,584	28	114,000	14,706	12,436	15,315

Source: Scottish ExecutiveHousing Statistics branch.

Notes:

1. For this analysis, the amount of each discount was converted to 2006prices using the UK GDP deflator. The GDP deflator is a measure of inflationacross the whole domestic economy.

2. Cases where nodiscount was granted have been excluded from the analysis.

3. In some localauthorities, there have not yet been any sales under modernised right to buy.This is indicated by N/A (not applicable).

4. By definition, themaximum and minimum discounts represent data outliers, or atypical extremevalues, and should be interpreted with caution.

5. Right-to-buy sales aresubject to modernised terms as of 30 September 2002.

Question reference: S2W-28337

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many out-patients waited for (a) less than three months, (b) less than six months, (c) less than nine months, (d) less than 12 months and (e) 12 months or more for an NHS appointment in each year since 1998, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-28336

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many out-patients waited for (a) less than three months, (b) less than six months, (c) less than nine months, (d) less than 12 months and (e) 12 months or more for an NHS appointment in each year since 1998, broken down by speciality.

Chamber and committees