Chamber and committees

I refer the member to thequestion S2W-27084, answered on 24 July 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

Fair to All, Personal toEach, published in December 2004, pledged£45 million over three years to negotiate contracts with the independenthealthcare sector to enable NHS patients to receive their operations morequickly. The Executive, through the National Waiting Times Unit, has allocatedthis funding to NHS boards on an Arbuthnott formula basis, to purchaseadditional capacity from the independent sector.

The Scottish Executive doesnot contract directly with independent healthcare sector providers for thetreatment of NHS patients. Precise contract details are negotiated and held atlocal NHS board level and are not held centrally.

The Scottish Executive doesnot approve or contract directly with independent sector providers for thetreatment of NHS patients. Precise contract details are negotiated and held atlocal NHS board level and are not held centrally.

The number of NHS locationsrecorded as providing an accident and emergency service for each financial yearis shown below. The list includes services which are provided other than on a24-hour, 7-day basis, and services provided by a range of clinical staffincluding GPs and nurses.

Source: ISD(S)1.

Regardingthe average time for results of genetic tests I refer the member to the questionS2W-26943, answered on 24 July 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at:

Table 1 shows the estimatednumber of employee jobs earning exactly the National Minimum Wage (NMW) by agegroup for Scotland. The NMW was extended to cover those under 18 inOctober 2004, ASHE results are for April each year, and therefore 16 to 17 yearolds earning the NMW are only considered for the 2005 ASHE results.

The estimates in the tableare based on a sample survey, and as such, are subject to sampling error anddisclosure control. Estimates which are disclosive (based on less than threeemployees) have been suppressed. Estimates are not available by local authorityarea due to the small sample sizes involved.

Table 1 Number of employeejobs earning the National Minimum Wage, Scotland

Source: Annual Survey ofHours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

x – Estimate is disclosive

Notes:

1. The estimates are basedon the hourly pay excluding overtime and shift premium payments.

2. The estimates are based on asample survey, and as such, are subject to sampling error.

3. To improve coverage andhence make the survey more representative, supplementary information wascollected from the 2004 ASHE survey onwards. The 2004 and 2005 ASHE results aretherefore discontinuous with the results for 2003 and previous years, for whichno supplementary information was collected.

the Scottish Executive also occupies space in buildings controlled by other UKGovernment Departments for which it pays a facility charge to the controllingdepartment. The facilities charge covers such costs as rent, security,maintenance etc. The following table shows the facility charges paid by the Scottish Office from
1 April 1999 to 1 July 1999 and by the Scottish Executive from1 July 1999 to
31 March 2006.

All prisons allow prisonersto appropriately secure out-of-doors exercise areas, in accordance with Rule 89of the Prisons & Young Offenders Institution (Scotland)Rules 2006.