Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-35486

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been received in speed camera fines in each year since 1997, expressed in (a) cash and (b) real terms, also broken down by local authority.

The information requested is not available by local authority area. Safety (speed and red light) cameras are operated by the eight local Safety Camera Partnerships that deliver the Scottish Safety Camera Programme, which has been operating in police force areas since 2000. Drivers caught speeding or failing to obey a red traffic signal are issued with a conditional offer fixed penalty notice (COPFN) of three penalty points and a £60 fine. The total amounts received from payment of fines in each partnership area expressed in cash and real terms are listed in the following tables:

Cash Terms

Total of £60 Conditional Offer Fines Paid by Drivers Speeding or Failing to Obey a Red Traffic Signal by Cameras

COFPN Paid	Strathclyde (£)	Fife (£)	North East (£)	Dumfries and Galloway (£)	Lothian and Borders (£)	Tayside (£)	Northern (£)	Central (£)	Total (£)
2000-01	1,122,000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,122,000
2001-02	1,738,920	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,738,920
2002-03	1,670,160	421,740	277,860	-	-	-	-	-	2,369,760
2003-04	3,356,640	602,940	882,060	490,860	1,331,760	283,200	-	-	6,947,460
2004-05	3,056,760	457,320	782,280	955,200	2,551,620	659,700	191,220	-	8,654,100
2005-06	1,904,340	375,120	735,900	969,300	1,898,460	578,520	352,320	-	6,813,960
2006-07	1,577,280	319,380	818,040	840,060	1,846,320	552,060	281,700	611,580	6,846,420
2007-08	1,184,040	319,500	491,100	455,760	1,621,620	472,080	234,360	527,160	5,305,620
2008-09	741,480	224,700	408,360	472,740	886,800	280,020	241,920	352,320	3,608,340
2009-10*	546,420	214,800	297,900	276,180	967,920	358,620	282,660	334,200	3,278,700

*Provisional unaudited figures.

Real Terms

Total of £60 Conditional Offer Fines Paid by Drivers Speeding or Failing to Obey a Red Traffic Signal by Cameras

COFPN Paid	Strathclyde (£)	Fife (£)	North East (£)	Dumfries & Galloway (£)	Lothian & Borders (£)	Tayside (£)	Northern (£)	Central (£)	Total (£)
2000-01	1,412,885	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,412,885
2001-02	2,141,817	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2,141,817
2002-03	1,992,936	503,246	331,559	-	-	-	-	-	2,827,741
2003-04	3,895,415	699,718	1,023,640	569,648	1,545,521	328,656	-	-	8,062,598
2004-05	3,451,470	516,372	883,293	1,078,542	2,881,103	744,885	215,912	-	9,771,578
2005-06	2,111,921	416,010	816,116	1,074,958	2,105,400	641,581	390,724	-	7,556,709
2006-07	1,692,397	342,690	877,744	901,371	1,981,073	592,352	302,260	656,216	7,346,102
2007-08	1,235,073	333,271	512,267	475,404	1,691,513	492,427	244,461	549,881	5,534,297
2008-09	752,642	228,082	414,507	479,856	900,149	284,235	245,562	357,624	3,662,657
2009-10*	546,420	214,800	297,900	276,180	967,920	358,620	282,660	334,200	3,278,700

*Provisional unaudited figures.

Notes:

1. 2000-02 Strathclyde Safety Camera Partnership Pilot “ Glasgow area only

2. 2002-03 Fife and North East Safety Camera Partnerships established. Strathclyde SCP expands to cover 4 local authority areas.

3. 2003-04 Dumfries and Galloway and Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnerships established. Strathclyde expands to cover all 12 local authority areas.

4. 2004-05 Northern Safety Camera Partnership established

5. 2006-07 Central Scotland Safety Camera Partnership established

6. *Denotes provisional figures.

Question reference: S3W-35470

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 20 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the comments of Stewart Stevenson on 27 May 2010 (Official Report C. 26681), (a) how it intends to fulfil its commitment to undertake a national debate with young drivers, their parents and guardians and representative groups to explore young driver issues and concerns, (b) how much it will spend on the initiative (c) how it will identify participants in the debate and (d) what the specific aims of the debate will be

By the end of this year, a national debate on young drivers'' safety will be conducted across Scotland using various methods of communication, including face to face and social networking, by contractors who have specialist knowledge and experience of conducting public consultations, particularly with young people, on a national scale.

The Scottish Government has approved an expenditure of £60,000 for the initiative.

The invitation to tender will specify the range and geographical spread of the participants but it will be up to the contractor to suggest how these participants will be identified and engaged.

The specific aim of this debate will be:

to identify options to provide greater protection for young drivers, involving youth groups, the police and advanced driving experts in the process.

Question reference: S3W-35541

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 August 2010
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 17 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) volume of land has been occupied by and (b) proportion of total energy generated has come from wind farms in each year since 1997.

The information requested on volume of land is not held centrally. Scottish Natural Heritage has published maps of the areas of wind farm sites on its website at http://www.snh.gov.uk.

The information requested on electricity generation from wind farms is not held centrally in the format requested. Scottish renewable electricity statistics for wind and wave power from 2000 onwards are collated by the UK Government Department of Energy and Climate Change and detailed in the following table. These statistics are also available from the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk.

Wind and Wave Generated Electricity as a Percentage of Total Generation

Year
2000	0.4
2001	0.5
2002	0.8
2003	0.9
2004	1.7
2005	2.6
2006	3.9
2007	5.5
2008	6.7

Total generation is the amount of electricity generated in Scotland by the major power producers and other generators. It includes generation from nuclear fuel, coal, oil, gas, hydro and other renewables (for example, landfill gas and wind power). Wind and wave statistics cannot be published in a disaggregated form because to do so could disclose data that relate to individual companies.

Question reference: S3W-35198

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many transport-related fines it has settled on behalf of its staff and at what cost in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each year since 2007.

I am afraid that the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Scottish Government''s Travel and Subsistence rules state that staff incurring car parking fines for illegal parking whilst on official business will not be reimbursed from official funds. As such the electronic Travel and Subsistence claim form that is utilised to submit and process claims does not include a separate code for claiming this expense.

Exceptionally, in cases where a car parking fine is issued as a result of a member of staff being unavoidably detained on official business for reasons beyond their control consideration may be given to reimbursing the cost of the fine, which could be claimed through a miscellaneous cost code or against parking costs. Counter signing officers would need to be prepared to defend this decision to internal auditors. In addition, the Travel and Subsistence team carries out regular audit checks of claims submitted and these checks have not disclosed any such payments.

However, the number of claims actually settled, if any, could only be obtained by printing off and manually examining each individual claim form and associated receipts.

Question reference: S3W-35468

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 12 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on each project in the Strategic Transport Projects Review, detailing (a) all work done on each project and (b) what action it is taking to further develop each project

Question reference: S3W-35321

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to take forward its Designing Streets initiative.

Question reference: S3W-35320

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on its Designing Streets initiative, broken down by item of expenditure.

Question reference: S3W-35178

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average annual (a) household and (b) business water charges have been in each year since 1997 in (i) cash and (ii) real terms, also broken down by local authority area.

Prior to 1996, charges were set by the regional councils. Following the formation of the three water authorities in 1996, charges were harmonised within each authority over a period of several years. Following the formation of Scottish Water in 2002, charges were then harmonised across Scotland over three years so that by 2004-05 charges for all customers were set at a nationally averaged rate for Scotland as a whole. The number of customers of each water authority is not held centrally and therefore it is not possible to provide average household charges prior to 200405. However, data is held on Band D household water and sewerage charges (which are higher than the average household charge) and this is provided in the following table.

		1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Water Authority Area		£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
North	Tayside	81.50	113.76	158.52	204.60	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
	Grampian	97.00	128.26	170.52	209.75	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
	Highland	97.00	128.26	170.52	209.75	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
	Western Isles	120.50	140.26	170.52	209.75	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
	Orkney	120.50	140.26	170.52	209.75	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
	Shetland	120.50	140.26	170.52	209.75	299.58	350.18	350.18	350.18
East	Borders	95.50	122.79	157.23	186.00	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
	Forth Valley	52.50	80.79	128.73	173.00	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
	Fife	71.50	101.79	146.73	177.50	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
	Edinburgh and Lothians	95.50	122.79	157.23	186.00	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
	North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire	92.00	118.43	155.33	186.00	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
	Kinross	81.50	111.29	146.73	177.50	227.00	270.00	292.77	321.75
West	Dumfries and Galloway	92.00	118.43	155.33	189.10	223.20	266.40	321.75	321.75
West	Strathclyde	92.00	118.43	155.33	189.10	223.20	266.40	321.75	321.75

		2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Water Authority Area		£	£	£	£	£	£	£
North	Tayside	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Grampian	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Highland	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Western Isles	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Orkney	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Shetland	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
East	Borders	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Forth Valley	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Fife	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Edinburgh and Lothians	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
	Kinross	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
West	Dumfries and Galloway	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57
West	Strathclyde	338.31	347.76	354.60	365.85	379.53	393.57	393.57

Sources: Scottish Water, North, East and West of Scotland Water Authorities, Water Industry Commission for Scotland, Scottish Water and Sewerage Customers Council, The Scottish Office.

Note: Prior to 1999 some areas do not include charges for sewerage.

These amounts have been converted into 2010-11 prices (as at June 2010) using a Retail Price Index (RPI) inflator from the Office for National Statistics and are shown in the following table.

		1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Water Authority Area		£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
North	Tayside	118.75	160.04	216.08	275.88	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
	Grampian	141.34	180.43	232.44	282.82	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
	Highland	141.34	180.43	232.44	282.82	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
	Western Isles	175.58	197.31	232.44	282.82	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
	Orkney	175.58	197.31	232.44	282.82	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
	Shetland	175.58	197.31	232.44	282.82	391.01	449.46	441.87	430.00
East	Borders	139.15	172.74	214.33	250.80	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
	Forth Valley	76.50	113.65	175.48	233.27	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
	Fife	104.18	143.20	200.01	239.34	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
	Edinburgh and Lothians	139.15	172.74	214.33	250.80	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
	North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire	134.05	166.60	211.74	250.80	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
	Kinross	118.75	156.56	200.01	239.34	296.28	346.55	369.42	395.09
West	Dumfries and Galloway	134.05	166.60	211.74	254.98	291.32	405.99	405.99	395.09
West	Strathclyde	134.05	166.60	211.74	254.98	291.32	405.99	405.99	395.09

		2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Water Authority Area		£	£	£	£	£	£	£
North	Tayside	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Grampian	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Highland	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Western Isles	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Orkney	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Shetland	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
East	Borders	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Forth Valley	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Fife	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Edinburgh and Lothians	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
	Kinross	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
West	Dumfries and Galloway	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57
West	Strathclyde	403.06	403.59	397.13	394.17	389.44	409.66	393.57

Note: 2010-11 equivalent prices have been calculated using the RPI at June 2010. Prices for previous financial years were using the rate calculated from the RPI at the midpoint (September) of the financial year.

Unlike households, businesses vary hugely in size from small corner shops to large industrial installations. For this reason, average business charges have not been routinely calculated.

Question reference: S3W-35177

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many gallons of mains water have been lost via leakage in each year since 1997, also broken down by local authority area.

Historically little attention was given to leakage. For that reason accurate figures are not available prior to 2006. However, in 2005-06 the government agreed with the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) that leakage was a priority and required Scottish Water to make annual reductions. Scottish Water''s leakage has reduced from 1,104 million litres per day (ml/day) in 2005-06 to 704 ml/day in 2009 10. More detailed information about levels of leakage is available from Scottish Water and I have therefore asked the chief executive to reply to you directly.

Question reference: S3W-35174

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 August 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what the customer satisfaction rates for Scottish Water have been in each year since its inception, also broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data centrally. However, based on the overall performance measure, which covers a range of customer service measures, Scottish Water''s performance has improved dramatically since 2006. Scottish Water''s Annual Reports show that there has been an 80% improvement from 162 points in 2006 to 291 points by 2010 and that the customer satisfaction rate, which is measured independently twice a year, has increased to 82% by the end of 2009-10, an all time high in customers'' satisfaction with the outcome of their contact. More detailed information about Scottish Waters performance, including customer satisfaction rates, is available from Scottish Water and I have asked the chief executive to reply to you directly.

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