Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-18938

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 16 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) headcount and (b) percentage turnover of full-time equivalent staff was in each of its (i) directorates and (ii) agencies in the last period for which information is available.

The following tables show the headcount and full time equivalent staffing numbers of permanent and fixed-term staff who were directly employed in each Directorate and Agency at 30 September 2013. The quarterly turnover figure provided is the percentage of full-time equivalent staff who left the Scottish Government (by resignation, retirement or for any other reason but excluding transfer to another unit) in the quarter from 1 July 2013 to 30 September 2013:

	Head count	FTE Turnover rate
DG ENTERPRISE, ENVIRONMENT & DIGITAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT	8	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL COMMUNITIES	887	3.1%
DIRECTORATE FOR BUSINESS	155	0.7%
DIRECTORATE FOR CHIEF ECONOMIST	47	12.6%*
DIRECTORATE FOR DIGITAL	44	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE	89	3.5%
DIRECTORATE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTRY	116	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR MARINE SCOTLAND	658	5.2%
DG FINANCE AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	5	0.0%
FINANCE DIRECTORATE	155	2.3%
SCOTTISH PROCUREMENT AND COMMERCIAL DIRECTORATE	120	1.7%
DIRECTORATE FOR HOUSING, REGENERATION AND WELFARE	272	1.5%
DIRECTORATE FOR HR AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT	326	2.2%
DIRECTORATE FOR LEGAL SERVICES (SOLICITOR TO THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT)	188	1.5%
DIRECTORATE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES	181	1.9%
DIRECTORATE FOR THE INSPECTORATE OF PROSECUTION IN SCOTLAND	4	30.8%
DG GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNITIES AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	5	0.0%
ISIS INFORMATION SERVICES & INFORMATION SYSTEMS	188	1.6%
OFFICE OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY COUNSEL	14	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER AND PUBLIC HEALTH	67	1.6%
DIRECTORATE FOR CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, PATIENTS, PUBLIC AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS	40	2.6%
DIRECTORATE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES	93	1.8%
DIRECTORATE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES AND SPORT	70	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR FINANCE, EHEALTH AND PHARMACEUTICALS	49	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION	99	2.7%
DIRECTORATE FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE AND PERFORMANCE	60	1.7%
DG HSC AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE NHS SCOTLAND AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	15	7.3%
THE QUALITY UNIT	55	3.8%
DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION ANALYTICAL SERVICES	55	3.7%
DIRECTORATE FOR EMPLOYABILITY, SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING	100	2.1%
DIRECTORATE FOR JUSTICE	225	1.3%
DIRECTORATE FOR LEARNING	94	1.1%
DIRECTORATE FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES	191	2.4%
DG LEARNING & JUSTICE AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	9	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS	87	1.2%
DIRECTORATE FOR CULTURE AND HERITAGE	40	3.7%
DIRECTORATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS	83	0.0%
DIRECTORATE FOR STRATEGY AND CONSTITUTION	99	4.6%
MINISTERIAL PRIVATE OFFICES	102	0.9%
SCOTTISH DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL	33	0.0%
DG STRATEGY AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	7	0.0%
PERMANENT SECRETARY AND BUSINESS SUPPORT	5	0.0%
All Directorates in Core Scottish Government	5140	2.5%

	Head count	FTE Turnover rate
AIB	141	0.8%
DISCLOSURE SCOTLAND	220	1.5%
EDUCATION SCOTLAND	258	3.9%
STUDENT AWARDS AGENCY FOR SCOTLAND	189	6.2%
SCOTTISH PUBLIC PENSIONS AGENCY	252	0.7%
SCOTTISH HOUSING REGULATOR	50	2.2%
TRANSPORT SCOTLAND	391	1.6%

* Directorate of Chief Economist FTE Turnover rate composed of five full time-equivalent leavers in the period including two paid student placements and two fixed-term appointments coming to an end.

Question reference: S4W-18787

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many students at further education colleges were awarded the maximum Independent Student Bursary in 2012-13, and how many received less than the maximum.

Question reference: S4W-18792

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 14 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the average loan authorised by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland was for students with a household income below £30,000 in 2012-13, including students exempt from contributions.

Question reference: S4W-18937

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether the school inspection system assesses a school's ability to cater for the needs of looked-after children.

The school inspection system assesses a school’s ability to cater for the needs of looked-after children and young people in all inspections. HM Inspectors are provided with data about looked-after children prior to the inspection of all schools. Inspectors look at pupils’ personal records, how the school monitors young people’s achievements, attainment and attendance and meet key staff during the inspection. Where appropriate, inspectors will look at coordinated support plans for looked-after children and young people.

Question reference: S4W-18944

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it would support a ban on payday loan advertising at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games (Trading and Advertising) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 restrict advertising activity in the vicinity of Games venues during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. To be able to advertise legally within the event zones during the prohibited times, advertising activity must be either exempt under the regulations or authorised by the Organising Committee, Glasgow 2014 Ltd. To be authorised by the Organising Committee, the advertising activity should either be by an official Games sponsor or fall within a list of permitted categories. Payday loan companies do not fall within the list of permitted categories and no payday loan companies are official sponsors of the Games. As things stand, payday loan companies would not be granted authorisation to carry out any advertising activity within any of the event zones.

The Organising Committee will also be monitoring advertising more widely to ensure that no company or organisation is making unauthorised reference to, or suggesting any illegal association with, the Games.

Regulation of consumer credit advertisements is currently the responsibility of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), and is therefore a reserved matter. The Scottish Government has made several representations to both the UK Government and the OFT, urging tighter regulation of the industry particularly around advertising.

Question reference: S4W-18785

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18330 by Michael Russell on 28 November 2013, whether the budget for the Scottish Funding Council also assumes that the student population will be maintained at the current level and, if so, whether this means that it does not plan to increase the number of student places in the next academic year.

We provided funding for 125,346 full-time equivalent funded places this academic year (2013-14). As a result, Scottish students accepted by our universities rose to a record number this year, with 27,990 students accepted to study so far in 2013-14, an increase of 2% compared with this stage last year (UCAS, 24 September 2013). My recent letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council for 2014-15 states that “I expect that the number of funded places, including those additional places in support of widening access, articulation and key sector skills to be maintained at current levels.” (Letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, 21 October 2013).

I will confirm final numbers in the spring of this year.

Question reference: S4W-19005

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what targets are in place to reduce the number of undischarged bankrupts by (a) 2015 and (b) 2020.

The number of debtors who do not receive their discharge from bankruptcy after one year is currently low, less than 0.1 per cent of all bankruptcies recorded by AiB. There are a number of reasons why a debtor's bankruptcy may not be discharged after one year. Many of these relate, in some way, to the existing requirement on the debtor to cooperate with their trustee. The Scottish Government’s position, therefore, is that the main driver for deferred discharge is debtor non-cooperation and that the requirement on the debtor to cooperate is unaffected by the Bill. There are currently no targets in place to reduce the number of debtors who do not cooperate. However, the Scottish Government is introducing additional measures, to promote good advice and ensure that the debtor is fully aware of their responsibilities.

Question reference: S4W-19004

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the passage of the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill will result in an increase or decrease in the number of undischarged bankrupts.

The number of debtors who do not receive their discharge from bankruptcy after one year is currently low, less than 0.1 per cent of all bankruptcies recorded by AiB. There are a number of reasons why a debtor's bankruptcy may not be discharged after one year. Many of these relate, in some way, to the existing requirement on the debtor to cooperate with their trustee. The Scottish Government’s position, therefore, is that the main driver for deferred discharge is debtor non-cooperation and that the requirement on the debtor to cooperate is unaffected by the Bill. Section 64 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 already requires the debtor to take every practicable step to enable the trustee to perform their functions and the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill does not amend this requirement. However, the Scottish Government is introducing additional measures, to promote good advice and ensure that the debtor is fully aware of their responsibilities. As announced by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 18 December 2013, the Scottish Government is also considering government amendments to, ‘make this part of the process more straightforward’.

Question reference: S4O-02783

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help credit unions meet increased demand for their services.

Question reference: S4W-18796

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 8 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-17798 by Michael Russell on 8 November 2013, whether it will publish the text used in the email sent to students by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) already provided this information to Ms Dugdale on 9 September 2013, following a Freedom of Information request.

Here is the original email sent to students in August 2012.

‘The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has announced a new funding package for living costs which will apply to Scottish domiciled undergraduate students, studying a course of higher education within the UK in academic year 2013-2014 onwards. The full statement can be found here (link to press release).

Details of the new funding package are available at:

http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/funding_update.htm (web page no longer available)

Please note that these changes apply to both new and continuing students from academic year 2013-2014 onwards, regardless of when you start your course. Students in attendance this year (autumn 2012) will receive the existing funding package for academic year 2012-2013. If you have already received your SAAS award notice for academic year 2012-2013, there will be no change to the amounts shown on this letter. The new funding package will then apply to all undergraduate students from academic year 2013-2014 (autumn 2013) onwards.

If you have any queries relating to this announcement, please call our contact centre on 0300 555 0505’.

Chamber and committees