Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28225 on 6 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Where an analysis of the asset management and location requirements for a specific public body indicates the possibility of a relocation, the Scottish Government will engage with appropriate local authorities about the specific circumstances.

We have received a number of representations from private and public sector organisations, local authorities and MSP''s regarding potential public sector relocation opportunities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28227 on 10 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

There are currently no plans to review the policy on asset management and relocation.

The official public sector employment series is only available at Scotland level. An alternative source is the Annual Population Survey (APS), however there are some quality issues with the data. The APS is a household survey and individuals self-classify whether they work in the public or private sector. As a result, the APS over estimates the number of public sector workers because some respondents unknowingly report themselves as working in the public sector when in fact they work in the private sector according to National Accounts definitions. The latest APS data over estimates total public sector employment by around 14% and this may vary across local authorities.

The table below provides estimates from the latest APS showing how many employees respond that they work in the public sector, excluding local authority staff, in each local authority.

Public sector employment by local authority, April 2008 to March 2009, excluding staff in local government or councils (including police, fire services and local authority controlled schools or colleges):

	Number of public Sector Workers	% of Total Employment
Aberdeen City	10,500	9.9%
Aberdeenshire	7,900	7.2%
Angus	5,600	12.1%
Argyll and Bute	6,000	16.9%
Clackmannanshire	7,500	16.5%
Dumfries and Galloway	1,600	7.8%
Dundee City	5,500	14.1%
East Ayrshire	7,000	12.4%
East Dunbartonshire	9,700	16.6%
East Lothian	6,300	13.0%
East Renfrewshire	6,800	15.3%
Edinburgh, City of	5,800	14.4%
Eilean Siar	5,000	13.4%
Falkirk	28,100	12.5%
Fife	9,000	13.1%
Glasgow City	20,000	12.1%
Highland	30,800	13.3%
Inverclyde	16,300	16.9%
Midlothian	4,700	13.8%
Moray	5,500	15.4%
North Ayrshire	5,600	14.2%
North Lanarkshire	6,000	11.1%
Orkney Islands	*	*
Perth and Kinross	700	7.7%
Renfrewshire	8,300	13.9%
Scottish Borders	10,000	13.0%
Shetland Islands	*	*
South Ayrshire	6,200	13.9%
South Lanarkshire	18,500	13.4%
Stirling	4,800	12.9%
West Dunbartonshire	10,700	13.4%
West Lothian	1,600	14.8%
Scotland	289,000	12.9%

Source: Annual Population Survey, April 2008 to March 2009.

Note: *Data suppressed as estimate below reliability threshold.

The official public sector employment series is only available at Scotland level. An alternative source is the Annual Population Survey (APS), however there are some quality issues with the data. The APS is a household survey and individuals self-classify whether they work in the public or private sector. As a result, the APS over estimates the number of public sector workers because some respondents unknowingly report themselves as working in the public sector when in fact they work in the private sector according to National Accounts definitions. The latest APS data over estimates total public sector employment by around 14% and this may vary across local authorities.

The table below provides estimates from the latest APS showing how many employees respond that they work in the public sector by local authority. The information is not available for Scottish Parliamentary regions.

Public Sector Employment by Local Authority, April 2008 to March 2009

	Number of Public Sector Workers	% of Total Employment
Aberdeen City	23,000	21.7%
Aberdeenshire	24,700	22.7%
Angus	14,300	30.7%
Argyll and Bute	13,700	38.7%
Clackmannanshire	15,700	34.4%
Dumfries and Galloway	6,000	29.4%
Dundee City	13,000	33.7%
East Ayrshire	17,400	30.8%
East Dunbartonshire	20,200	34.5%
East Lothian	14,800	30.6%
East Renfrewshire	16,000	36.1%
Edinburgh, City of	13,000	32.4%
Eilean Siar	13,600	36.3%
Falkirk	54,500	24.3%
Fife	19,900	29.0%
Glasgow City	48,600	29.5%
Highland	67,900	29.2%
Inverclyde	35,000	36.5%
Midlothian	11,200	32.6%
Moray	11,500	32.3%
North Ayrshire	12,100	31.0%
North Lanarkshire	15,600	28.8%
Orkney Islands	39,100	28.6%
Perth and Kinross	3,700	41.0%
Renfrewshire	17,400	29.2%
Scottish Borders	22,900	29.9%
Shetland Islands	5,100	50.4%
South Ayrshire	13,500	30.5%
South Lanarkshire	41,000	29.8%
Stirling	11,600	31.0%
West Dunbartonshire	22,400	28.2%
West Lothian	5,400	49.0%
Scotland	663,800	29.7%

Source: Annual Population Survey, April 2008 to March 2009.

In 2008, the Scottish Government announced its approach to considering the effective management of property assets and the location of public bodies. This approach puts decisions about the location of public bodies in the context of the need to seek maximum efficiency from the use of the existing public sector estate, ensuring the operational effectiveness of individual organisations and obtaining the best value for money for the overall Scottish Government.

In considering the accommodation requirements of relevant public bodies, an analysis is undertaken of the business needs of the organisation to review its business functions, how these are delivered and to what extent any of them are location dependent. That process allows identification of the most efficient options for accommodating the body in question, including consideration of location.

In the last two years, four organisations have been considered. These were the Mental Welfare Commission, Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, the Standards Commission and the Chief Investigating Officer. This has resulted in all four organisations satisfying the requirements of the asset management policy on relocation.

The following developers were successful in being offered a grant under the Wave and Tidal Energy Support (WATES) Scheme:

Name of Developer	WATES Grant Offered
CRE Energy Ltd (now ScottishPower Renewables)	£4,141,452
AWS Ocean Energy	£1,759,584
ScotRenewables	£1,796,100
Open Hydro	£1,214,800
Ocean Power Technology	£597,710 (subsequently increased to £874,676)
Aquamarine	£274,796
CleanTechCom	£272,290 (subsequently withdrawn)
Wavegen	£149,160
Tidal Generation	£76,760

 

Developers do not receive WATES grants in each year of the scheme. Funding is drawn down on receipt of proof of eligible expenditure based on agreed milestones.

We are holding discussions with developers of the outstanding Wave and Tidal Energy Support (WATES) projects regarding progress being made on their projects, to ensure that they are able to claim allocated funds by March 2011. If the developers are unable to provide evidence that they can do so by this deadline, the WATES offer will be withdrawn and the funds recycled into future support for the sector, to be announced as part of our current budget considerations.

All payments made to companies under the Wave and Tidal Energy Support (WATES) Scheme are made retrospectively based on legitimate evidence that eligible costs have been incurred. The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that WATES grants allocations are transferred to WATES project developers by March 2011. We are in discussions with all outstanding WATES developers regarding progress being made on their projects, in order to ensure that they remain active and that the deadlines for project completion and grant spend will be met.

If the developers are unable to provide evidence that they can do so by the March 2011 deadline, the WATES offer will be withdrawn and the funds recycled into future support for the sector, to be announced as part of our current budget considerations.