- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions were held with (a) Orkney Islands Council, (b) Shetland Islands Council, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) Argyll and Bute Council and (e) Highland Council before it decided on the terms for the appointment of the consultants undertaking the study into the benefits of road equivalent tariff and, in particular, before it decided to limit the consultants’ choice of routes for consideration for inclusion in the pilot study to one or more of the routes connecting the Scottish mainland and the Western Isles and how each council responded to the proposals put to them.
Answer
I refer the memberto the question S3W-3672 on 13 September 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the searchfacility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used when deciding to limit the consultants’ choice of routes for consideration under the road equivalent tariff pilot study to one or more of the routes connecting the Scottish mainland and the Western Isles and how these criteria were applied to each of the public ferry routes to and between islands.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentcame into office with a manifesto commitment saying that we would “commission astudy into road equivalent tariff (RET) reporting on options for improved connectionsto our northern and western isles” and that “as part of this we will undertake apilot project on RET to the Western Isles”. That is precisely what we are now doing.
In taking forwardthis commitment we have engaged consultants to carry out the study including themonitoring and evaluation of the pilot. The consultants have been asked to liaisewith a range of stakeholders during the study including local authorities and regionaltransport partnerships. When appropriate, the Scottish Government will be involvedin these discussions.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 13 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions were held with (a) Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and (b) Zetland Transport Partnership before it decided on the terms for the appointment of the consultants undertaking the study into the benefits of road equivalent tariff and, in particular, before it decided to limit the consultants’ choice of routes for consideration for inclusion in the pilot study to one or more of the routes connecting the Scottish mainland and the Western Isles and how each regional transport partnership responded to the proposals put to them.
Answer
I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3672 on 13 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 21 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that Highlands and Islands Enterprise should continue to operate a different, more broad-based model for economic development in its region than that operated by Scottish Enterprise.
Answer
Consideration of thereform and refocus the Enterprise Networks is now underway and this will take intoaccount the particular economic, geographical and social circumstances within theHighlands and Islands area.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 21 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any guidance to Scottish Enterprise on the future of the Business Gateway centres.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has regular contacts withScottish Enterprise on a range of matters, including the Business Gateway, in respectof which it is in the process of awarding new contracts for local delivery of gatewayservices. The future operation of the Business Gateway will be considered in thecontext of wider decisions as to reform of the Enterprise Networks, on which decisionswill be taken over the coming months. There has been no specific guidance issuedto Scottish Enterprise in relation to Business Gateway centres.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 21 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Business Gateway centres are in operation, broken down by local enterprise company area.
Answer
This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask it’s Chief Executive to write to youin response to this question.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive when the research for the recent NHS survey of body mass index across Scotland, as reported in The Scotsman on 30 July 2007, was carried out.
Answer
The article in
TheScotsman refers to maps of
Body Mass Index (BMI) for Scotland, but does not give a source for the data used. Thesemaps were not commissioned centrally and we have not been able to find out who hasproduced them. Therefore, we cannot be sure where the underlying data came from.
The Scotsman article concerned can be viewed at:
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1183402007.Comparison of meanBMI for different areas is not recommended because a small number of very high,or very low, values could skew the mean. This is particularly the case for areaswith a relatively small population, such as the island NHS boards.
The most recent nationalsurvey of BMI in Scotland was for the Scottish Health Survey in 2003.The figures quoted in The Scotsman article appear to match the results ofthis survey. Note that the island NHS boards are grouped together and that theircombined results are flagged as potentially unreliable because they are based onsmall samples.
NHS board level resultsof the 2003 Scottish Health Survey are available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/25145024/50256.(BMI results are onthe worksheet marked by the tenth tab from the left.)
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the age profile was of the men and women sampled in (a) Orkney, (b) Shetland and (c) the Western Isles in the recent NHS survey of body mass index, as reported in The Scotsman on 30 July 2007, and how this compares with the overall age profile of the population of each island group.
Answer
The article in
TheScotsman refers to maps of body mass index (BMI) for Scotland, but does not give a source for the data used. Thesemaps were not commissioned centrally and we have not been able to find out who hasproduced them. Therefore, we cannot be sure where the underlying data came from.
The Scotsman article concerned can be viewed at:
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1183402007.Comparison of meanBMI for different areas is not recommended because a small number of very high,or very low, values could skew the mean. This is particularly the case for areaswith a relatively small population, such as the island NHS boards.
The most recent nationalsurvey of BMI in Scotland was for the Scottish Health Survey in 2003.The figures quoted in The Scotsman article appear to match the results ofthis survey. Note that the island NHS boards are grouped together and that theircombined results are flagged as potentially unreliable because they are based onsmall samples.
For the three islandboards combined, the age profiles of the men and women in the Scottish Health Survey2003 sample were as follows:
| Area | Gender | Sample size | Minimum | Maximum | Mean |
| Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Male | 100 | 16 | 83 | 47.1 |
| Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Female | 95 | 16 | 84 | 48.4 |
Source: Scottish HealthSurvey 2003.
The General RegisterOffice for Scotland produce estimates of populations. The estimatesfor mid-2003 indicate that male and female age profiles for the three island NHSboards combined were as follows:
| Area | Gender | Total population aged 16+ | Minimum | Maximum | Mean |
| Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Male | 26,700 | 16 | 90+ | 47.3 |
| Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles | Female | 27,400 | 16 | 90+ | 50.2 |
Source: GRO(S) mid-2003population estimates.
This suggests thatthe sample for the 2003 Scottish Health Survey was slightly older on average thanthe general population of the island NHS boards.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women were sampled in (i) Orkney, (ii) Shetland, (iii) the Western Isles and (iv) Scotland in the recent NHS survey of body mass index, as reported in The Scotsman on 30 July 2007.
Answer
The article in
TheScotsman refers to maps of body mass index (BMI) for Scotland, but does not give a source for the data used. Thesemaps were not commissioned centrally and we have not been able to find out who hasproduced them. Therefore, we cannot be sure where the underlying data came from.
The Scotsman article concerned can be viewed at:
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1183402007.Comparison of meanBMI for different areas is not recommended because a small number of very high,or very low, values could skew the mean. This is particularly the case for areaswith a relatively small population, such as the island NHS boards.
The most recent nationalsurvey of BMI in Scotland was for the Scottish Health Survey in 2003.The figures quoted in The Scotsman article appear to match the results ofthis survey. Note that the island NHS boards are grouped together and that theircombined results are flagged as potentially unreliable because they are based onsmall samples.
The sample for thethree island boards combined consisted of 100 men and 95 women aged 16 years andover. The sample for Scotland as a whole consisted of 3,016 men and 3,684 womenaged 16 years and over.
NHS board level resultsof the 2003 Scottish Health Survey are available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/25145024/50256.(BMI results are onthe worksheet marked by the tenth tab from the left. The sample sizes are shownat the bottom of the sheet, labelled “Bases”.)
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 14 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to restructure Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Answer
Our prime objectiveis to increase the rate of Scottish economic growth and to ensure that this is sustainable.As a component part of this we want to improve the efficiency and effectivenessof the delivery of economic development activity and we are looking at how the enterprisenetworks, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, can contribute to that. The results of this work once completed will beannounced in due course.
