- 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: 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.
- 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 whether it is proposing to cut the funding of (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and, if so, what impact it estimates that this will have on the Business Gateway service.
Answer
Funding to the EnterpriseNetworks for 2008-11 will be determined after the spending review this autumn. Thereafterthe allocation of funds within the Enterprise Networks will remain an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
- 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 whether it has held any discussions with Scottish Enterprise on the future of the Business Gateway centres.
Answer
The Scottish Executiveholds regular discussions with Scottish Enterprise. These discussions cover a rangeof operational matters, including in respect of the Business Gateway.
- 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 whether Business Gateway centres are likely to close as part of its plans to reduce the size of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Answer
This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you inresponse to this question.
- 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 how many Business Gateway centres are scheduled for closure, broken down by local enterprise company area.
Answer
This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you inresponse to this question.
- 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 assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the Business Gateway in providing support to businesses.
Answer
This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you inresponse to this question.
