Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18143 on 4 December 2008. 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.

In December 2000, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change announced that by 2005, the maximum wait from urgent referral to treatment for all cancers will be two months. Quarterly performance information showing progress against the 62-day urgent referral to treatment target, broken down by NHS board and cancer type is published from October 2004 on the Scottish Government website www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/cancer/waiting-times.

The number of patients reported within data submissions has increased (coverage) over time and guidance has been revised to reflect issues with definitions and guidance highlighted by NHS boards. This makes direct comparisons in quarterly performance difficult.

Prior to 2003 cancer waiting times statistics included only breast cancer; in April 2003 colorectal cancers were added; July 2003 ovarian cancer; July 2004 lung cancers; January 2005 melanoma; April 2005 lymphoma cancer, and in July 2005 head and neck, upper GI, and urology cancers. From January 2007 submissions were received for all nine cancer services for all NHS boards.

Information on the business rates paid by individual businesses is not held centrally. The information available relates to the business rates paid on non-domestic properties. Some of these will be owned by businesses, but others will be in the public sector. Further, while from 1 April 2009, 100% relief will be available under the Small Business Bonus Scheme for individual ratepayers with non-domestic properties of which the combined rateable value is £8,000 or less, a significant number of non-domestic properties will have their business rates reduced to zero as a result of other rates reliefs.

Information for 2008-09 will be available shortly on the number of non-domestic properties which have been awarded relief under the scheme, using information provided routinely by local authorities in regular statistical returns. Using this information, it may be possible to make an estimate of the number of non-domestic properties that will pay no business rates from April 2009 as a result of the scheme.

Information on the number of businesses which will have benefited from the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2008-09 in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information will be available in due course on the number of business properties which have been awarded relief under the scheme, using information provided routinely by local authorities in regular statistical returns.

Helping Scots cope with the impact of high fuel bills and tackling fuel poverty forms part of our six point programme aimed at reducing the impact of the global financial crisis. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced last week that we are investing a further £10 million to provide more central heating systems this year.

We have also announced our intention that from April 2009 our fuel poverty programmes will for the first time, help tackle fuel poverty amongst families on income support with children under five or with disabled children under 16 beyond basic insulation measures.

We will set out the detail of the inclusion of families in future fuel poverty programmes in due course, along with the eligibility criteria and anticipated numbers who will benefit.

While immigration is currently a reserved issue, skilled immigration is an important contributor to the growth of Scotland''s economy. We have recently published analysis undertaken by Strathclyde University which identifies that continued levels of immigration will be an important driver of future economic growth in Scotland. This can be found on the Scottish Government''s website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/by-topic/public-services-and-gvt/Demography-Research-Prog/EconomicImpactofScottish.

We are also aware of various analyses that have been undertaken to estimate the impacts of immigration on Scotland''s regional and local economies.

While immigration is currently a reserved issue, the Scottish Government has worked closely with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) since its inception and ministers provided views on the proposed methodology and work plan early in the process. Alongside UKBA, officials facilitated a session for employers in Glasgow and undertook visits to Scottish employers. Along with Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government officials promoted the MAC''s work with a view to raising awareness amongst business networks and encouraging employers to engage with the process. This employer engagement has been reflected in the MAC''s report.

The Scottish Government has no estimates of the likely impact on levels of skilled immigration to Scotland of the change to a points-based immigration system. Immigration is currently reserved and the Home Office noted in its Regulatory Impact Assessment, which accompanied the introduction of the UK points-based immigration system, that it is very difficult to accurately predict the exact impact of the new system on the numbers and types of people who might come to Scotland to work.

Immigration is currently reserved to the UK Government and as such appointment to the Migration Advisory Committee is a matter for them.

We are advised that members of the Migration Advisory Committee are independent experts who have been appointed by merit through open competition and as such there is no representation on the basis of geography. The current members are; Professor David Metcalf CBE, Chair, Dr Martin Ruhs, Professor Jonathan Wadsworth, Dr Diane Coyle and Professor Robert Wilson. Mike Campbell of the Commission for Employment and Skills is an ex officio member of the committee.

The previous administration wrote to the Home Secretary asking to ensure appropriate Scottish representation on the MAC. This was declined on the grounds that the appointments would be open competition based on the Nolan principles.

Immigration is currently a reserved issue and as such the Scottish Government has no estimates of the likely impact of the change to the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme. The scheme has enabled over 8,400 international graduates to remain in Scotland and work after study and although the scheme has been widened out to the rest of the UK, international graduates from a Scottish university will still have the opportunity to work in Scotland after they graduate, as will graduates from the rest of the UK.