Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S3W-28446

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 4 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what projects have received funding from the Scottish Veterans’ Fund.

Recipients of grant funding from the Scottish Veterans'' Fund in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 are detailed in the following tables. In addition, Veterans Scotland, which administers the fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, has been provided with £8,000 over the same two year period to meet its administrative and advertising costs.

Scottish Veterans Fund, 2008-09

Organisation	Amount (£)	Description
Veterans Scotland	2,200	A public event to mark the Veterans Awareness Day celebrations.
Veterans Scotland	5,500	Thanksgiving Service for those Service personnel killed on active service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Freight Agency	7,800	A book used to raise awareness of Veterans and issues surrounding their well being, aimed at young people.
Erskine	8,000	Research for a report on the needs of service personnel returning from active service.
Poppy Scotland	9,000	A report to gain a better understanding of alcohol dependency issues as they relate to Veterans.
Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH)/Combat Stress.	9,500	To provide a practical Veterans guide to those agencies working with mental health difficulties.
Scottish Poverty Information Unit.	9,500	To collect base line information on the financial information on the financial situation and well being of veterans in Scotland.
Lady Haig Poppy Factory	9,500	Ventilation system for the Factory.
Scottish Veterans Residencies	9,500	To develop a new website to reach out to Forces leavers with the focus on Housing.
First Base Agency	9,500	To improve the lot of Service personnel with drug dependency as a result of being unable to cope with civilian life. This is a pilot project in the Dumfries area.
Total	80,000

2009-10

Organisation	Amount (£)	Description
Gardening Leave	3,000	To train a fully qualified horticultural therapist.
Gordon Highlanders Museum	4,500	To hold workshops to give children a better understanding of veterans affairs.
Officers Association in Scotland	4,500	To run a pilot scheme for a bespoke service assisting transitions to civvy street.
Poppy Scotland/ Blake Stevenson	5,750	For research into employment needs of disabled veterans.
Veterans Scotland	9,000	Bi-annual newsletter and directory for veterans.
Cadet Training Centre “ Inverness	2,500	Trip to Normandy for 12 cadets and four veterans carrying the baton of Remembrance to celebrate the D-Day landings. With presentations on return.
Poppy Scotland	10,000	A three year educational programme for children 3-18 on the importance of remembrance and the main issues facing veterans today.
Erskine	9,000	Development of web-based CMS system.
Holybush House	3,500	To set up and support a carers support website.
Combat Stress	10,000	One year fixed term contact “ Assistant Psychologist.
Officers Association Scotland	4,500	To gain accreditation in coaching.
Scottish Veterans Residences	7,500	To convert the games room in Whiteford House into a resource and IT centre, for use by veterans.
Erskine	4,750	Start up costs for Pathfinder initiative.
Combat Stress	1,500	90th anniversary service at St Giles Cathedral, 14th May 2009.
Total	80,000

Question reference: S3F-01903

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Salmond on 24 September 2009

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government intends to respond to recent criticisms that have been voiced by teachers, academics, business leaders and unions concerning the Curriculum for Excellence.

Question reference: S3W-25266

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people were classified as not being in employment, education or training (NEET) in each of the last 10 years.

The official source for statistics for Scotland on the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is the Annual Population Survey. The numbers of 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, employment or training for each of the last 10 years for which data are available are given in the following table:

16 to 19-Year-Olds Not in Employment, Education or Training, Scotland 1998-2007

1998	37,000
1999	36,000
2000	39,000
2001	37,000
2002	36,000
2003	35,000
2004	35,000
2005	37,000
2006	32,000
2007	32,000

Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS), Calendar Quarters combined for 1996-2002. The 2003 figure includes some of the boost from the Annual Scottish LFS (ASLFS). Data from 2004 onwards are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS and ASLFS include boosts to the main LFS. This means there is a discontinuity in the series.

Question reference: S3W-24846

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 13 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools will offer the science baccalaureate in the 2010-11 academic year.

Question reference: S3W-24396

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals there have been in relation to placing requests for children in primaries one to three in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-24395

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 11 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many placing requests for children in primaries one to three there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-24445

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 8 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive which police stations are manned at evenings and weekends in each police force area.

Question reference: S3W-24444

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 8 June 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police stations have been manned at evenings and weekends in each police force area in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S3W-23015

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 11 May 2009

To ask the Scottish Executivehow many people have been employed in the textile manufacturing industry in each year since 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). The most recent year for which data is available is 2007. The ABI does not include self-employed jobs.

Table 1 shows the number of employee jobs in the textile manufacturing industry by parliamentary constituency from 1997 to 2007.

Please note that there are two discontinuities in the time series:

(1) Estimates for 2005 and earlier are on a different basis to those from 2006 onwards, mainly due to a change in the survey reference date.

(2) Estimates for 1997-2002 are based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992 codes, whereas estimates for 2003 onwards are based on 2003 SIC codes.

It has only been possible to provide data for a small number of parliamentary constituencies as data for the majority of parliamentary constituencies are confidential and must be suppressed. Data are considered confidential if it is possible either directly, or by deduction, to reveal the identity of an enterprise.

Table 1: Employee Jobs in the Textile Manufacturing Industry by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, 1997-2007

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Scotland	19,100	17,500	16,100	14,200	11,900	11,900	10,600	9,900	8,800	7,500	7,500
Aberdeen Central	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Aberdeen North	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Aberdeen South	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Airdrie and Shotts	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Angus	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Argyll and Bute	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ayr	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Banff and Buchan	300	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	200	*
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Central Fife	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Clydebank and Milngavie	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Clydesdale	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Coatbridge and Chryston	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Cunninghame North	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Cunninghame South	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dumbarton	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dumfries	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dundee East	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dundee West	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dunfermline East	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dunfermline West	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
East Kilbride	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
East Lothian	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Eastwood	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh Central	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh North and Leith	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh Pentlands	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh South	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Edinburgh West	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Falkirk East	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Falkirk West	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Anniesland	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Baillieston	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Cathcart	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Govan	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Kelvin	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Maryhill	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Pollok	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Rutherglen	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Shettleston	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Glasgow Springburn	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Gordon	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Greenock and Inverclyde	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hamilton North and Bellshill	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hamilton South	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Kilmarnock and Loudoun	1,600	1,500	1,500	1,400	1,100	1,000	1,000	700	400	400	400
Kirkcaldy	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Linlithgow	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Livingston	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Midlothian	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Moray	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Motherwell and Wishaw	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
North East Fife	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
North Tayside	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ochil	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Orkney and Shetland**	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Paisley North	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Paisley South	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Perth	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ross, Skye and Inverness West	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Roxburgh and Berwickshire	2,900	1,900	2,400	2,300	2,100	2,300	2,000	2,100	1,800	1,400	1,400
Stirling	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Strathkelvin and Bearsden	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale	1,700	1,100	1,300	1,000	900	1,100	800	1,000	900	700	600
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
West Renfrewshire	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Western Isles	300	400	200	200	300	200	100	200	200	100	100

Source:

1998-2007: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), Office for National Statistics.

1997: Annual Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics.

Notes:

*Data suppressed as confidential, 1947 Statistics of Trade Act.

**It has not been possible to analyse Orkney and Shetland separately. The data has been obtained from the Nomis website, as the microdata are not held centrally.

1. Textile manufacturing is defined as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Division 17.

2. These data are based on employee jobs rather than people in employment i.e. one person may have more than one job. They do not include self employed jobs.

3. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

4. ABI data are workplace based.

5. Data from 1997-2002 are based on SIC 1992 codes. Data from 2003 onwards are based on 2003 SIC codes.

6. The reference period for data in 1997-2005 was December. The reference period from 2006 onwards was September.

Question reference: S3O-06160

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the potential impact on jobs, what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding the closure of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland.