Chamber and committees

I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

Communities Scotland took over this programme in 2003-04. The average time between application, approval and installation of a central heating system, in each of the years since the inception of the programme, are shown in the table below.

	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Average Waiting Time	5 months	9 months	5 months	5 months
				(April – August)

Preliminary findings from the Executive’s review of affordable housing were published on 7 July 2004. This included work undertaken by Professor Bramley of Heriot Watt University, to assess the national picture of affordable housingneed. Details of the findings and the Bramley Report can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/H3/00019504/page1661430580.aspx.

Our plans for future investment in affordable housing will be announced following the outcome of the Spending Review.

There are two measures of unemployment used in the UK. Unemployment (previously know as International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment) and the claimant count. There are significant differences between the unemployment level derivedfrom the ILO unemployment measure and the claimant count. The ILO measure of unemployment is a wider definition and includes individuals who are actively seeking work as well as those claiming job seekers benefits, whereas claimant count only includes those claiming job seekers benefits.

Unemployment levels obtained from the Labour Force Survey using the ILO definition is the Executive’s preferred measure of unemployment. However, it is currently less reliable for geographical areas lower than Scotland level. The claimant count is based on administrative records and is more reliable at local authority level.

Table 1: Unemployment Levels by Local Authority Area, Scotland

Area	Unemployment (ILO), Total 16+	Claimant Count August 2004
Scotland	151,000	94,494
Aberdeen City	*	2,683
Aberdeenshire	*	1,915
Angus	*	1,933
Argyll and Bute	*	1,414
Clackmannanshire	*	1,055
Dumfries and Galloway	*	2,208
Dundee City	*	3,889
East Ayrshire	*	3,198
East Dunbartonshire	*	1,199
East Lothian	*	936
East Renfrewshire	*	916
City of Edinburgh	11,000	7,194
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	*	594
Falkirk	*	2,758
Fife	11,000	7,900
Glasgow City	24,000	16,616
Highland	*	2,927
Inverclyde	*	2,829
Midlothian	*	1,026
Moray	*	1,008
North Ayrshire	*	3,854
North Lanarkshire	13,000	6,562
Orkney Islands	*	177
Perth and Kinross	*	1,566
Renfrewshire	*	3,510
Scottish Borders	*	1,092
Shetland Islands	*	228
South Ayrshire	*	2,208
South Lanarkshire	*	5,039
Stirling	*	1,209
West Dunbartonshire	*	2,454
West Lothian	*	2,397

Source: Labour Force Survey, 2004 Spring Quarter, Seasonally Adjusted.

First Release: Labour Market Statistics, Scotland September 2004.

Note: *Sample size too small for reliable estimate.

As the length of time someone has to wait for such an assessment is directly related to the person’s condition, the average waiting time would not be meaningful.

A total of six patients with a Scottish postcode have been placed on the waiting list for a heart-lung transplant since 1999. Because of the small number of patients involved, it is not possible to give the figure for each year on grounds of patient confidentiality.

It is not possible to give an average waiting time because of the small number of patients involved. The length of time a person has to wait for a transplant is dependent on a suitable donor organ becoming available.

The SKIPPER package was originally developed by ISD Scotland, in the mid 1990s, as a means of supporting NHSScotland in planning and performance management. It is based on old pre-web technology and is expensive to maintain, distribute and support. Difficulties have increased with the introduction and use of more modern operating systems (e.g. Windows 2000) where the successful installation of SKIPPER requires much more effort.

Finally, the knowledge that the system needed substantial development to reflect changes in information requirements and organisational changes in NHSScotland led ISD Scotland to conclude that it was not viable to continue to support SKIPPER.

The final release of SKIPPER was at end of May 2004. Before reaching a final decision ISD Scotland reviewed to what extent there were alternative sources to the SKIPPER screens. In some cases SKIPPER duplicated information published on the ISD Scotland website. Indeed, ISD Scotland found that the majority of SKIPPER screens had an alternative source, although not necessarily with the same level of detail. ISD is committed to continual improvement of the contents of its website and is confident that, in time, much of the useful information, previously on SKIPPER, can be made available through the web.

It is not possible to provide the information requested, as people are not required to register their decision to carry an organ donor card.

As there is no heart-lung transplant programme in Scotland, almost all Scottish patients receive their transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

A total of eight patients with a Scottish postcode have received a heart-lung transplant since 1999. Because of the small number of patients involved, it is not possible to give the numbers in each year for reasons of patient confidentiality.

The information requested is not available centrally.

However, emergency admissions, within 28 days of discharge, can be identified and are presented in a table Emergency readmissions, within 28 days, to Scottish hospitals a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33792).