Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-30442

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 16 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated average annual earnings have been of people with a university degree in each of the last three years.

The preferred source for earningsestimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried outby the Office for National Statistics. However, information on qualifications arenot collected in ASHE. Therefore the Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey and theAnnual Population Survey are used to provide earnings by qualification.

The following table containsthe median gross full-time annual earnings of all people aged 16+ with a degreeor higher for Scotland in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Table 1 Median GrossFull-Time Annual Earnings of People with a Degree or Higher Qualification, Scotland,2003-05

	Median Earnings
2003	£28,000
2004	£29,000
2005	£29,000

Question reference: S2W-31758

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2007
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 14 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its National Strategy and Action Plan on Race Equality.

After very careful consideration,and in response to many calls from stakeholders, I have decided to postpone publicationof the strategy and action plan until the next parliamentary session. This willenable the Executive to further develop the strategy, and undertake further consultationwork which will help to ensure that we have a comprehensive and fully informedstrategy and action plan that can deliver for all Scotland’s communities.

Question reference: S2W-31254

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to Angus Council for the improvement of local roads in 2006-07.

During the financial year 2006-07,Angus Council will receive £12,706,000 in Roads and Transport Grant Aided Expenditure(GAE) for roads maintenance purposes. However, this forms part of the local governmentfunding formula used to calculate one block grant figure for each council. Thisis agreed through the joint Scottish Executive/COSLA Distribution Committee of theWorking Party on Local Government Finance. All local authorities receive their needs-basedshare of GAE allocations and it is then up to each council to decide how best toallocate the resources available to it based on its local needs and priorities.

In addition, TACTRAN, the statutoryregional transport partnership for the area, has been awarded funding by the ScottishExecutive for transport capital projects in 2006-07. TACTRAN has allocated £761,000to Angus Council, of which £230,000 is being directed towards road improvement schemes.

Question reference: S2W-31262

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent in the (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire local authority areas in each year since 2003 on (i) Bus Service Operators Grant, (ii) Bus Route Development Grant, (iii) the Rural Community Transport Initiative, (iv) the Rural Public Passenger Transport Grants Scheme, (iv) demand-responsive transport and (v) public transport and integrated transport funds.

Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)is paid to all operators of local registered bus services. Figures cannot be givenbelow a Scotland wide figure as the information is commercially sensitive.

BusRoute Development Grant funding amounting to £0.394 million was awarded to AngusCouncil in 2005. Aberdeenshire Council was awarded £0.59 million in 2005 and £1.889million in 2006.

The amounts in the followingtable have been awarded under the Rural Community Transport Initiative (RCTI), RuralPublic Passenger Transport Grant Scheme (RPPTGS) and Demand Responsive TransportSchemes (DRT) in the Aberdeenshire and Angus Council areas in each year since 2003.

	Aberdeenshire Council			Angus Council
	RCTI	RPPTGS	DRT	RCTI	RPPTGS	DRT
2003-04	£183,694	£475,000	£67,928.96	Nil	£181,000	£26,250
2004-05	£237,050	£545,000	£59,795.04	Nil	£205,000	£37,000
2005-06	£266,425	£572,000	Nil	Nil	£216,000	£42,000
2006-07	£404,887	£594,000	£50,000	Nil	£223,000	£48,500
Total	£1,092,056	£2,186,000	£177,724	Nil	£825,000	£153,750

Since 2003 one Integrated TransportFund award was made to Aberdeenshire Council for up to £4.4 million for its TownsInterchanges programme. The award includes three main interchange projects locatedat Peterhead, Banchory and Inverurie. An award of £0.2 million was also made toAberdeenshire Council for the Laurencekirk rail station re-opening feasibility study.No Public Transport Fund awards were made in the period.

Question reference: S2W-31470

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 9 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what amount of private sector grant was approved by (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire councils for aids and adaptations for householders in each year since 2003.

The amount of private sectorgrant approved by Angus and Aberdeenshire for carrying out improvements forpeople with disabilities is shown in the following table.

Amount Approved for Aids andAdaptations in Aberdeenshire and Angus: 2002-03 to 2005-06.

Area	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeenshire	112,000	205,000	263,000	320,000
Angus	283,000	375,000	347,000	382,000

Source: IMP1B returnssubmitted by local authorities to the Scottish Executive Development DepartmentAnalytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

Notes:

1. Figures have been roundedto the nearest thousand.

2. The figures shownrepresent amounts approved for work identified by local authoritiesspecifically as improvements for disabled. They do not include grants for moregeneral improvements which may include elements of benefit to people withdisabilities, such as improved accessibility.

Question reference: S2W-31473

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 8 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) amount and (b) percentage of (i) Angus and (ii) Aberdeenshire councils’ budget has been spent on local road maintenance in each year since 2003.

The Scottish Executive supportslocal authorities’ net revenue expenditure through the core local government financesettlement.

The information provided in thefollowing table gives the Scottish Executive’s Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) elementcalculated for roads maintenance as part of each council’s block allocation andcompares it to their net revenue expenditure.

However, the setting of budgetsis a matter for the individual councils and these may vary from the allocation figuresshown in the table if, for instance, the council supplements the GAE allocationsfrom its own resources. As the Scottish Executive does not hold data centrally onactual council budgets it is therefore not possible to provide the information requestedon the amounts and percentages in relation to the budgets of the two local authorities.

Local Roads Maintenance: GAEAllocation and Net Revenue Expenditure

	Aberdeenshire Council		Angus Council
	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Revenue Expenditure (£ Million)	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Revenue Expenditure (£ Million)
2003-04	11.085	13.744	3,804	2.441
2004-05	11.444	13.172	3.905	2.772
2005-06	11.875	12.585	4.052	6.973
2006-07	14.698	-	4.999	-

Notes:

1. Sources for Grant Aided Expenditure(GAE) are the GAE Green Books for 2003-04 to 2006-07.

2. Revenue expenditureis sourced from Local Financial Return (LFR) 5, completed by local authorities,which covers local roadsmaintenance net revenue expenditure. Expenditure figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.

3. Revenue spendingmay differ from the allocation amounts for a number of reasons. First the allocationsgiven above are neither budgets nor spending targets for local roads maintenance.They are simply a component used in distributing the total block grant that the Executive provides to local authorities. Second, it is for each local authorityto decide how best to allocate the resulting overall block grant across all itsservices, based on local needs and priorities.

4. The increasein 2005-06 expenditure figure for Angus Council relates to reclassification of expenditurepreviously recorded as construction.

Question reference: S2W-31471

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cultural and related services grant aided expenditure and net revenue expenditure was for (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire councils in each year since 2003.

The information requested isshown in the following table.

	Aberdeenshire Council		Angus Council
	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Revenue Expenditure (£ Million)	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Revenue Expenditure (£ Million)
2003-04	14.077	14.577	7.474	10.492
2004-05	14.757	16.191	7.673	11.199
2005-06	15.344	17.067	7.977	9.628
2006-07	15.645	-	7.934	-

Notes:

1. Revenue spending may differfrom the allocation amounts for a number of reasons. First, the allocations givenabove are neither budgets nor spending targets for culture and related services.They are simply a component used in distributing the total block grant that the Executive provides to local authorities. Second, it is for each local authorityto decide how best to allocate the resulting overall block grant across all itsservices, based on local needs and priorities.

2. Sources for Grant Aided Expenditure(GAE) are the GAE Green Books for 2003-04 to 2006‑07. The GAE allocationsprovided are derived by aggregating over six sub‑categories which togethermake up the cultural and related services GAE line: parks and open spaces;sports facilities and swimming pools; tourism; remainder of leisure andrecreation; libraries, and museums and art galleries.

3. Revenue expenditure is sourcedfrom Local Financial Return (LFR) 2, completed by local authorities, which coversculture and related services. Expenditure figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.

Question reference: S2W-31468

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 7 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the net revenue expenditure for pre-primary education was in the (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire local authority areas in each year since 2003.

The net revenue expenditure forpre-primary education since 2003 is enclosed in the following table:

Pre-Primary Education - NetRevenue Expenditure

	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeenshire	£8.50 million	£9.12 million	£9.62 million
Angus	£3.68 million	£4.39 million	£4.60 million

Source: LFR 1 (Education) returns.

Finalised data for the financialyear 2006-07 is not yet available.

Question reference: S2W-31467

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the grant aided expenditure allocation for education was to (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire councils in each year since 1999, also expressed as an amount per pupil.

The information requested isshown in the following table.

	Aberdeenshire Council		Angus Council
	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Per Pupil (£)	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Per Pupil (£)
1999‑2000	122.718	2,977	55.505	3,032
2000‑01	126.163	3,060	57.813	3,158
2001‑02	138.542	3,361	63.257	3,456
2002-03	152.776	3,706	70.283	3,840
2003-04	167.339	4,059	76.883	4,200
2004-05	181.837	4,411	82.056	4,483
2005-06	191.636	4,649	86.679	4,736
2006-07	202.410	4,910	89.124	4,869

Notes:

1. The allocations given aboveare neither budgets nor spending targets for the education service. They are simplya component used in distributing the total block grant that the Executive providesto local authorities. It is for local authorities to decide how best to allocatethe resulting overall block grant across all their services, based on local needsand priorities.

2. Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE)figures are from the GAE Green Books for 1999‑2000 to 2006‑07. Pupilnumbers (including pre-school, primary and secondary pupils) are as provided bylocal authorities and used in the 2005‑06 GAE Green Book which formed thebase year calculation for Spending Review 2004.

3. The GAE allocations providedare derived by aggregating over 23 sub-categories.

Question reference: S2W-31469

Asked by: Marlyn Glen, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the grant aided expenditure allocation for pre-school education was to (a) Angus and (b) Aberdeenshire councils in each year since 1999, also expressed as an amount per pupil.

The information requested isshown in the following table.

	Aberdeenshire Council		Angus Council
	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Per Pupil (£ Million)	Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation (£ Million)	Per Pupil (£ Million)
1999‑2000	-	-	-	-
2000‑01	-	-	-	-
2001‑02	-	-	-	-
2002-03	7.203	175	3.182	174
2003-04	7.258	176	3.206	175
2004-05	7.644	185	3.313	181
2005-06	7.907	192	3.386	185
2006-07	8.952	217	3.415	187

Notes:

1. The allocations given aboveare neither budgets nor spending targets. They are simply a component used in distributingthe total block grant that the Executive provides to local authorities. It is forlocal authorities to decide how best to allocate the resulting overall block grantacross all their services, based on local needs and priorities.

2. Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE)figures are from the GAE Green Books for 1999‑2000 to 2006‑07. Pupilnumbers are as provided by local authorities and used in the 2005‑06 GAE GreenBook which formed the base year calculation for Spending Review 2004.

3. Pre-School Education becamea separate category in the GAE process from 2002-03. Prior to that, local authoritiesreceived specific grant.

Chamber and committees