Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-23131

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be allocated to (a) Renfrewshire and (b) Inverclyde through the Community Voices Programme in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07.

Question reference: S2W-23133

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations have been made anent the (a) funding, (b) local administration and (c) accessibility of the Community Voices Programme.

Question reference: S2W-23132

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to modify the Community Voices Programme.

Question reference: S2W-23384

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2006
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a protocol has been established concerning ministerial responses to representations made by Westminster MPs on devolved matters.

Question reference: S2W-23115

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 21 February 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many passenger ferry companies have sought to tender for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service and whether it will list (a) the names of such companies and (b) the locations of their headquarters.

Three companies remain in the bidding process for operating the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service on an unsubsidised basis. The three companies submitted Pre-Qualification Questionnaires to the Executive in December last year and these are currently being evaluated. However, the Executive’s policy in procurement exercises such as this is not to reveal the identities of the companies submitting Pre-Qualification Questionnaires. When the current stage of the process has been completed, and a suitable tender list has been identified, the names of the companies that have been selected for the tender list will be revealed. This is likely to be in the spring.

Question reference: S2W-21883

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 25 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-13787 and S2W-13788 by Nicol Stephen on 8 February 2005, what further progress has been made in the pursuit of the cost of repairs to the Erskine Bridge following the damage caused by an offshore structure colliding with the bridge.

Our legal advisers have successfully secured an abandonment of the debate which was due to take place on 27 to 30 September 2005 and secured an award of expenses in our favour. They are currently pressing the court and other parties to confirm a final hearing on the issue of liability and quantum of damages, which will be determined by the court if the parties are unable to reach agreement.However, our legal advisers have made it clear to the other parties involved thatwe are open to any method of dispute resolution within or outwith the litigationprocess. Thus far, the other parties have declined to provide any proposals andwhile the matter remains unresolved, liability for interest on the outstanding sums continues to accrue.

Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Question reference: S2W-21313

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of men aged 65 and over are currently in paid employment in (a) West Renfrewshire, (b) Inverclyde and (c) Scotland and what the comparable figures were in 1996.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS)is the official source of employment estimates. The LFS was boosted in Scotland forthe first time in 2003 which allowed key statistics to be provided at detailed geographicallevels for the first time. Thus data fordetailed geographies are available for the latest time period but not for 1996.

Table 1: Proportion of MenAged 65 and Over in Paid Employment¹

Area	1996-97	2004-05
Scotland	6.3	7.9
Inverclyde	*	5.8
Renfrewshire	*	5.1
West Renfrewshire	*	*

Source:Annual Population Survey (April 2004 to March 2005)

LabourForce Survey 4 Quarters Combined (March 1996 to February 1997)

Notes:

1. Unpaid family workers have been removed from the analysis.

2. *Estimate is unreliable ornot available.

Question reference: S2W-21314

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of women aged 60 and over are currently in paid employment in (a) West Renfrewshire, (b) Inverclyde and (c) Scotland and what the comparable figures were in 1996.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS)is the official source of employment estimates. The LFS was boosted in Scotland forthe first time in 2003 which allowed key statistics to be provided at detailed geographicallevels for the first time. Thus data fordetailed geographies are available for the latest time period but not for 1996.

Table 1: Proportion of WomenAged 60 and Over in Paid Employment¹

Area	1996-97	2004-05
Scotland	6.5	8.2
Inverclyde	*	5.6
Renfrewshire	*	8.7
West Renfrewshire	*	10.2

Source:Annual Population Survey (April 2004 to March 2005).

LabourForce Survey 4 Quarters Combined (March 1996 to February 1997).

Notes:

1.Unpaid family workers have been removed from the analysis.

2. *Estimate is unreliable ornot available.

Question reference: S2W-21312

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people aged between 50 and 65 are currently unemployed in (a) West Renfrewshire, (b) Inverclyde and (c) Scotland and what the comparable figures were in 1996.

There are two measures of unemployment used in the UK. Unemployment (previously known as International Labour Organisation(ILO) unemployment) and the claimant count. The ILO measure of unemployment is estimated from the Labour Force Survey(LFS), whereas the claimant count is simply a count of those claiming unemploymentbenefits.

Unemployment obtained from the LFS using the ILO definition is the Executive’s preferred measure of unemployment. However, for the specific age group requested, the ILO measure is not reliable for detailed geographical areas. Therefore the following table shows claimant count figures which are based on administrative records and are thus more reliable at local authority level.

Proportions for the parliamentary constituency area of West Renfrewshire are not available as population estimates for West Renfrewshire have not been produced by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS).

Table 1: Level and Proportion of Females Aged 50 to 59 and Males Aged 50 to 64 Claiming Unemployment Benefits, June 1996 and June 2004

Area	June 1996		June 2004
Area	Claimants	Proportion¹	Claimants	Proportion¹
Scotland	30,960	4.5%	16,145	2.0%
Inverclyde	425	3.5%	410	3.2%
Renfrewshire	1,105	4.4%	630	2.3%
West Renfrewshire	290	N/A	240	N/A

Source: Claimant count administrativedatabase.

Notes:

1. The proportion is calculatedby dividing the number of claimants by the number of females aged 50 to 59 and males aged 50 to 64 (sourcedfrom the GROS mid-year estimates).

2. Claimant levels are roundedto the nearest five.

Question reference: S2W-21310

Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 14 December 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to amend extant legislation concerning the management and creation of allotment sites.

Chamber and committees