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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 551 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S3W-11446

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 24 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people were discharged from local authority care on or after their 16th birthday in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The numbers of young people discharged from local authority care when aged 16 and over are shown in table 1 for the years 2002-03 to 2006-07 by local authority.

Table 1: Number of Young People Aged 16 or Over Ceasing to be Looked After in the Years Ending 31 March 2003 to 2007, by Local Authority

Local Authority	Number of Young People Aged 16+ who Ceasing to be Looked After in the Year Ending 31 March
Local Authority	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Aberdeen City	30	23	52	77	59
Aberdeenshire	43	32	39	34	27
Angus	20	14	21	16	28
Argyll and Bute	46	20	44	22	30
Clackmannanshire	11	15	13	21	9
Dumfries and Galloway	30	44	33	47	57
Dundee City	50	43	54	57	51
East Ayrshire	45	43	30	25	41
East Dunbartonshire	14	17	16	8	20
East Lothian	24	10	18	18	28
East Renfrewshire	7	12	15		11
City of Edinburgh	113	95	100	123	157
Eilean Siar	4	5	11	10
Falkirk	12	27	19	20	29
Fife	37	44	45	62	72
Glasgow City	241	243	195	201	248
The Highland	51	46	38	55	51
Inverclyde	68	43	19	34	32
Midlothian	9	20	22		66
The Moray	26	32	22	18	17
North Ayrshire	41	24	38	39	60
North Lanarkshire	86	89	75	79	75
Orkney Islands	6	5	2	5	11
Perth and Kinross	15	27	22	13	27
Renfrewshire	75	47	55	65	56
Scottish Borders	15	29	21		21
Shetland Islands	2	4	6	2	1
South Ayrshire	18	30	24	30	35
South Lanarkshire	21	51	42	45	46
Stirling	12	23	24	26	17
West Dunbartonshire	53	33	31	41	49
West Lothian	49	55	34	46	44
Scotland	1,274	1,245	1,180	1,239	1,475

Source: Scottish Government, Children Looked After Statistics

Notes:

Figures include all episodes of ceasing to be looked after (i.e. a young person may be counted more than once).

Table includes young people aged 16 to 21 for 2006 and 2007. Prior to 2006, data was not collected for 19 to 21-year-olds and table includes young people aged 16 to 18 only.

Eilean Siar did not provide information for 2007. Figures from 2006 have therefore been included in the table''s total for 2007.

East Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders and Midlothian did not provide information for 2006. Figures from 2005 have therefore been included in the table''s total for 2006 and do not include young people aged 19-21.

Data for 2006 contains some revisions.

Question reference: S3W-11450

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 24 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people leaving local authority care following their 16th birthday were placed in unsupported hostel accommodation as their first housing destination by each local authority in each of the last five years.

The number of care leavers aged 16 or over placed in unsupported hostel accommodation upon discharge is not available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11451 on 24 April 2008 which provides tables showing broader categories of care leavers'' destinations from 2004-05 to 2006-07. 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/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S3W-11445

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2008
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 24 April 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people between the ages of 15 and 16 were discharged from local authority care in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

The numbers of young people discharged from local authority care when aged 15 and 16 and above school leaving age are shown in table 1 for the years 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. Data are not available by single year of age for those who were below school leaving age when they left care. This information is not available prior to 2004-05.

Table 1: Number of 15 and 16-Year-Olds above Minimum School Leaving Age Ceasing to be Looked-After in the Years Ending 31 March 2005 to 2007, by Local Authority

Local Authority	15 Year Olds Above Minimum School Leaving Age			16 Year Olds Above Minimum School Leaving Age
Local Authority	2005	2006	2007	2005	2006	2007
Aberdeen City	1	10	0	18	38	18
Aberdeenshire	2	6	13	30	25	24
Angus	0	0	0	13	0	18
Argyll and Bute	4	5	0	17	12	19
Clackmannanshire	0	0	3	6	14	3
Dumfries and Galloway	1	15	3	14	29	30
Dundee City	0	6	3	42	42	37
East Ayrshire	0	0	12	26	13	26
East Dunbartonshire	1	0	3	10	4	9
East Lothian	1	4	0	9	7	24
East Renfrewshire	0	0	2	5	4	4
City of Edinburgh	5	0	5	70	74	54
Eilean Siar	0	0		3	8
Falkirk	0	0	0	16	18	21
Fife	3	4	0	45	53	59
Glasgow City	7	5	5	108	90	92
The Highland	14		3	24		25
Inverclyde	2	16	13	10	26	29
Midlothian	7		0	12		28
The Moray	0	0	0	7	14	15
North Ayrshire	0	22	0	11	27	26
North Lanarkshire	1	0	5	34	50	40
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	2	3	10
Perth and Kinross	22	6	1	2	12	18
Renfrewshire	1	0	6	17	40	32
Scottish Borders	1		3	12		17
Shetland Islands	2	1	0	3	0	0
South Ayrshire	3	1	1	15	13	24
South Lanarkshire	9	0	0	26	25	8
Stirling	1	0	2	10	11	11
West Dunbartonshire	6	0	1	22	24	34
West Lothian	8	22	26	21	32	29
Scotland	102	131	110	660	756	792

Source: Scottish Government, Children Looked After Statistics.

Notes:

Figures include all episodes of ceasing to be looked after (i.e. a young person may be counted more than once).

Eilean Siar did not provide information for 2007. Figures from 2006 have therefore been included in the totals for 2007.

Scottish Borders, Midlothian and Highland did not provide information in time for inclusion in 2006. Figures from 2005 have therefore been included in the totals for 2006.

Figures for 2005 have never been published. These data are best understood as estimates.

Question reference: S3O-02479

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2008
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 6 March 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with Fife Council about the reopening of the Leven to Thornton rail link.

Question reference: S3W-07238

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many small businesses in the Central Fife parliamentary constituency will benefit from the proposed cut in business rates.

Information onsmall businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However,information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties whichmay be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is availablefor the local authority area concerned on the Scottish Assessors Portal www.saa.gov.uk. This information is shown asfollows:

Number of Properties	Rateable Value of Property
Number of Properties	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
Central Fife	7,104	653	1,051	8,808

Notes:

(i) The rateablevalue ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The tableshows the number of non-domestic properties with rateable values of up to£15,000 in all of Fife local authority area.

(iii) The numberof eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic propertiesin each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This mayaffect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which willdepend on:

the combinedrateable value of all properties in Scotland which abusiness owns, leases or - is otherwise entitled to occupy;

whether theproperty is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level ofother public sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-06883

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on plans to introduce a school-based dental service.

Question reference: S3W-06331

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to establish the group tasked with the development of standards for neurological services.

I understand fromNHS Quality Improvement Scotland that an advocacy group, composed ofrepresentatives of relevant voluntary organisations and support groups, hasbeen established. It will highlight the aspects of the standards which are ofparticular importance to patients and carers, and is due to meet for the firsttime during December. The project group with overall responsibility fordeveloping the standards has also been established, and its first meeting isscheduled for January 2008.

Question reference: S3W-06332

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to complete its work on the development of standards for neurological services.

Question reference: S2W-32636

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20888 by Lewis Macdonald on 29 November 2005, how many people aged 60 and over are registered with an NHS dentist, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) Scottish parliamentary constituency.

The informationrequested is provided in the following table by NHS board. Information is not availablefor parliamentary constituency, as patient postcode is not collected.

Number of People Aged 60 and Over Registered with an NHSDentist, by NHS Board, at 31 March 2006

NHS board	No. of People Registered Aged 60 and Over
Argyll and Clyde	36,871
Ayrshire and Arran	38,321
Borders	10,238
Dumfries and Galloway	9,115
Fife	29,077
Forth Valley	22,098
Grampian	26,233
Greater Glasgow	74,722
Highland	10,304
Lanarkshire	42,126
Lothian	62,705
Orkney	880
Shetland	1,364
Tayside	40,117
Western Isles	2,018
Scotland	406,189

Source: ISD Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-32637

Asked by: Tricia Marwick, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 2 April 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20887 by Lewis Macdonald on 29 November 2005, how many people aged 16 and under are registered with an NHS dentist, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) Scottish parliamentary constituency.

The informationrequested is provided in the following table by NHS board. Information is not availablefor parliamentary constituency, as patient postcode is not collected.

Number of People Aged 16 andUnder Registered with an NHS Dentist, by NHS Board, at 31 March 2006

NHS board	No. of people registered aged 16 and under
Argyll and Clyde	54,820
Ayrshire and Arran	51,680
Borders	12,805
Dumfries and Galloway	16,605
Fife	42,703
Forth Valley	39,905
Grampian	60,690
Greater Glasgow	122,313
Highland	25,232
Lanarkshire	74,360
Lothian	106,027
Orkney	1,217
Shetland	2,613
Tayside	55,008
Western Isles	977
Scotland	666,995

Source: ISD Scotland.