- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the (a) total and (b) business spend was on research and development in both cash terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product in 2006; how these figures compare with those for the United Kingdom, and what the comparative figures were in (i) 1997 and (ii) 1999.
Answer
Figures for 2006 are not yetavailable. The latest available data is shown in the following tables:
Gross Expenditure onResearch and Development
| | | 1997 | 1999 | 2003 |
| Scotland | £ millions | 811 | 1,004 | 1,355 |
| % of GDP | 1.17 | 1.34 | 1.51 |
| UK | £ millions | 14,654 | 16,969 | 20,824 |
| % of GDP | 1.78 | 1.84 | 1.85 |
Source: Office for NationalStatistics.
Business Expenditure onResearch and Development
| | | 1997 | 1999 | 2005 |
| Scotland | £ millions | 291 | 393 | 584 |
| % of GDP | 0.43 | 0.53 | 0.59 |
| UK | £ millions | 9,556 | 11,302 | 13,410 |
| % of GDP | 1.16 | 1.23 | 1.08 |
Source: Office for NationalStatistics.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimates are of the number of people who are (a) unemployed, (b) economically inactive and (c) economically inactive but fit and able to work.
Answer
The latest available data onthe composition of economic inactivity is for the period of July to September2006. The number of people who were unemployed in this period was 131,000. Thenumber of people of working age who were economically inactive was 641,000 ofwhich 397,000 were economically inactive for reasons other than being sick ordisabled.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the number of children living in (a) absolute and (b) relative poverty and what the comparative figures were in May (i) 1997, (ii) 1999 and (iii) 2003.
Answer
The information requested isavailable in the publication
Scottish Households Below Average Income, 2004-05which is available either in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number39177) or on the Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/95793/0023203.pdf.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the number of houses affected by (a) dampness and (b) condensation.
Answer
The Scottish House ConditionSurvey for the year from October 2003 to September 2004 estimates that around 103,000households in Scotland (5%) live in dwellings showing signs of rising or penetratingdamp. The survey estimates that around 243,000 households (11%) live in dwellingsshowing signs of condensation.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the UK Government in respect of the impact on Scotland of its proposals to raise the state pension age, in light of the average lifespan in Scotland being less than that in the United Kingdom, and whether the Executive has made any assessment of the likely impact of these proposals on its own policies and budget, including the eligibility criteria for concessionary fares and similar initiatives.
Answer
Scottish ministers fully endorsethe UK proposals to raise the state pension age. The Executive is actively engagedin assessing the potential impact of the pension proposals on its own policies andis liaising with the Department of Work and Pensions to ensure that Scottish circumstancesare taken into account in taking forward pension reform.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed under the successor programmes to the New Deal, broken down by programme and age group.
Answer
New Deal programmes stillexist so there is no successor to these programmes at present.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the membership of the Judicial Committee responsible for resolving any dispute between the Scottish Parliament and the Westminster Government in respect of the former’s exercise of its powers under the Scotland Act 1998.
Answer
The membership of the JudicialCommittee of the Privy Council is available on the Privy Council website, accessibleat
www.privy-council.org.uk.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in which European Council meetings since 1999 Scottish ministers have led the UK delegation, as defined in Article 146 of the Maastricht Treaty, detailing the names of the relevant ministers, the subjects discussed and decisions taken in each case.
Answer
I refer the member to theanswers to questions S2W-23043 on 2 March 2006, and S2W-30519, on 16 January 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an up-to-date list of the cross-border public authorities as defined in the Scotland Act 1998.
Answer
The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-BorderPublic Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999 (S.I.1999/1319) sets out the cross-borderpublic authorities as specified under section 88 of the Scotland Act 1998. A copyof this order can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 23320).
Only one such order has everbeen made. The statutory framework for the operation of new bodies with devolvedand non-devolved functions created since devolution is set out in the relevant establishingstatutes.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in which European Council meetings Scottish ministers have participated since May 1999, detailing the names of the relevant ministers, the subjects discussed and decisions taken in each case.
Answer
Details of Scottish Executiveministerial attendance at European Union Council of Ministers meetings are availableon the Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/Europe/Page6.Information on the subjects discussedand decisions taken is available on the Council of the European Union website at:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=221&lang=en&mode=g.
