Chamber and committees

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:(a) Every establishment maintains a register of asbestos identified by surveys carried out in the mid-1990s: this records where asbestos was identified, where it has been removed, and where it is still present, in accordance with current legislation. (b) The Estate Management Unit, on behalf of the Governor of the Establishment.(c) Records are held in each establishment and are updated as required when alterations or new work is carried out. (d) Files will be retained as required under legislation and then archived centrally.

The Scottish Executive's payroll provider, ADP Chessington, has accessed a total of 15 current employee and 10 ex-employee records at the request of the individuals concerned. The information was provided at a cost of £490 plus VAT.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30160 on 15 October 2002. 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/search_wa.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28904 on 18 September 2002. 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/search_wa.

The following table gives average rateable value in April 2000 by type of subject for each local authority area in Scotland. This is the latest information available to the Executive on rateable values of subjects classified on a consistent sectoral basis, broken down by the smallest sectoral and geographical level available. The footnotes explain the basis of the analysis.Average Rateable Value of Subjects^1,2 by Local Authority and Type of Subject

Local authority	Average Rateable Value(£)
	Industrial		Commercial				Other
	Industrial and Freight Transport	Oil Related and Petro-Chemical Plants	Shops	Offices	Hotels, Boarding Houses etc.	Other Commercial	Other3
Aberdeen City	74,735	..	25,866	40,512	39,926	27,315	36,433
Aberdeenshire	53,502	2,302,500	7,348	6,062	20,316	6,299	12,020
Angus	67,542	..	8,147	7,741	11,566	8,933	13,070
Argyll and Bute	7,398	..	7,376	7,787	6,041	4,223	17,529
Clackmannan	166,109	..	10,314	6,688	17,004	9,100	19,856
Dumfries and Galloway	42,732	..	9,246	5,194	10,837	4,636	8,571
Dundee	66,801	..	18,698	19,298	23,783	19,165	37,269
East Ayrshire	27,312	..	15,072	8,714	13,109	9,636	18,805
East Dunbartonshire	18,599	..	22,471	12,482	23,302	15,989	28,490
East Lothian	48,032	..	8,624	11,266	13,579	6,262	14,775
East Renfrewshire	13,545	..	16,892	10,300	60,156	11,119	23,289
Edinburgh	70,366	2,500,000	21,231	51,388	41,831	21,815	36,541
Eilean Siar	13,457	..	5,618	6,563	5,551	3,230	8,955
Falkirk	93,829	4,633,333	17,969	14,035	36,077	15,947	23,406
Fife	70,934	3,060,000	15,013	15,598	16,905	13,064	24,655
Glasgow	25,439	..	21,920	24,829	67,029	20,424	40,602
Highland	34,139	..	12,002	9,516	6,779	7,718	10,228
Inverclyde	34,452	..	16,871	17,449	37,518	15,650	29,204
Midlothian	48,393	..	10,725	15,663	20,717	16,397	21,819
Moray	83,416	..	8,673	4,633	12,009	4,188	24,048
North Ayrshire	38,782	..	11,917	9,751	7,432	11,242	17,142
North Lanarkshire	39,221	..	18,578	15,457	58,476	25,270	29,228
Orkney	8,785	5,100,000	4,867	6,981	4,555	3,481	7,105
Perth and Kinross	38,728	..	14,430	18,640	17,594	11,607	14,258
Renfrewshire	36,414	..	17,914	17,168	59,082	23,191	29,543
Scottish Borders	29,535	..	8,096	6,314	16,675	4,612	8,199
Shetland	20,730	15,000,000	6,114	11,925	7,806	5,402	8,721
South Ayrshire	28,314	..	17,596	13,756	15,750	11,070	23,709
South Lanarkshire	32,845	..	23,826	21,426	27,941	16,620	26,399
Stirling	57,741	..	24,120	20,074	25,059	10,984	14,222
West Dunbartonshire	25,562	..	21,175	16,961	59,504	19,733	31,005
West Lothian	109,381	..	15,787	20,607	31,519	20,277	23,077

Notes:1. The analysis is of the rateable value in April 2000 of 188,701 subjects for which rateable value information was collected following the 2000 revaluation.2. The analysis excludes telecoms subjects and subjects (mainly utilities such as gas, electricity, water) whose value is determined at local authority level rather than for specific units.3. Includes schools, hospitals, docks and harbours, independent generators and waterways.

There are many ways in which a member of staff may be able to gain financial benefits through access to institutional property and funding, ranging from publications and public appearances, to involvement in research-led companies and the licensing of intellectual property. Regulation of personal financial gain in these circumstances is a matter for individual higher education institutions as employers.

We are presently in the process of considering the corridor study reports and all comments received in connection with the consultants recommendations.I do not consider it necessary or appropriate to hold a local referendum on the future of the A80. The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, as amended by subsequent legislation, provides adequate statutory mechanisms for public comment on, and where appropriate objections to, trunk road schemes.

The Scottish Executive has commissioned a literature review on Retention and Wastage in FE and HE from Dr John Hall at the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE). His report, published in 2001 is available on the SCRE website at www.scre.ac.uk.The major source of information on the proportion of full-time students who complete their course of study can be found in Table 5 of the Performance Indicators on Higher Education in the UK, published by the Higher Education Funding Councils in December 2001. Copies are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 18498) or on the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's website at: www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/press/2001/prhe2701.htm.

Information regarding the destinations of graduates in higher education institutions (HEIs) is collected by HEIs, via the Higher Education Statistics Agency's (HESA) First Destinations Survey. The First Destinations Survey (FDS) collects information on the positions of successful graduates from full-time HE courses six months after graduation, via postal and telephone survey. The data collected is checked and validated, by the HEIs in the first instance, and then HESA. The information is then passed to the Scottish Executive.FDS data is now subject to audit, with each UK institution currently planned to be audited over a five-year cycle. The audit process is managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on behalf of the Performance Indicators Steering Group. Audit involves examination of systems and a re-survey of a sample of graduates. Initial results of this process have proved encouraging with regards quality of data being collected. Subsequently, a good practice guide was put together for use in institutions: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/datacoll/FDS/.

A Student Income and Expenditure Survey was conducted by Professor Claire Callender of South Bank University in 1998-99. It asked approximately 3,000 students throughout the UK detailed questions about their personal circumstances, courses and their income and expenditure. Copies of the Executive Summary report are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 10388). A copy of the full report is available on:http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR213.PDF.