- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees are currently employed on casual employment contracts and how many of these are employed on such contracts for one year or more, broken down by department and division.
Answer
As at 1 April 2002, 291 staff were working on a casual basis in the Scottish Executive core departments. The total is broken down by department in the table. Information is not readily available at divisional level.
| Department | Casual Staff | Casual Staff in Post More Than a Year |
| Core Departments | | |
| Corporate Services | 43 | 6 |
| Development | 21 | |
| Education | 34 | |
| Enterprise and Lifelong Learning | 26 | 2 |
| Environment and Rural Affairs | 105 | 16 |
| Finance and Central Services | 38 | |
| Health | 17 | |
| Justice | 7 | |
| All | 291 | 24 |
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed timescale is for implementing its Business Improvement Plan; whether any redundancies will arise, and whether any staff will experience restrictions on individual career development as a result of this process.
Answer
The Business Improvement Plan aims to improve facilities management services in the Executive and reduce costs by £2.1 million per annum. Over the period 2002-03 to 2004-05 a number of changes will be made to the organisation of facilities services within the Executive, to contracts which support this work and the way in which staff gain access to services. The Executive offers a wide range of interesting and challenging careers and aims to maintain continuity of employment and offer development opportunities to all its staff. Every effort will therefore be made to ensure that staff surpluses do not arise and redundancies are avoided through establishing staff preferences, re-skilling, retraining and redeployment.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition of "immediately" was in regard to the extended park-and-ride facilities at Croy Station as announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning on 21 March 2002.
Answer
I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-25573 and S1W-25575 on 16 May 2002.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 24 May 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer how many people were employed by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in each of the last three years and, of these, how many were participants in the Modern Apprenticeship scheme, broken down by framework.
Answer
The number of staff in post in each of the last three years is as follows:Year ending 31 March 2000 - 346 staff in post Year ending 31 March 2001 - 424 staff in post Year ending 31 March 2002 - 454 staff in post No member of staff employed by the SPCB has been employed through or was a participant in the Modern Apprenticeship scheme.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff it currently employs aged 60 years or over.
Answer
The Scottish Executive and its agencies currently employs 248 staff aged 60 or over.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its salary scales for staff are equivalent to the salary scales of employees of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) in comparable grades; what the reasons are behind any difference in the salary scales, and what action it intends to take to redress any such difference.
Answer
The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body are separate and distinct bodies. There is therefore no requirement for them to have similar pay ranges for their staff. In the case of the Scottish Executive the values of pay ranges are set at a level which enables the Executive to recruit, retain and motivate staff to perform the duties required of them effectively and which is affordable. The pay arrangements in the SPCB are a matter for that body.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial irregularities or budgetary losses were identified during the annual audit of departments and divisions in each of the last four years; if so, in which department or division each such loss or irregularity was identified, and what the amount involved was, also expressed as a percentage of the division or department's annual budget.
Answer
The accounts of the Scottish Executive for 1999-2000 and 2000-01, together with the associated audit reports, have been laid before the Parliament and are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. Prior to this, the Scottish Executive did not exist.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive at what age its staff must take compulsory retirement, detailing any provisions available which would allow staff to be retained after that point.
Answer
The expected retirement age for all Scottish Executive staff below the Senior Civil Service is 60 years. Beyond this, staff can be retained on a year-by-year basis if they meet certain criteria. This policy is currently under review.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 20 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average (a) term of a custodial sentence and (b) fine levied was for persons convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in each year since 1996.
Answer
The available information on persons given a custodial sentence is given in the following table. Between 1996 and 2000, only eight persons were fined on conviction of a main charge of causing death by dangerous driving. The average fine imposed in these cases was £1,944. Information for 2001 is not expected to be available until around November 2002.Persons with a Main Charge Proved in Scottish Courts Under Section 1
1 of The Road Traffic Act 1988 Who Were Given a Custodial Sentence, 1996-2000
| Main penalty | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
| Average sentence (days) | 618 | 693 | 558 | 498 | 1,077 |
| Number of persons sentenced | 13 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 5 |
Note:1. Causing death by dangerous driving.
- Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 16 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions it provided to contractors fitting systems under its central heating programme in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency regarding the removal and disposal of appliances which are old, broken or no longer required, and when and how any such instructions were issued.
Answer
Instructions to contractors working on the central heating programme are issued to them as they are appointed. The instructions provide that any existing heating system is to be taken out if it prevents the fitting of new central heating under the programme. There is no requirement on contractors to dispose of old appliances and fittings. It is for the householder to arrange disposal and bear the cost of doing so.
