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.

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Question reference: S1W-03042

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 2 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the incidence of leukaemia by ward in the Motherwell and Wishaw area over the longest annual period for which figures are available.

I list below the observed and expected incidence of leukaemia for residents of postcode sectors ML1 and ML2, representing the Motherwell and Wishaw areas based on rates for Lanarkshire and Scotland for the period 1981-1996:

Observed and expected number of leukaemia cases in postcode sectors ML1 and ML2, based on rates for Lanarkshire and Scotland; all ages: 1981-1996

	Observed	Expected	O/E	95% Confidence Interval
	registrations	registrations		lower	upper
Based on Lanarkshire	226	209.5	1.08	0.95	1.23
Based on Scotland	226	225.6	1.00	0.88	1.14

Data source: SOCRATES (Scottish cancer registration database); these figures are based on a snapshot of the database taken in December 1999Population data supplied to ISD Scotland by GRO(S).The data suggest that there is nothing unusual about the incidence of leukaemia amongst residents of the Motherwell and Wishaw areas when compared with Lanarkshire Health Board or Scotland as a whole.

Question reference: S1O-00964

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 27 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was raised last year in payments and charges accruing to Scottish Executive departments and agencies and what share of this was passed to Her Majesty's Treasury.

Question reference: S1W-02174

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 26 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reduction is in NHS and teachers' pensions expenditure in the current financial year, and what specific aspect of NHS and teachers' pensions will be reduced.

No reductions have been made to the benefits provided under either scheme. Pension recipients received a 3.2% cost of living increase in April 1999.Actual expenditure is demand-driven with the trend upwards as the schemes become more mature. The figures for annual budget baselines, which are for payments less contributions received, can and do vary significantly from year to year. The main reasons are changes in the numbers retiring, where the lump sum payable at the point of retirement is a significant factor, changes in contribution levels and bulk transfer payments.

Question reference: S1W-02197

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 20 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the underspend in the overall Scottish budget has been in each year for which figures are available in 1998-99 prices, also expressed as a percentage of the overall budget, whether any of this underspend was passed back to Her Majesty's Treasury in any year and if so, how much in each year.

From the financial year 1993-94 the underspends of Voted expenditure are as follows, expressed in real terms.£ Million

	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98
Underspend	171	211	282	258	165
Of which reclaimed under End Year Flexibility	21	52	107	127	125
Net Underspend	150	159	175	131	40
Underspend as % Total Budget	1.22	1.44	1.84	1.80	1.22
Net Underspend as a % of total budget	1.06	1.09	1.14	0.92	0.29

The Chancellor announced last year that in future all underspends on Departmental Expenditure Limits would be reclaimable under End Year Flexibility.

Question reference: S1W-02186

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 18 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the real terms annual percentage increase in actual, estimated and planned spending for each year for which figures are available on schools, education, health, enterprise and industrial development, housing, agriculture, environment and local authority related spending in Scotland.

From financial year 1995-96 the real terms annual percentage increase or decreases on spending for the categories requested are below. Of course these figures do not compare like with like, they set out either authority to spend or actual spend.

Year on Year % Change	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02

Central Government Education (1)	-3.7	-1.6	1.4	-3.8	2.1	1.8	0.8
of which Schools	6.4	18.6	16.5	4.4	1.0	22.5	11.6
Health	0.7	0.3	0.9	2.4	7.6	0.8	3.4
Enterprise and Industrial Development	-3.0	-3.6	-6.3	-3.0	-7.0	-1.2	7.2
Housing (2)	10.9	-13.8	-25.4	32.3	-7.8	6.0	0.9
Agriculture	11.0	11.6	-17.0	4.0	-10.1	7.7	3.5
Environment (3)	25.9	525.5	-22.0	-11.4	4.0	-4.5	-3.1
Local Authority	-1.7	-6.0	-6.8	-2.1	1.0	-0.7	0.5

Notes:

1. Excludes expenditure on education by Local Authorities

2. Housing spending includes new housing partnerships, Scottish Homes, Warm Deal, Housing Revenue Account, Housing Support and other miscellaneous expenditure.3. The large increase in 1996-97 refers to the creation of the Water Authorities

Question reference: S1W-02170

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 17 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive at what discount rate is the "break even point" at which public procurement and the PFI alternative are equal in each PFI project in which the Scottish Executive have been involved to date.

Question reference: S1W-03449

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 11 January 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2971 by Peter Peacock on 17 December 1999, whether it had received any written representations from Cathy Craigie MSP on the subject of school closures in Cumbernauld before 2 December 1999 and, if so, how many.

Question reference: S1W-03044

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Donald Dewar on 22 December 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive why it has not provided a substantive answer to question S1W-1414 further to the holding answer on 21 September 1999 and when it expects to do so.

Question reference: S1W-02971

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 1999
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 17 December 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive how many letters it has received from Cathy Craigie MSP on the issue of school closures in Cumbernauld before 2 December 1999.

Question reference: S1W-02185

Asked by: Andrew Wilson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 1999
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 15 December 1999

To ask the Scottish Executive what was the structural fund allocation to Scotland in real terms in each year since 1974 in 1998-99 prices; what percentage share of the overall UK allocation these figures represent, and what a Barnett Formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to.

The table does not include estimates of what the Barnett formula share of UK structural funds in each year would equate to, as the formula applies to incremental changes only.

For the period 1975 to 1988, the European Commission approved individual European Regional Development Fund projects. The value of award of these projects is recorded below.

SCOTTISH STRUCTURAL FUNDS ALLOCATIONS

Year	European Structural Funds allocation to Scotland	Share of UK Structural Funds allocation
	Million Euro	%
1975	84.469	28.0
1976	97.892	25.4
1977	81.888	25.0
1978	121.258	24.8
1979	162.009	22.5
1980	108.767	16.9
1981	270.632	36.6
1982	257.470	28.0
1983	272.722	31.2
1984	313.990	27.0
1985	200.990	19.2
1986	209.368	22.5
1987	206.862	20.6
1988	211.941	24.0

The figures for the years 1989 to 1999 reflect the programme allocation from the Commission, and they are recorded below.

Year	European Structural Funds allocation to Scotland	Share of UK Structural Funds allocation
	Million Euro	%
1989	139.698	23.7
1990	167.430	12.3
1991	249.269	14.5
1992	164.911	8.2
1993	177.484	9.9
1994	156.723	7.2
1995	243.205	10.4
1996	270.743	11.2
1997	323.267	13.4
1998	575.323	23.3
1999	393.080	15.2

Notes:

For the period 1975 to 1989 the figures are exclusively ERDF.

The years 1990 to 1999 include ERDF and ESF, as well as EAGGF and FIFG which are in the Objective 1 and 5b programmes.

From 1990 to 1993, ESF was the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (formerly the Secretary of State for Employment). Before 1990 ESF was administered by the European Commission and Scottish figures are not available.

The figures have been converted to current prices using HM Treasury deflator tables dated 22 September 1999.