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: S2W-13171

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Duncan McNeil on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many members of staff are employed at grade (a) 5, (b) 6, (c) 7 and (d) 8, giving job titles.

The number of staff employed at grades 5, 6, 7 and 8, together with their job titles are set out in the attached annex.

Staff in Grades, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Employed by the SPCB

Grade	Total in Grade	Job Title	No with Job Title
5	74	Senior Assistant Clerk	19
		Research Specialist	10
		Sub-Editor	7
		Senior Research Specialist (Team Leader)	2
		Senior Research Specialist	8
		Outreach Services Manager	1
		Deputy Head of Broadcasting	1
		External Liaison Policy Officer	1
		Senior Purchasing Manager	2
		Strategic Relations Manager	2
		Head of Allowances	1
		Projects Lead	1
		Management Accountant	1
		Clerk to the Public Petitions Committee	1
		Facilities Manager	1
		Senior Media Relations Officer	1
		Senior Specialist	1
		Head of Delivery	1
		Enquiries Manager	1
		Senior Buildings Manager	1
		Publications Editor and Head of Public Information	1
		Equality Officer	1
		Publications Print Manager`	1
		Project Manager New Payroll System	1
		Visitor Services Manager	1
		Information Access Manager	1
		Deputy Head of Purchasing	1
		Business Change Lead	1
		Deputy Head of Security	1
		Construction Coordinator	1
		Senior Assistant Clerk	1
6	54	Head of Security	1
		Clerk Team Leader	23
		Principal Private Secretary	1
		Senior Migration Manager	1
		Financial Controller	1
		Head of Financial Resources	1
		Holyrood IT Programme Manager	1
		Head of Visitor and Outreach Services	1
		Head of Purchasing	1
		Implementation Manager	1
		Deputy Editor	1
		Head of Media Affairs	1
		Head of FM Service Delivery	1
		Internal Auditor	1
		Corporate Projects Manager	1
		Head of Employment Policy/Deputy Head of Personnel	1
		Head of Development	1
		Principal Research Specialist	2
		Head of Strategy	1
		Head of Broadcasting	1
		Information Services Manager	1
		Private Secretary/Head of Office	1
		Head of Corporate Policy	1
		Assistant Legal Adviser	5
		Coordinator, Festival of Politics and Ideas	1
		Client Coordinator Exhibitions and Presentations	1
		Community Law Specialist	1
7	11	Head of BIT	1
		Holyrood Project Adviser	1
		Editor	1
		Head of Facilities Management	1
		Head of Chamber Office	1
		Head of Personnel	1
		Head of Research and Information Services	1
		Head of Committee Office	1
		Senior Assistant Legal Advisers	3
8	5	Director of Access and Information	1
		Director of Technical and Facilities Management	1
		Director of Resources and Governance	1
		Director of Clerking and Reporting	1
		Director of Legal Services	1

Question reference: S2W-12593

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by George Reid on 19 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what information it has, in respect of each Sewel motion passed by the Parliament since 1999, concerning (a) the length of the debate in the Parliament on the motion, (b) the length of any debate on the motion in committee and (c) whether (i) oral or (ii) written evidence was taken by a committee on the motion.

The information requested is given in the following table:

Sewel Motions: Session 1

Motion Number	Plenary Debate (hrs:mins)	Committee Debate (hrs:mins)	Oral Evidence	Written Evidence
S1M-60	00:59
S1M-61	00:23
S1M-344	(No debate)	00:08	Yes	Yes
S1M-405	(No debate)	00:14	Yes	Yes
S1M-430	01:57
S1M-628	(No debate)	00:35	Yes	Yes
S1M-733	00:47
S1M-810	(No debate)	05:00	Yes	Yes
S1M-887	00:57
S1M-889	(No debate)	00:05	Yes	Yes
S1M-975	(No debate)	00:08	Yes	Yes
S1M-1072	00:15
S1M-1073	(No debate)	00:03	Yes	Yes
S1M-1240	00:41
S1M-1527	00:34
S1M-1528	00:19
S1M-1529	00:26
S1M-1596	00:26
S1M-1618	00:26
S1M-1645	(No debate)	00:05	Yes	Yes
S1M-1713	00:25
S1M-1795	00:03	00:20	Yes	Yes
S1M-1818	02:15
S1M-2341	00:38
S1M-2342	00:15
S1M-2445	01:38
S1M-2458	00:20
S1M-2649	00:33
S1M-2650	00:32
S1M-2983	00:24
S1M-3211	00:05
S1M-3237	00:27
S1M-3608	00:58
S1M-3649	00:22
S1M-3670	00:42
S1M-3671	00:40
S1M-3833	00:08
S1M-4022	00:12	00:50	Yes	Yes
S1M-4023	(No debate)
Total Time	18:48	07:28

Sewel Motions: Session 2

Motion Number	Plenary Debate (hrs:mins)	Committee Debate (hrs:mins)	Oral Evidence	Written Evidence
S2M-136	01:59
S2M-137	00:38
S2M-240	(No debate)	00:15	Yes	Yes
S2M-407	00:03	00:18	Yes	Yes
S2M-543	00:25	00:49	Yes	Yes
S2M-786	(No debate)
S2M-787	00:03	00:25	Yes	Yes
S2M-788	01:13	01:18	Yes	Yes
S2M-813	00:31
S2M-838	00:31
S2M-936	00:29
S2M-973	00:15
S2M-974	00:57
S2M-1202	00:56	03:15	Yes	Yes
S2M-2118	(No debate)	01:35	Yes	Yes
Total Time	08:00	07:55

The SPICe Fact Sheets on Sewel motions are being updated and will be published on the website in due course.

Question reference: S2W-12764

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many frauds have been discovered within its operations in each year since 1999 and, of these, what percentage was discovered as result of whistle-blowing.

There have been two substantiated frauds by staff in the Scottish Executive’s core departments in the last five years, as reported under the Executive’s Fraud Response Plan. For the amount of these frauds I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12251 on 9 December 2004. All answers for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search. Neither of these frauds were discovered as a result of whistle-blowing.

Question reference: S2W-11275

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what budget allocations it has made to the Supporting People initiative in each of the next three years, showing percentage year-on-year increases and broken down by (a) recipient organisation and (b) local authority area.

Funding for Supporting People of £407.3 million in 2005-06 £399 million in 2006-07 and £401.1 million in 2007-08 was announced on 23 December. This represents double the provision in England on a per capita basis.

The allocation of resources (see the following tables) is on a formula basis to local authorities who decide how funding will be distributed locally. Local authorities are required to provide quarterly monitoring returns and final outturn figures to the Scottish Executive, but are not required to list all organisations receiving funding.

Supporting People Allocations (in £ Million) Announced on 23 December with Year-On-Year Percentage Changes

	2004-05 £m	2005-06 £m	% change on prior year	2006-07 £m	% change on prior year	2007-08 £m	% change on prior year
Aberdeen City	12.3	12.3	-0.0	11.9	-3.5	11.9	0.0
Aberdeenshire	9.4	9.4	0.0	9.4	0.7	9.7	2.8
Angus	6.4	6.4	-0.0	6.5	0.9	6.7	3.5
Argyll and Bute	14.9	13.8	-7.5	13.3	-3.8	12.2	-7.8
Clackmannanshire	3.1	3.1	-0.0	3.2	4.8	3.9	18.8
Dumfries and Galloway	15.1	13.9	-7.5	13.4	-3.8	12.4	-7.8
Dundee City	11.7	11.7	0.0	11.7	0.7	12.1	2.6
East Ayrshire	6.2	6.2	-0.0	6.5	4.5	7.6	17.7
East Dunbartonshire	5.5	5.4	-1.6	5.2	-3.7	5.2	0.0
East Lothian	9.4	8.7	-7.5	8.3	-3.8	7.7	-7.8
East Renfrewshire	6.3	5.8	-7.5	5.6	-3.8	5.1	-7.8
Edinburgh, City of	44.7	41.3	-7.5	39.8	-3.8	36.7	-7.8
Eilean Siar	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.5	27.2	0.9	87.4
Falkirk	8.3	8.3	-0.0	8.4	2.0	9.1	7.9
Fife	28.3	26.2	-7.5	24.5	-6.5	24.5	0.0
Glasgow City	71.8	71.8	-0.0	73.2	1.9	78.9	7.8
Highland	13.9	12.8	-7.5	11.7	-8.7	11.7	0.0
Inverclyde	8.1	8.0	-1.8	7.7	-3.7	7.7	0.0
Midlothian	6.1	5.6	-7.5	5.4	-3.8	5.0	-7.8
Moray	6.9	6.4	-7.5	6.2	-3.8	5.7	-7.8
North Ayrshire	14.7	13.6	-7.5	12.2	-10.0	12.1	-1.4
North Lanarkshire	24.8	24.8	-0.0	25.0	0.8	25.9	3.3
Orkney Islands	0.4	0.4	-0.0	0.4	18.2	0.7	63.3
Perth and Kinross	6.2	6.2	0.0	6.4	2.7	7.1	10.8
Renfrewshire	18.3	17.0	-7.5	16.3	-3.8	15.0	-7.8
Scottish Borders	6.0	6.0	-0.0	5.8	-3.5	5.8	0.0
Shetland Islands	0.8	0.8	-0.1	0.8	3.4	0.9	13.6
South Ayrshire	8.2	8.2	0.0	8.0	-2.4	8.0	0.0
South Lanarkshire	23.4	23.2	-1.0	22.3	-3.7	22.3	0.0
Stirling	3.8	3.8	0.0	4.0	4.4	4.6	17.2
West Dunbartonshire	17.5	16.2	-7.5	15.6	-3.8	14.4	-7.8
West Lothian	9.8	9.8	-0.0	9.8	0.2	9.9	0.9
Scotland	422.5	407.3	-3.6	399.0	-2.0	401.1	0.5

Question reference: S2W-13037

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Aarhus Convention will be implemented in Scotland on 25 June 2005, as indicated in EU Directive 2003/35/EC.

Question reference: S2W-13032

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what public consultation will take place before the implementation in Scotland of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention and when any such consultation will start.

Question reference: S2O-04820

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 13 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people suffering from the effects of alcohol were admitted to hospital accident and emergency units during the festive season.

Question reference: S2O-04817

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 13 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were arrested for drug-driving during the festive season.

Question reference: S2W-13258

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 10 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in relocating public sector jobs to Scotland"s more rural and remote areas.

We are making good progress in delivering public sector job opportunities to Scotland’s more rural areas. The Lord Advocate and I are pleased to announce that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will set up a small unit within the Procurator Fiscal’s office in Tain. We are also pleased to confirm the announcement made by the First Minister on 8 November 2004, that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will make permanent a small unit within the Procurator Fiscal’s Office in Dingwall. These small units transcribe police interview tapes using the COPFS national computer database. Tain and Dingwall were chosen as the best locations for operations, offering the Crown Office a high quality workforce and good accommodation. These relocations use the local, high quality workforce to reduce costs and improve both productivity and the quality of service. This is part of the modernisation of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and represents Efficient Government in action. Theunit at Tain will initially comprise a small team of three, and the Dingwall operation has 5.5 staff.

The establishment of these small units in Tain and Dingwall represent another example of the Executive’s commitment to its relocation policy, and to moving public sector jobs to Scotland’s more rural and remote areas. I understand that the Crown Office will be considering other opportunities for the dispersal of jobs.

Question reference: S2W-12770

Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 23 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to provide opportunities for wider civic society to identify and articulate priorities and to contribute to the formulation of the future government policy agenda.