- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Private Finance Initiative projects have been managed by it and the Scottish Office in each of the last 10 years; what its estimate is of the cost savings made in each project compared with the public sector alternative, and what outstanding payments will be made in relation to each project in each of the next 15 years.
Answer
The Scottish Executive (and formerly the Scottish Office) has managed three Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects in the last 10 years: Skye Bridge (signed 1991); M6 (signed 1997); Kilmarnock Prison (signed 1997). The Executive's policy is that PFI should only be used where it represents best value for money. To test for value for money, bids received are compared to a Public Sector Comparator (PSC) which represents an estimate of the whole life cost of procuring of the specified services by conventional means.
In the case of the Skye Bridge, a PSC was not calculated, as the project would not have gone ahead other than under private finance. Government guidance published in 1995 also accepted this as a reason for not producing a PSC.
The following table shows the cost savings by comparing the PSC with the PFI bid for the M6 DBFO and Kilmarnock Prison projects.
| | PSC (£ million) | PFI (£ million) | Saving (£ million) |
M6 DBFO | 210 | 193 | 17 |
Kilmarnock Prison | 263 | 130 | 133 |
Outstanding payments to be made in relation to each project are matters of commercial confidentiality.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital patients categorised as delayed discharges are currently awaiting transfer to (a) local authority and (b) private residential or nursing homes and how many additional bed spaces will now be made available as a result of the recent agreement reached between it, Scottish Care and CoSLA on the funding of private care home places, broken down by health board area.
Answer
Most recent figures from Information and Statistics Division's
Patients Ready for Discharge in the NHSScotland show that, at 15 July 2001, there were 98 patients delayed in Scottish hospitals and awaiting a place in a local authority residential or nursing home and 425 delayed and awaiting a place in a private home. These can be broken down by health board area as follows:
Health Board area | No. delayed awaiting place in local authority residential or nursing home | No. delayed awaiting a place in private residential or nursing home |
Argyll and Clyde | 19 | 78 |
Ayrshire and Arran | 1 | 2 |
Borders | 1 | - |
Dumfries and Galloway | - | - |
Fife | 11 | 17 |
Forth Valley | 10 | 11 |
Glasgow | 19 | 94 |
Grampian | 5 | 12 |
Highland | 1 | 10 |
Lanarkshire | 4 | 37 |
Lothian | 18 | 125 |
Orkney | 4 | - |
Shetland | - | - |
Tayside | 1 | 15 |
Western Isles | 4 | 24 |
Total | 98 | 425 |
Estimates of the number of beds made available as a result of the talks between the Executive, Scottish Care and CoSLA are not available centrally.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 28 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S1W-17072 by Jim Wallace on 14 August 2001, whether it endorses the decision of the Scottish Prison Service to refuse prisoners in Scottish jails permission to take part in the Scene of the Crime art exhibition in Edinburgh when prisoners from English and Welsh prisons are being allowed to take part.
Answer
I am aware that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) does support prisoner involvement in a number of exhibitions and competitions annually. However, the particular exhibition referred to was thought likely to cause considerable public offence. The view of SPS was that families of victims of crime in particular, but also members of the general public, could reasonably be expected to find this proposition distasteful. Prisoner art displayed in a Scene of the Crime exhibition to be woven into a Murder Mystery Tour by a well known crime writer was not considered an appropriate context for the display of prisoner art in Scotland.
I am satisfied that the SPS reached a reasonable decision in these particular circumstances.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 27 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish graduates have been advised that they face court action to recover outstanding student loans in each of the last three years.
Answer
The number of actions raised in Scottish courts in each of the last three financial years is:
1998-99 | 878 |
1999-2000 | 1,711 |
2000-01 | 1,834 |
These figures relate to borrowers resident in Scotland at the time of the action. They will, therefore, include non-Scottish borrowers resident in Scotland at the time and will not include Scottish borrowers who were the subject of action outwith Scotland.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 27 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations are engaged in the recovery of outstanding student loans in Scotland; when the contracts for such work were concluded, and what details of these contracts are in the public domain.
Answer
The Student Loans Company appointed the following companies for specific debt recovery services through a public procurement exercise conducted under the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEC) competition, the notice being published on 14 October 2000:
Lewis Group Ltd
Allied International Credit Ltd
Legal and Trade Collections Ltd
Pegasus International
Scott and Company
Regal Credit Consultants Ltd
Wescot Credit Services
Equifax PLC
Commercial Collection Services
Debt Managers Ltd
OSI Collection Services
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 27 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of outstanding student loans in Scotland has been sold by it or by the Student Loans Company to commercial financial organisations in each of the last three years and what the total value was of any loans sold in each of these years.
Answer
On 24 March 1998, the Government sold a portfolio of student loan debt with a value of £1.022 billion to Finance for Higher Education Ltd and on 23 March 1999 sold a second portfolio with a value of £1.030 billion to Honours Trustee Ltd. The loans were selected at random and included a representative proportion of loans to Scottish borrowers (approximately 10% by value).
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 25 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a code of conduct outlining minimum standards of ethical practice to which all companies directly and indirectly contractually involved with public sector projects must conform and what issues any such code would cover.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no plans to introduce a code of conduct outlining minimum standards of ethical practice to companies involved with the public sector.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 25 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibilities its departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies have to deliver Best Value, how this objective is achieved and whether any criteria applied and targets set are the equivalent of those for local authorities.
Answer
The Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration has a statutory duty of: "ensuring that the resources of the Scottish Administration are used economically, efficiently and effectively". The Principal Accountable Officer appoints Accountable Officers, in both departments and other bodies, setting their designated duties. This includes ensuring value for money considerations are taken into account. We are currently considering how a duty of Best Value can be extended to cover all departments and agencies.
A Ministerial Working Group on Best Value and Budget Review has been established to take forward Best Value across the Executive's expenditure. The remit of this group is to ensure the better use of public expenditure and more efficient delivery of services. The first series of reviews is underway. The group will report to Cabinet.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus MacKay on 25 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any guidelines it provides to companies which are contractually involved in the public sector to ensure they have established and independently assessed minimum standards of ethical practice.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not provide specific guidelines on ethical practice to companies which have contractual relationships with the public sector. Scottish Executive contract terms and conditions require that suppliers adhere to national law and regulations and specify that the offer of corrupt gifts or payments to officials is a criminal offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts.
- Asked by: Donald Gorrie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 September 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 21 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what checks are in place to ensure that all private sector involvement, financial or otherwise, in Social Inclusion Partnerships is provided by companies with an established and independently assessed record of ethical investment and best practice, particularly in terms of their overseas policies and global operation.
Answer
Any checks on those involved in local regeneration activities are a matter for individual Social Inclusion Partnerships to determine locally.
