Chamber and committees

I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-6068 on 29 November 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, thesearch facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The following statementwas made by a Scottish Government spokesperson on 29 October 2007 in relation to the information referred to by the FirstMinister:

“The Permanent Secretaryis completely satisfied that the information was not provided specifically for useat the SNP party conference. Therefore, there was no misuse of civil service resourcesfor purely party political purposes. The figures are as quoted, and a full analysiswill be published in due course.”

The full analysispromised on 29 October was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centreon Friday 2 November 2007, and demonstrates clearly the basis of theinformation referred to by the First Minister. Placing factual information in thepublic domain is a legitimate function of the Scottish Government.

Analysis onScotland’s income per capita, which was referred to by the First Minister on 28October 2007, was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre on 2November 2007.

Civil servants producedanalysis on Scotland’s income per capita, with varying methodsof accounting for North Sea output. This information was referred to bythe First Minister on 28 October 2007.

The following statementwas made by a Scottish Government spokesperson on  29 October 2007 in relation to the information referred to by the FirstMinister:

“The Permanent Secretaryis completely satisfied that the information was not provided specifically for useat the SNP party conference. Therefore, there was no misuse of civil service resourcesfor purely party political purposes. The figures are as quoted, and a full analysiswill be published in due course.”

The full analysis,including tables of GDP per capita figures, was placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre on 2 November 2007.

As minister responsiblefor general statistics issues I can inform you that officials of the ScottishGovernment have been working with the other devolved governments, the UKGovernment and the chair designate of the Statistics Board to prepare for themany changes that will be brought about by the Statistics and RegistrationService Act 2007. Turning specifically to the responsibilities conferred on Scottish ministers underthe act, the Scottish Government is currently:

working on adraft Pre-release Access Order; this will set out the rules and principles foraccess to Scottish official statistics prior to publication.

working with theUK Government to ensure that I am consulted on the appointment of at least onenon-executive director of the Statistics Board, which is the newnon-ministerial department created for by the act.

The act will bebrought into force from April 2008.

Civil servants producedanalysis on Scotland’s income per capita, with varying methodsof accounting for North Sea output. The full analysis, including tablesof GDP per capita figures, was placed in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre on 2 November 2007.

On 28 October 2007, the First Minister referred to economic analysis producedby civil servants. The following statement was made by a Scottish Government spokespersonon 29 October 2007 in relation to the information referred toby the First Minister:

“The Permanent Secretaryis completely satisfied that the information was not provided specifically for useat the SNP party conference. Therefore, there was no misuse of civil service resourcesfor purely party political purposes. The figures are as quoted, and a full analysiswill be published in due course.”

Analysis on Scotland’s income per capita, with varying methods of accountingfor North Sea output, was placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre on 2 November 2007.

The analysis onScotland’s income per capita, with varying methods of accounting for North Seaoutput, which was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre on 2November 2007, is part of on-going analytical work measuring the economic valueof North Sea output both in terms of its direct contribution to the economy andalso its fiscal contribution in terms of tax revenues.

Civil servants producedanalysis on Scotland’s income per capita, with varying methodsof accounting for North Sea output. The full analysis, including tablesof GDP per capita figures, was placed in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre on 2 November 2007.

Analysis on Scotland’s income per capita, with varying methods of accountingfor North Sea output, was placed in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre on 2 November 2007.