- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 9 February 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04 whether it can confirm that expenditure in England on the operation of the prison system, the Court Service Agency, judicial salaries for England, the Valuation Office Agency, and non-domestic rate collection for England fall within the non-identifiable category of expenditure in GERS, while expenditure on the corresponding functions in Scotland fall within the identifiable category.
Answer
I can confirm this is the case.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 9 February 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the publication of Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04 (GERS), why a proportion of the expenditure in the non-identifiable category on functions in England, or England and Wales, where expenditure on the corresponding functions in Scotland is identifiable, was allocated to Scotland when calculating the estimates of Scottish expenditure referred to GERS.
Answer
I refer to my answer to question S2W-22344, answered on 9 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 3 February 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22213 by Tavish Scott on 23 January 2006, which “regulatory standards” are referred to in the answer.
Answer
A comprehensive set of “regulatory standards” control the operation of ferry services in the UK. These international and domestic regulations cover matters such as safety, the classification and maintenance of vessels, security and impact on the environment. All companies providing ferry services in UK waters are bound to comply with all relevant regulatory standards.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 2 February 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish revised Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland (GERS) figures to take account of any mistaken allocation to Scotland of a proportion of the expenditure in the non-identifiable category on functions in England, or England and Wales, where expenditure on the corresponding functions in Scotland is identifiable.
Answer
Treasury is consulting with UK departments and the devolved administrations to discuss methods for further breaking down non-identifiable expenditure, where this expenditure is not for the benefit of all UK residents. Greater precision in these source data will also lead to improvements in future estimates of expenditure in Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 2 February 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the justification is for the level of borrowing, proposed in the Water Industry Commission¿s determination of charges to 2010, being described as ¿prudent¿.
Answer
The Executive asked the Water Industry Commission, Scottish Water’s independent economic regulator, to determine the amount that Scottish Water should be able to borrow in 2006-10.
In doing so, we required the commission to achieve the prudent outcome of ensuring that the amount determined should be consistent with a gradual and steady improvement in the long-term financial sustainability of Scottish Water.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 31 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the approach in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04 (GERS) of allocating to Scotland a proportion of the expenditure in the non-identifiable category on functions in England, or England and Wales, where expenditure on the corresponding functions in Scotland is identifiable, is consistent with the new status of GERS as a National Statistics publication.
Answer
Yes, it is consistent with this new status. Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland has National Statistics status because it is produced and published under the scope of the principles of the National Statistics Code of Practice. The code seeks to ensure that National Statistics will be valued for their relevance, integrity, quality and accessibility. HM Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses is the best available source of regional expenditure data and is itself a National Statistics publication.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) target and (b) average period of time is to process an application for a visa under the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland scheme and what the longest period of time taken to do so has been, expressed in weeks.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to the administration of the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme. The Scottish Executive does not consider applications for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, although it can provide advice on the requirements. All applications are made to, and considered by, either UKvisas (for those applying from abroad) or the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (for those applying within Scotland). Processing times are a matter for them.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the statement in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04 (GERS) that unidentifiable expenditure outside the United Kingdom was allocated to Scotland on the same basis as non-identifiable expenditure, in line with the principle that “expenditure outside the UK is non-identifiable from the perspective of the UK’s constituent countries, as the benefits are shared between them”, how much of the expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2003-04 was classified in HM Treasury’s public expenditure database as being outside the UK and, of this, what proportion the Executive allocated to Scotland in GERS; how much of the expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 2003-04 was identifiable within the UK and, of this, what proportion was identifiable to Scotland, and whether the Executive considers the differences in proportions allocated to Scotland to be justifiable.
Answer
Expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link in 2003-04 that is included in
Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses in identifiable expenditure outside the UK amounted to £166 million (43 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link, corresponding to the share of foreign passengers using the service) and the estimate of the Scottish share of this is calculated using its population share.
£224 million (57 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link) was identified within the UK and of this £1.2 million (0.3 per cent of all expenditure on the Channel Tunnel Rail link) was allocated to Scotland, based on information of passenger origin.
This methodology is used because expenditure outside the UK cannot be identified to any specific UK region and the estimated Scottish share of identifiable expenditure outside the UK is based on the assumption that the Scottish population benefits from the enhanced travel opportunities from outside the UK.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will liaise with HM Treasury to correct the figures for Enterprise and Employment, published in December 2005 in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland 2003-04, given that in private correspondence, dated 23 August 2005, the Treasury indicated that there was a mistake in the classification of expenditure by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise between the “Employment” and “Enterprise and Economic Development” categories in the Treasury’s public expenditure database and, if so, when it will publish corrected figures.
Answer
The Executive is working to establish the best functional classification for expenditure by the Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Any change in the classification will be reflected in Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses and therefore in Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of AxSys Technologies having been named as the successful bidder in NHS Scotland’s national generic clinical system procurement process, what guarantee the Executive has that this decision will fulfil the function and provide the performance and long-term service resilience required by NHS Scotland from the outset and for the foreseeable future.
Answer
As with the procurement of any system, it is only possible to predict future success by thorough evaluation, feedback from existing users of the supplier and product and from past experience. The Executive has no reason to believe that the GCS toolset will not fulfil the requirement for NHSScotland. However, it should be noted that the toolset is delivering a capability to develop systems, and not the clinical systems themselves, and the ability of NHSScotland to make effective use of the toolset will be a major factor in its success.
