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-30625

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 2 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform’s comments about structural differences between the Scottish and UK economies when discussing Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS) on BBC Newsnight Scotland on 14 December 2006, how it explains such structural differences.

Overall, the UK andScottish economies have similar, though not identical, structures. Alleconomies have a degree of variation in, for example, their industrialcomposition, their fiscal and legislative environment, the gender-mix in theirlabour market, the skills and entrepreneurial attitude of their people, theshare of part-time and full-time workers in their labour market, theproportions of their public and private sectors, their trading partners andtheir population densities. These variations are what gives an economy itsunique identity and are ultimately what leads to an economy having some form ofcomparative and competitive advantage.

Question reference: S2W-30571

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 2 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, using both claimant count and labour force survey information, which 10 areas of Scotland had the highest unemployment rates in 2003 and what the rate (a) was in 2003 and (b) is currently in each of those areas; which 10 areas of Scotland in the most recent survey have the highest unemployment rates, and what the rates are for each of these areas.

Table1 shows the 10 local authority areas of Scotland that had the highest unemployment rates in 2003 basedon the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for 2003. The table also provides the rates forthe year ending March 2006 (latest data available) taken from the Annual PopulationSurvey (APS) for 2006. The Annual Population Survey is an annualised version of the LFS.

Table 1 Unemployment Rates in2003 and the Year Ending March 2006 for the 10 Areas with the HighestUnemployment Rates in 2003

	Area	2003 Unemployment Rate - 16+	Year Ending March 2006 Unemployment Rate - 16+
1	North Lanarkshire	9.5	7.1
2	North Ayrshire	9.2	7.9
3	Dundee City	8.2	6.8
4	West Dunbartonshire	8.1	7.4
5	Glasgow City	8.0	8.7
6	Inverclyde	7.7	6.5
7	East Ayrshire	7.2	7.5
8	Clackmannanshire	6.4	6.6
9	South Lanarkshire	6.1	4.2
10	South Ayrshire	6.0	6.8

Source: 2003 Local Labour ForceSurvey, 2006 Annual Population Survey.

Notes:

1. Data for 2003 is based ona seasonal year (March to February). Data 2006 is based on a calendar year (April2005 to March 2006).

2. Proportions are calculatedon unrounded figures.

3. Unemployment rates are calculatedas the number of people unemployed divided by the total number of people who areeconomically active.

Table 2 shows the 10 localauthority areas of Scotland that had the highest unemployment rates for the yearending March 2006 using the Annual Population Survey (APS) (latest data available).

Table 2 Unemployment Rates forthe Year Ending March 2006 for the 10 Areas with the Highest Unemployment Rates

	Area	Year Ending March 2006 Unemployment Rate - 16+
1	Glasgow City	8.7
2	North Ayrshire	7.9
3	East Ayrshire	7.5
4	West Dunbartonshire	7.4
5	North Lanarkshire	7.1
6	Dundee City	6.8
7	South Ayrshire	6.8
8	Clackmannanshire	6.6
9	Inverclyde	6.5
10	Fife	5.9

Source: 2006 Annual PopulationSurvey.

Notes:

1. Data for 2006 is based ona year (April 2005 to March 2006)

2. Proportions are calculatedon unrounded figures.

3. Unemployment rates are calculatedas the number of people unemployed divided by the total number of people who areeconomically active.

Table 3 shows the 10 localauthority areas of Scotland that had the highest claimant count unemployment ratesin December 2003. The table also shows the claimant count unemployment rates foreach area in December 2006 (latest claimant count data available).

Table 3 Claimant CountUnemployment Rates in December 2003 and December 2006 for the 10 Areas with theHighest Claimant Count Unemployment Rates in 2003

	Area	Unemployment Rate 2003	Unemployment Rate 2006
1	Glasgow City	6.5%	5.9%
2	North Ayrshire	6.1%	5.2%
3	Inverclyde	5.9%	4.8%
4.	Dundee City	5.6%	5.0%
5	East Ayrshire	5.5%	4.7%
6	West Dunbartonshire	5.3%	5.0%
7	Eilean Siar	4.8%	3.9%
8	Fife	4.4%	3.8%
9	Clackmannanshire	4.3%	3.8%
10	South Ayrshire	4.3%	3.6%

Source: Office for National Statistics.

Note: 1. claimant count unemploymentrates are calculated as the number of people who are claiming unemployment relatedbenefits divided by the total number of people who are economically active.

Table 4 shows the 10 localauthority areas of Scotland that had the highest claimant count unemployment ratesin December 2006, which is the most recent claimant count data available.

Table 4 Claimant CountUnemployment Rates in December 2006 for the 10 Areas with the Highest ClaimantCount Unemployment Rates in December 2006

	Area	Unemployment rate December 2006
1	Glasgow City	5.9%
2	North Ayrshire	5.2%
3	West Dunbartonshire	5.0%
4	Dundee City	5.0%
5	Inverclyde	4.8%
6	East Ayrshire	4.7%
7	Eilean Siar	3.9%
8	Clackmannanshire	3.8%
9	Fife	3.8%
10	South Ayrshire	3.6%

Source: Office for National Statistics.

Note: 1. claimant count unemploymentrates are calculated as the number of people who are claiming unemployment relatedbenefits divided by the total number of people who are economically active

Question reference: S2W-30819

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 2 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or the UK Government will compensate Strathclyde Police for any additional policing costs incurred in relation to policing and security in and around Oban from 24 to 26 November 2006 and, if so, who will pay such compensation.

Strathclyde Police wasallocated in the region of £496 million, out of a total police budget of almost£1.1 billion, for 2006-07. In the last five years alone funding for StrathclydePolice has increased by £125.4 million and the number of police officers hasrisen by 472 with support staff rising by 895.

The Chief Constable ofStrathclyde Police is responsible for planning the use of the resources available to him to deliver the full range ofpolicing activities, including maintaining public order and security.

Question reference: S2W-31196

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has examined the likely consequences of lifting the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence and, if so, what the outcome of the examination was.

Question reference: S2W-31195

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence.

The establishment of Scottishmilk quota ring fences followed the introduction of EU-wide milk quotas regime in1984. The ring fence arrangements, which place restrictions on the movement of milkquota, were introduced to support dairy producers and processors in peripheral partsof the country. Restricting the movement of quota and, thus, production helps tounderpin dairying and cheese-making in remote areas.

Question reference: S2W-31194

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 1 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30843 by Ross Finnie on 18 January 2007 and in light of the amount of unused capacity in the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence, particularly in 2004-05, whether it will investigate the impact that the Southern Isles milk quota ring fence has on milk production, farm income and the viability of farming in that area, given that dairy farmers in this area cannot lease their quota, unlike farmers elsewhere in Scotland, and whether it will allow Southern Isles dairy farmers to lease spare quota capacity.

Question reference: S2O-11818

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2007
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 1 February 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the impact that Sir Gerry Robinson is reported to have had on NHS waiting times and given how NHS Tayside health professionals demonstrated in the Parliament last year their commitment to perpetual improvement, what steps the Executive is taking to empower all NHS professionals to achieve similar results by using comparable working principles and methods across the NHS.

I want all NHS boards in Scotland to demonstratecontinuous improvement in the services they provide. I have established a clearersystem of performance management and delivery which requires NHS boards to meetspecific key targets. I expect all NHS boards to plan and utilise all of their resourceseffectively with support from the Health Department and its Delivery Group.

One way in which we are supportingNHS boards is through the national programmes on primary care, unscheduled care,planned care, diagnostics, eyecare and the roll out of the Citistat approach toperformance management. Participation in these programmes is enabling and empoweringNHS boards to develop both capacity and capability for service improvement.

Question reference: S2W-30346

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include people remaining in Scotland under the Fresh Talent initiative among those eligible for employment within the Executive.

Question reference: S2W-30348

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the exclusion of people from employment in the civil service who are not from the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area or who are not Commonwealth citizens, British protected persons or citizens of British dependent territories complies with the Executive’s obligations under European human rights law, as well as under equal opportunities and discrimination legislation.

Question reference: S2W-30347

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 January 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis it excludes people from employment in the civil service who are not from the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area or who are not Commonwealth citizens, British protected persons or citizens of British dependent territories.