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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

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Question reference: S2W-12490

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the 600,000 people of working age who are currently inactive referred to in A Smart Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, how many people are economically inactive in each local authority area, broken down by (a) gender and (b) age band.

The number of working age people economically inactive can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey. These estimates broken down by gender and age for all local authority areas in Scotland are reported in Tables 1 and 2 as follows:

Table 1: Economically Inactive Working Age¹ People by Gender, Scotland

Local Authority Area	Economically Inactive
Male	Female	All
Scotland	286,000	402,000	688,000
Aberdeen City	10,000	17,000	27,000
Aberdeenshire	7,000	17,000	24,000
Angus	5,000	8,000	14,000
Argyll and Bute	4,000	6,000	10,000
Clackmannanshire	3,000	4,000	7,000
Dumfries and Galloway	7,000	9,000	16,000
Dundee City	9,000	12,000	21,000
East Ayrshire	6,000	11,000	17,000
East Dunbartonshire	5,000	7,000	12,000
East Lothian	5,000	6,000	12,000
East Renfrewshire	4,000	6,000	10,000
Edinburgh, City of	25,000	35,000	60,000
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	1,000	1,000	2,000
Falkirk	7,000	12,000	19,000
Fife	19,000	25,000	44,000
Glasgow City	47,000	64,000	111,000
Highland	8,000	11,000	19,000
Inverclyde	7,000	7,000	14,000
Midlothian	4,000	6,000	10,000
Moray	4,000	5,000	9,000
North Ayrshire	9,000	13,000	22,000
North Lanarkshire	21,000	33,000	53,000
Orkney Islands	1,000	1,000	2,000
Perth and Kinross	6,000	9,000	16,000
Renfrewshire	10,000	13,000	23,000
Scottish Borders	4,000	7,000	11,000
Shetland Islands	1,000	1,000	2,000
South Ayrshire	6,000	8,000	14,000
South Lanarkshire	17,000	24,000	41,000
Stirling	4,000	7,000	11,000
West Dunbartonshire	6,000	8,000	14,000
West Lothian	10,000	12,000	21,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

Table 2: Economically Inactive Working Age¹ People by Age, Scotland

Local Authority Area
16-19	20-24	25-34	35-49	50 - Retirement Age	All
Scotland	93,000	72,000	108,000	175,000	241,000	688,000
Aberdeen City	3,000	4,000	4,000	9,000	7,000	27,000
Aberdeenshire	*	*	6,000	7,000	6,000	24,000
Angus	2,000	1,000	2,000	4,000	5,000	14,000
Argyll and Bute	2,000	1,000	2,000	2,000	4,000	10,000
Clackmannanshire	1,000	1,000	1,000	2,000	3,000	7,000
Dumfries and Galloway	2,000	*	*	4,000	8,000	16,000
Dundee City	3,000	3,000	2,000	6,000	7,000	21,000
East Ayrshire	2,000	1,000	2,000	4,000	7,000	17,000
East Dunbartonshire	3,000	1,000	2,000	2,000	5,000	12,000
East Lothian	*	*	2,000	3,000	5,000	12,000
East Renfrewshire	2,000	1,000	1,000	2,000	3,000	10,000
Edinburgh, City of	9,000	10,000	11,000	15,000	16,000	60,000
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	*	*	*	*	1,000	2,000
Falkirk	*	*	3,000	5,000	9,000	19,000
Fife	6,000	5,000	5,000	11,000	17,000	44,000
Glasgow City	13,000	15,000	22,000	31,000	30,000	111,000
Highland	*	*	3,000	3,000	9,000	19,000
Inverclyde	2,000	1,000	2,000	3,000	5,000	14,000
Midlothian	2,000	1,000	1,000	2,000	4,000	10,000
Moray	1,000	1,000	2,000	2,000	3,000	9,000
North Ayrshire	3,000	2,000	3,000	6,000	9,000	22,000
North Lanarkshire	7,000	4,000	8,000	14,000	21,000	53,000
Orkney Islands	*	*	*	*	1,000	2,000
Perth and Kinross	*	*	2,000	4,000	6,000	16,000
Renfrewshire	3,000	2,000	4,000	6,000	9,000	23,000
Scottish Borders	*	*	1,000	4,000	4,000	11,000
Shetland Islands	*	*	*	*	*	2,000
South Ayrshire	2,000	1,000	2,000	3,000	6,000	14,000
South Lanarkshire	5,000	3,000	7,000	10,000	16,000	41,000
Stirling	2,000	2,000	1,000	2,000	4,000	11,000
West Dunbartonshire	2,000	1,000	2,000	3,000	5,000	14,000
West Lothian	*	*	4,000	5,000	7,000	21,000

Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey 2003-04.

Notes:

1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive

*Estimate is below reliability threshold as defined by the Office National Statistical.

Question reference: S2W-12486

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to page 19 of A Smart, Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, what barriers to entering the labour market have been identified for the most vulnerable in society.

Research for the Scottish Executive on 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) (Linda Croxford and David Raffe, Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh, 2000) identified young people who have been disaffected, played truant or achieved low qualifications in compulsory schooling as being at much greater risk of becoming NEET. In addition, the research suggests that other categories of young people, such as those in trouble with the law, those with disabilities, young people leaving care, those with caring responsibilities may have particular needs. Barriers identified in the evaluation of New Futures Fund Phase 1 include: lack of qualifications, substancemisuse, a criminal record, and mental health problems.

Question reference: S2W-12489

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to page 21 of A Smart Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, what sources were used to conclude that “over 600,000 people of working age are currently inactive in Scotland.”

Question reference: S2W-12487

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to A Smart, Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, what the levels of investment in training by businesses have been in each of the last five years compared to the rest of the United Kingdom.

The level of spending on training is not collected. However, the proportion of people in employment undertaking training can be estimated from the Labour Force Survey. These estimates are reported in Table 1.

Table 1: Proportion of Working Age¹ People in Employment Receiving Job-Related Training in the Last Three Months, Scotland and the Rest of the UK

Year	Scotland	Rest of UK
2000	26.3	27.5
2001	27.0	28.6
2002	28.0	28.6
2003	27.5	28.0
2004	28.0	28.0

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarter 1999 to 2004.

Note: 1. Working age is defined as women aged 16 to 59 and men aged 16 to 64 years inclusive.

Question reference: S2W-12483

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to page 16 of A Smart, Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, what criteria are used to determine which businesses have high growth potential.

Question reference: S2W-12488

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 7 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to page 21 of A Smart, Successful Scotland – Strategic direction to the Enterprise Networks and an enterprise strategy for Scotland, what the objectives will be of the employability framework.

There is a large number of organisations involved in delivering employability support in Scotland. The objective of the Employability Framework will be to set out how these organisations will work together both at a national and local level, to provide appropriate interventions to enable individuals, including those most excluded from the labour market, to access training for work, to get into employment and to continue to develop their skills once in work.

Question reference: S2W-12354

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 6 December 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will produce Scottish population projections to 2073 and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The choice of projection period reflects user demand and the increasing uncertainty of projections as the period is extended, particularly for smaller populations. However, the Government Actuary’s Department and the General Register Office for Scotland will be consulting next summer about the content of the next set of population projections. The period of the projections will be part of that consultation, because of the increasing interest in long-term issues such as pensions and health care.

Question reference: S2W-11876

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage the Scottish population was of the UK population in each of the last 20 years.

The required information is shown in the following table:

Year	Scottish Population as % of UK Population
1984	9.11
1985	9.07
1986	9.02
1987	8.98
1988	8.92
1989	8.90
1990	8.88
1991	8.85
1992	8.83
1993	8.82
1994	8.82
1995	8.80
1996	8.75
1997	8.72
1998	8.68
1999	8.64
2000	8.60
2001	8.57
2002	8.52
2003	8.49

Question reference: S2W-11838

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will produce gross national product data for Scotland.

A feasibility study was carried out into the possibility of producing an estimate of gross national product for Scotland (also referred to as gross national income) in 2002. The final report, which recommended that the development of this estimate should not be pursued, is available on the Scottish Executive website via the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/scotstats/committees/economy/meetings/sescg912003.pdf.

Question reference: S2W-11824

Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 10 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how the new practice of re-indexing GDP performance at the year 2001 facilitates and improves the long-term comparison of Scottish economic performance with other countries and other parts of the United Kingdom.

Re-indexing GDP performance to the year 2001 is an integral part of the chain-linking methodology whereby industry weights are updated on an annual basis.

Chain-linking methodology is recommended by Eurostat as the preferred methodology for calculation of GDP volume indices and, on this basis, it is used by Scotland and the UK. Re-weighting the index each year improves the accuracyof the GDP estimates for both Scotland and the UK, and therefore improves the comparability between the two series.

Comparisons with other parts of the UK are not possible as quarterly GDP is not produced for any other region of the UK.