Chamber and committees

Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Children and Young People Aged four to 18 years in Great Britain (Gregory et al, 2000), showed that the reported mean daily intake of total fat was 74.1grams for boys and 63.1grams for girls. Boys derived a mean of 35.4% of their food energy from fat and girls 35.9%. Although the sampling frame for this survey included participants from Scotland to ensure that data was representative of Great Britain, the numbers are too small for the survey to be truly representative of children and young people in Scotland.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:

Working in close partnership with its key stakeholders, including local authorities, RSLs and other agencies, Communities Scotland bases its investment decisions on a combination of assessments in respect of the need for new housing supply, replacing poor quality housing stock and making provision for housing for particular needs.  There is no single measure which encompasses the demand from these separate pressures.

The following table sets out the total number of housing approvals issued by Communities Scotland since 2001-02 until 2003-04, although it should be noted that Communities Scotland came into being in November 2001.

	Approvals 2001-02 to 2003-04
Aberdeen City	457
Aberdeenshire	723
Angus	299
Argyll and Bute	238
Clackmannanshire	105
Dumfries and Galloway	348
Dundee City	759
East Ayrshire	76
East Dunbartonshire	27
East Lothian	197
East Renfrewshire	79
City Of Edinburgh	1,112
Falkirk	82
Fife	698
Glasgow City	4,600
Highland	696
Inverclyde	447
Midlothian	60
Moray	106
North Ayrshire	276
North Lanarkshire	941
Orkney Islands	195
Perth and Kinross	482
Renfrewshire	898
Scottish Borders	198
Shetland Islands	85
South Ayrshire	235
South Lanarkshire	956
Stirling	208
West Dunbartonshire	442
West Lothian	260
Western Isles	102
Scotland	16,387

The following table presents the number and proportions of persons living in low income in Scotland in each of the last five years. Estimates are available at Scotland level only, not by local authority area.

Proportion and Number of Individuals in Low Income Households, below 60% of GB Median Income, Scotland Thousands

Year	Absolute	Relative
Before Housing Costs	After Housing Costs	Before Housing Costs	After Housing Costs
%	Numbers	%	Numbers	%	Numbers	%	Numbers
1998-99	17	870	21	1,070	19	940	23	1,150
1999-2000	15	770	19	950	18	920	22	1,110
2000-01	15	740	18	880	19	960	24	1,190
2001-02	11	540	13	650	18	890	21	1,070
2002-03	12	580	14	690	19	960	22	1,100

The key low-income results, above, are for 60% of both the relative and absolute median thresholds. Estimates on the full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculated are published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 – 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).

The relative low income measure compares against the median in the same year. The absolute measure compares against the median in the baseline year of 1996-97. Both areas are uprated to remove the effects of inflation.

The figures are estimates based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to sampling variation. As such, small percentage changes are not significant when considered on a year-on-year basis; identification of trends should be based on several years of data.

Information on the prevalence of adult information in Scotland by NHS board for the last five years is not centrally available. The latest source of this information is from the 1998 Scottish Health Survey and is shown in the following table.

Percentage and Number of Persons Aged 16-64 Years who are Obese

Health Board	% who are Obese, 1998	Estimated Population who are Obese, 1998	Percentage Difference 1998 to 19951
Scotland	19.8	653,277	17.8
Argyll and Clyde	22.8	62,452	42.1
Ayrshire and Arran	21.7	51,252	30.1
Borders	17.7	11,642	-5.5
Dumfries and Galloway	19.5	17,979	22.0
Fife	20.2	44,756	24.4
Forth Valley	17.5	31,547	3.0
Grampian	18.6	64,690	6.6
Greater Glasgow	18.6	104,856	18.4
Highland and Islands	21.1	37,292	9.6
Lanarkshire	22.3	81,025	10.7
Lothian	19.0	97,044	35.2
Tayside	19.4	48,466	7.7

Note: 1. The percentage difference was determined by calculating the change in the percentage obese between 1995 and 1998.

The minimum amount of physical activity required for health in children is one hour a day of moderate activity on five or more days a week. In Scotland, 73% of boys and 60% of girls meet this minimum requirement.

Statistics on the number of people employed in agriculture in each of the last five years are published in the Abstract of Scottish Agricultural Statistics 1982 to 2003. This report is available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00317-00.asp.

The minimum amount of physical activity required for health is 30 minutes a day of moderate activity on five or more days a week. In Scotland, 41% of men and 28% of women meet this minimum requirement.

Information for all NHS boards in Scotland is currently not available.

The world’s first commercial wave energy project - in Islay - received support under the Scottish Renewables Obligation. More recently, the Executive has contributed over £2 million towards the establishment of the wave test facility at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Discussions with our funding partners to extend the Centre to accommodate tidal projects are at an advanced stage.

The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS), which I chair, recently published a report identifying the way ahead for marine energy in Scotland. Three members of the sub-group which produced this report have since been among the partners which have formed the consortium based UK Centre for Marine Renewable Energy, which will drive forward some of the key tasks identifiedby the report.

Following the FREDS marine energy report, the DTI announced a £50 million UK fund for marine renewables. We will work closely with DTI colleagues on the details of this scheme. We will also consider how best the Executive can support marine developments from within our own renewables programme budget.

A key aim of A Science Strategy for Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive in August 2001, is to ensure that enough people study science to a standard which will enable the future needs of the country to be met. However, the Executive does not have a policy in connection with the numbers of people taking particular degrees except in a few well-defined areas. My answer to question S2W-8365 answered on 7 June 2004 is also relevant. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.