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-14903

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminal justice cases have been delayed or dropped due to the names of accused persons being (a) incorrectly and (b) incompletely recorded in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S2W-14389

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the context of its responsibility for social inclusion, it will respond to the Ofcom consultation on the analogue television switch-off which may commence in parts of Scotland in 2008.

Broadcasting is a reserved matter. However, Scottish ministers have made clear to the UK Government the importance the Scottish Executive attaches to social inclusion. Scottish ministers' position is that, when digital switchover is complete in Scotland, television services should be available to as great a number of people as possible without any unnecessary financial burden.

We shall remind Ofcom of our position in responding to its consultation on Digital Switchover.

Question reference: S2W-14753

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of NHS staff was (a) medical, (b) nursing, (c) technical, (d) managerial administrative, (e) clerical administrative and (f) auxiliary and support in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Detailed information on staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

In particular, tables A1 and A2 in Section A show whole-time equivalent (WTE) and headcount staff figures by NHS board for the last 10 years. WTE adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2004.

Question reference: S2W-14750

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13662 by Mr Jim Wallace on 15 February 2005, how many people were registered as self-employed in each year since 1997.

Table 1 shows the number of people who were self employed in the spring quarter of each year from 1997 to 2004. The spring quarter runs from March to May in each year. These figures are estimated from the Labour Force Survey which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

Table 1 Number of People who are Self-Employed, 1997-2004

	Self-Employed¹
Spring 1997	239,000
Spring 1998	238,000
Spring 1999	224,000
Spring 2000	217,000
Spring 2001	230,000
Spring 2002	230,000
Spring 2003	242,000
Spring 2004	244,000

Source: Labour Force Survey, Spring quarters, not seasonally adjusted.

Note: 1. Data is for those aged 16+.

Question reference: S2W-14685

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to my letter of 18 January 2005 regarding the A90 trunk road south of Fraserburgh.

Question reference: S2W-13254

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many operational passenger railway stations there are at present in Scotland and how many it expects there to be in 2014-15.

There are currently 340 operational passenger railway stations in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive does not at present hold comprehensive information on all proposals for new stations as these are often developed and promoted, in the first instance, by the relevant local authority or regional transport partnership. The following stations are, however, being considered for re-opening as part of major projects.

Project	Stations Under Consideration for Re-opening
Airdrie - Bathgate	Plains, Caldercruix, Armadale, Blackridge
Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine	Alloa
Larkhall – Milngavie	Larkhall
Borders	Galashiels, Eskbank, Gorebridge, Newtongrange
Larkhall – Milngavie	Dawsholm (to be re-named Kelvindale), Chatelherault, Merryton
Edinburgh Airport Rail Link	Edinburgh Airport
Glasgow Airport Rail Link	Glasgow Airport
Borders	Tweedbank

The Scottish Executive is also supporting the feasibility studies into the Aberdeen Crossrail and Glasgow Crossrail proposals which will include the creation of new stations, as well as proposals for new stations at Laurencekirk, Reston and East Linton.

Question reference: S2W-14202

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents took place in bus lanes in each year since 1999.

Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the Stats 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured; they do not cover "damage only" accidents.

The following tables show the number of accidents where one or more of the vehicles involved were reported, in the statistical returns, as being in either a “bus lane” or a “busway”. A "bus lane" is defined as a lane marked off within the main carriageway for use by buses (and, possibly, certain other types of vehicle, such as taxis and pedal cycles). A busway is a section of the road segregated from the main carriageway for use by buses (and, possibly, other permitted vehicles).

However, the statistical returns do not identify whether the initial collision took place in the bus lane or the busway. In a very small number of cases, some accidents are counted in both tables. This is because these accidents involved both (a) at least one vehicle reported as being in a bus lane and (ii) at least one vehicle reported as being in a busway.

Number of Accidents Involving at Least One Vehicle Whose Location was Reported as Being in a “Bus Lane” at the Time of that Accident

Year
1999	61
2000	24
2001	76
2002	94
2003	105

Number of Accidents Involving at Least One Vehicle Whose Location was Reported as Being in a “Busway” at the Time of that Accident

Year
1999	25
2000	28
2001	44
2002	38
2003	32

Question reference: S2W-14203

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13372 by Tavish Scott on 26 January 2005, what the suicide rate was in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04, broken down by local authority area.

The table presents the latest available information. It combines deaths from intentional self-harm with deaths from events of undetermined intent, as the majority of the latter are likely to have been suicides.

Deaths from Intentional Self-Harm and Events of Undetermined Intent by Council Area¹, 1999–2003, Rates² Per 100,000 Population

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Scotland	17	17	18	18	16
Aberdeen City	19	18	12	18	17
Aberdeenshire	14	13	16	14	11
Angus	21	10	6	11	15
Argyll and Bute	17	14	16	16	19
Clackmannanshire	15	8	25	19	17
Dumfries and Galloway	24	18	13	19	14
Dundee City	20	24	22	18	18
East Ayrshire	26	13	30	22	14
East Dunbartonshire	9	11	11	14	12
East Lothian	12	9	11	11	13
East Renfrewshire	7	9	10	6	7
Edinburgh, City of	14	18	20	17	11
Eilean Siar	18	34	30	4	23
Falkirk	22	12	15	17	12
Fife	12	16	14	19	11
Glasgow City	23	28	24	21	20
Highland	22	26	24	21	20
Inverclyde	22	15	18	28	19
Midlothian	15	12	17	20	19
Moray	21	18	20	17	22
North Ayrshire	18	17	21	14	14
North Lanarkshire	12	16	17	17	19
Orkney Islands	15	21	5	16	31
Perth and Kinross	11	17	22	12	23
Renfrewshire	20	16	11	21	16
Scottish Borders	18	16	15	20	18
Shetland Islands	9	23	18	27	32
South Ayrshire	17	16	21	16	7
South Lanarkshire	17	13	14	19	11
Stirling	15	8	17	15	13
West Dunbartonshire	15	26	17	25	28
West Lothian	17	16	13	16	16

Notes:

1. Deaths are allocated to the area of usual residence if in Scotland and to the area of occurrence if the usual residence is outwith Scotland.

2. Rates based on fewer than 20 deaths are shown in italics.

Question reference: S2W-13993

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 3 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the listed buildings within its care would be likely to be served with listed buildings repairs notices if they were privately owned.

Information on the condition of the historic government estate in Scotland is contained in the Biennial Conservation Report: the Government’s Historic Estate 2001-03, published in 2004. A copy has been placed in the Parliaments Reference Cenre. The Scottish Executive takes seriously its obligation to keep all its buildings in good repair. Serving repairs notices, however, is a matter for planning authorities.

Question reference: S2W-13992

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 3 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many listed buildings there are within its care, broken down by local authority area and Executive department.

The Biennial Conservation Report: the Government’s Historic Estate 2001-03, published last year, reported the following figures:

Department	Cat A	Cat B	Cat C(S)	Scheduled Monument	Total
Scottish Courts Service	10	33	2	0	45
Forest Enterprise Scotland	1	12	6	1	20
Scottish Prison Service	6	9	1	0	16
The Scottish Executive	2	1	0	0	3
National Archives of Scotland	2	0	0	0	2
General Register Office for Scotland	1	0	0	0	1
Historic Scotland	0	1	0	0	1
Scottish Agricultural Science Agency	0	0	1	0	1
Total	22	56	10	1	89

Note: *These figures are for protected individual buildings. Information on other structures, field monuments and buried remains is not held centrally.

In addition, there are some 330 monuments in the care of Scottish ministers and managed by Historic Scotland.