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-13239

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tertiary level students received financial support from public funds in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Higher Education (HE)

Data on student support in higher education is collected by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). The following table shows the number of HE students who received financial support (either tuition fee, loan or grant support) from public funds for the period 1999-2000 to 2003-04:

Academic Year	Students Receiving Support
1999-2000	105,529
2000-01	115,878
2001-02	119,866
2002-03	121,081
2003-04	121,855

Further Education (FE)

Data on students in Further Education is collected and held by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC). The following table shows the number of FE students who received financial support from public funds for the period 1998-99 to 2002-03, the latest year for which data is available:

Academic Year	Students Receiving a Bursary
1998-99	28,049
1999-2000	32,562
2000-01	31,587
2001-02	34,846
2002-03	35,959

A number of students receive no bursary, but do receive financial support through the Further Education Hardship Fund, Young Students Retention Fund or Childcare Fund. Data on this group is not held centrally.

Question reference: S2W-13661

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of manufacturing output was in each quarter since January 2003.

The table details the Gross Value Added (GVA) index for the manufacturing sector. For more detailed information and further explanation of the figures, refer to the GDP website:

www.scotland.gov.uk/gdp.

GVA in the Scottish Manufacturing Sector: 2003 Q1 – 2004 Q3

Quarter	Index (2001=100)	% Growth on Previous Quarter
2003 Q1	90.9	0.2%
2003 Q2	90.2	-0.7%
2003 Q3	89.7	-0.6%
2003 Q4	90.9	1.3%
2004 Q1	91.1	0.2%
2004 Q2	90.9	-0.2%
2004 Q3	89.9	-1.1%

Question reference: S2W-13658

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many manufacturing jobs were lost in (a) Scotland, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Dundee, (e) Glasgow and (f) Stirling in each quarter since January 2000.

Statistics on the total number of jobs lost are not held centrally.

However, data is available on the change in the level of manufacturing jobs.

Table 1 – Quarterly change in the level of manufacturing jobs.

	Scotland
Jun 04 - Sep 04	-2,070
Mar 04 - Jun 04	690
Dec 03 - Mar 04	-4,670
Sep 03 - Dec 03	-3,210
Jun 03 - Sep 03	-4,910
Mar 03 - Jun 03	-5,300
Dec 02 - Mar 03	-6,430
Sep 02 - Dec 02	-6,750
Jun 02 - Sep 02	-3,830
Mar 02 - Jun 02	-2,820
Dec 01 - Mar 02	-8,210
Sep 01 - Dec 01	-6,700
Jun 01 - Sep 01	-3,580
Mar 01 - Jun 01	-1,480
Dec 00 - Mar 01	-5,300
Sep 00 - Dec 00	-1,790
Jun 00 - Sep 00	-1,550
Mar 00 - Jun 00	-3,520

Source: Quarterly Employee Jobs.

This information is not available quarterly for geographies below Scotland level. However, annual data is available from Annual Business Inquiry, which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Table 2: Annual Change in level of manufacturing jobs

	1999-2000	2000-01	2002-01	2002-03
Scotland	-12,980	-17,020	-21,640	-19,860
Aberdeen	-610	440	-730	-2,910
Edinburgh	-2,140	-2,640	-880	-2,300
Dundee	-260	30	-1900	680
Glasgow	-1,110	300	-2,710	-1,900
Stirling	-430	-80	-660	-160

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Question reference: S2W-13660

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many manufacturing jobs have been created through inward investment in (a) Scotland, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Dundee, (e) Glasgow, (f) Inverness and (g) Stirling in each year since 2003.

Statistics on the number of jobs created through inward investment are not held centrally. However, data is available on the change in the level of manufacturing jobs.

Table 1: Annual change in level of manufacturing jobs

	2002-03
Scotland	-19,860
Aberdeen	-2,910
Edinburgh	-2,300
Dundee	680
Glasgow	-1,900
Highland	-1,080
Stirling	-160

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

The most recent year information is available is for 2003 and data is not available for Inverness but is available for Highland Council area.

Question reference: S2W-13657

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 1 February 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of manufacturing employment was in (a) Scotland, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Dundee, (e) Glasgow and (f) Stirling in each quarter since January 2001.

Table 1 contains data on the level of manufacturing employment in Scotland, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, and Stirling in each quarter since January 2001.

Data contained within the table are estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics. The LFS measures all those in employment including employees, family workers and self employed people. The LFS is a household survey, so the estimates reflect where people live rather than where they work.

Table 1: Level of Manufacturing Employment, by Specified Local Authority, for each Quarter since January 2001.

		Scotland	Aberdeen	Dundee	Edinburgh	Glasgow	Stirling
2001	Spring	338,000	10,000	10,000	21,000	23,000	5,000
	Summer	336,000	12,000	13,000	23,000	25,000	5,000
	Autumn	330,000	13,000	12,000	21,000	27,000	7,000
	Winter	327,000	10,000	11,000	21,000	26,000	5,000
2002	Spring	310,000	11,000	11,000	17,000	26,000	3,000
	Summer	322,000	11,000	12,000	19,000	28,000	6,000
	Autumn	329,000	9,000	11,000	17,000	26,000	7,000
	Winter	306,000	9,000	11,000	16,000	22,000	4,000
2003	Spring	295,000	6,000	11,000	15,000	18,000	4,000
	Summer	295,000	7,000	10,000	15,000	17,000	3,000
	Autumn	307,000	6,000	11,000	17,000	22,000	4,000
	Winter	286,000	7,000	10,000	17,000	18,000	4,000
2004	Spring	282,000	10,000	9,000	17,000	16,000	3,000
2004	Summer	284,000	11,000	10,000	17,000	16,000	3,000

Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS), not seasonally adjusted.

Estimates below 10,000 (marked in italics) are considered statistically unreliable due to small sample sizes.

Question reference: S2W-13242

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 31 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers it expects to be employed in 2014-15.

Question reference: S2W-13237

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what capacity there will be for sentences to contain an element of community reparation in 2005.

In 2005, courts throughout Scotland will continue to have access to a range of community based penalties which contain an element of community reparation. These include both Community Service Orders and Probation Orders - where the court has imposed an additional condition of unpaid work in the community. Supervised Attendance Orders, which are a penalty for fine default, can also include a requirement to carry out unpaid work within the community.

In addition, from spring of this year both District and Sheriff Courts in the Dundee, Inverness and Greenock areas will have access to a new Community Reparation Order, provided for within the Anti-Social Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, as part of a two year Scottish Executive funded pilot scheme.

Question reference: S2W-13238

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that sentences containing an element of community reparation will be given in 2005.

The role of the Executive is to ensure that courts have access to a sufficient range of appropriately resourced sentencing options. Sentencing decisions are for the courts. There is a continuing increase in the use by courts of community based penalties, including Community Service Orders, which provide for reparation to be made to communities through a specified period of unpaid work. The 1% increase in the number of Community Service Orders in 2003-04 followed a 13% increase the previous year. Similarly there was a 10% increase in 2003-04 in the number of Supervised Attendance Orders, which contain an element of community reparation, imposed by courts in dealing with fine defaulters.

A new development for 2005-06 is commencement of two year Executive funded pilots of Community Reparation Orders to deal with anti-social behaviour. Both District and Sheriff Courts within the pilot areas of Dundee, Inverness and Greenock will have access to this new sentence. As a statutory duty local authorities require to carry out consultation of appropriate groups within their areas on the nature of placements to be carried out by those subject to a Community Reparation Order.

Question reference: S2W-13231

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents, broken down by category, it estimates have been avoided by the installation of speed cameras in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Statistics on the effectiveness of safety cameras in reducing casualties are reported in the independent Three-year Evaluation of the UK Safety Camera Programme. These relate only to safety camera partnerships that have been operational within the Programme for a full year to March 2003. It shows that the UK Safety Camera Programme had achieved the following at camera sites:

Category	Reduction (Absolute Numbers)	Reduction (Percentage)
All killed and seriously injured casualties (KSIs)	870	39.9%
All Personal Injury Collisions (PICs)	4,030	32.6%
Pedestrian KSIs	131	35%
Pedestrian PICs	329	23%

Note: Figures are for April 2000 – March 2003 and for 24 UK safety camera partnerships that had been operating for at least one year.

Question reference: S2W-13229

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 31 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many speed cameras were installed on (a) trunk roads, (b) urban roads other than trunk roads and (c) other roads in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Information is available for speed camera sites that have joined the Safety Camera Programme since it was first piloted from 2000-02. The increase in camera sites over this period therefore are a combination of new sites established by safety camera partnerships and sites that were operated by the police prior to the programme but accepted into the scheme.

Number of New and Existing Cameras Accepted into the Programme Year on Year*

Year	Programme Expansion	Trunk Roads		Non-trunk Roads
Year	Programme Expansion	Fixed Sites	Mobile Sites	Fixed Sites	Mobile Sites
2000-02	Pilot project involving Strathclyde – area covered by Glasgow City Council only	0	0	39	0
2002-03	Strathclyde expands to cover 4 local authorities Fife joins Programme April 2002 North East Partnership joins October 2002	22	23	20	74
2003-04	Strathclyde Partnership expands to cover 12 local authorities Dumfries & Galloway joins July 2003 Lothian & Borders joins July 2003 Tayside joins July 2003	44	59	50	95
2004-05	Northern Partnership joins July 2004 Lothian & Borders expands to include West Lothian Council area July 2004	2	50	4	53

Note: *As partnerships and the programme expands additional geographic areas will be included where camera sites were already operated by the police in conjunction with the roads authorities. In addition new sites will be established at sites where new casualty problems are emerging. Figures given are for all cameras sites accepted into the programme – new and pre-existing. These figures are based on information supplied by safety camera partnerships. Central Scotland is not currently part of the programme and therefore no figures are included for this area.