- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses were working in the NHS in (a) 1979, (b) 1990, (c) 1991, (d) 1997 and (e) 2006; how many nursing redundancies there were in the period (i) 1979 to 1990, (ii) 1991 to 1997 and (iii) 1997 to 2006, and what the total change was in the number of nurses working in the NHS in the period (1) 1979 to 1990, (2) 1991 to 1997 and (3) 1997 to 2006
Answer
Table 1 shows the number of nursingand midwifery staff in post for the years requested and table 2 shows the percentagechange for each time period. Figures for 2006 are not yet available.
Table 1
| | 1979 | 1990 | 1991 | 1997 | 2005* |
| All Nursing and Midwifery staff | 53,815 | 63,144 | 64,189 | 61,961 | 65,816 |
Table 2
| | 1979-90 | 1991-97 | 1997-2005 |
| All Nursing and Midwifery Staff | 17.3% | - 3.5% | 6.2% |
Note: *Latest statistics
Information on nursing redundancies is not held centrally and is held by individual NHS boards in Scotland.
Information on nurses in NHSScotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under WorkforceStatistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cottage hospitals have closed in each year since 1997.
Answer
The term “cottage hospital” isnot a recognised data definition and consequently this information is not availablein the form requested. However, information is available about community hospitals,under which heading “cottage hospitals” would be expected to fall. The number ofcommunity hospitals which have closed since 1997 is four.
| Name of Hospital | Date Closed |
| Eastbank Hospital – Largely services for the elderly: transferred in part to the Ninian Ward in the Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall, and in part to social services care. | 02-04-2000 |
| Daliburgh Hospital – Replaced by the Uists and Barra Hospital, Balivanich | 09-03-2001 |
| Lochmaddy Hospital – Replaced by the Uists and Barra Hospital, Balivanich | 09-03-2001 |
| Kincardine O’Neil War Memorial Hospital – Services provided from Aboyne and Glen O’Dee Hospitals at Banchory | 01-05-2003 |
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 8 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the outstanding value of legal aid debts to be and what action is being taken to recover these debts.
Answer
Legal aid debts arise underfour main headings: contributions payable by persons granted civil legal aid; moniespayable in respect of terminations of legal aid; expenses payable by opponents ofpersons granted civil legal aid, and payments to the Legal Aid Fund from winnings.
At 31 March 2006 there was an outstandingdebt of £10.265 million. This amount will fluctuate as some of it is repaid anddebts arise from the four main headings.
The Scottish Legal Aid Boardcan and does take any reasonable and necessary enforcement steps, by way of civildiligence or other available measures, to recover the sums owed to the Legal AidFund in respect of the costs of any legal aid.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 8 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many arrests were made by police officers and what the average number of arrests was per police officer in each year since 1997.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22233 on 20 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist rape units there were in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally. Every Scottish police force has access to at least one rapesuite. The number and location of rape suites in a force area is primarily a decisionfor the Chief Constable to make, taking into account operational priorities.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have successfully applied to the Fresh Talent initiative from abroad in each of the last two years, broken down by country of application.
Answer
The Fresh Talent: Working inScotland scheme was introduced on 22 June 2005. Since then, out of a total of over1,860 successful applicants, over 253 people have applied from overseas. The breakdownof applications by country is provided in the following table.
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme:Successful Overseas Applicants by Country, 22 June 2005to 30 April 2006
| Algeria | 1 | Malaysia | 6 |
| Armenia | 1 | Mauritius | 1 |
| Australia | 1 | Mexico | 1 |
| Bahrain | 1 | Nigeria | 9 |
| Bangladesh | 1 | Pakistan | 5 |
| Barbados | 1 | Russia | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | Singapore | 1 |
| Cameroon | 1 | Sri Lanka | 1 |
| Canada | 11 | Sudan | 1 |
| China | 58 | Swaziland | 1 |
| Ecuador | 1 | Syria | 1 |
| Egypt | 2 | Taiwan | 7 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2 |
| India | 74 | Uganda | 1 |
| Indonesia | 1 | United States | 41 |
| Israel | 1 | Venezuela | 2 |
| Japan | 8 | Yugoslavia | 1 |
| Jordan | 2 | Zambia | 1 |
| Lebanon | 1 | | |
| Libya | 1 | | |
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average it takes to process applications under the Fresh Talent initiative from (a) Scotland and (b) abroad.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does notconsider applications for the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme,although it can provide advice on the requirements. All applications are made to,and considered by, either UKVisas (for those applying from abroad) or the Home Office’sImmigration and Nationality Directorate (for those applying within Scotland). Processingtimes are a matter for them.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how it anticipates that the Home Office consultation on a points-based immigration system, which will award points for having attended a UK university, will affect the Fresh Talent initiative.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has beenworking closely with the Home Office to ensure that Scotland’s needsare reflected in the new points-based managed migration system. The arrangementsfor the system, which were announced by the then Home Secretary on 7 March 2006,include a reduced qualifying period for some tier 1 (highly-skilled migrants) andfor tier 2 migrants (skilled people with a job offer) who wish to settle in Scotland,meaning that people who show a commitment to Scotland will be able to settle permanentlymuch quicker than migrants elsewhere in the UK, and a Scottish shortage occupationlist which will allow us to bring in people with skills that are in short supplyin Scotland. The existing Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland schemewill continue under the points based system (following an evaluation of how it isworking in practice). Overall, the new arrangements are positive and should be hugelybeneficial in attracting the best talent to Scotland and keeping it here.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has allocated to the Scottish Community and Householder Renewable Initiative (a) in each year to date and (b) for each year to 2009.
Answer
The allocation of funding tothe Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) since its inceptionby financial year is as follows:
| Financial Year | Funding (£ Million) |
| 2002-03 | 0.20 |
| 2003-04 | 2.00 |
| 2004-05 | 3.60 |
| 2005-06 | 2.45 |
| 2006-07 | 3.70 |
| 2007-08 | 3.70 |
In line with standard governmentpractice budgets are not allocated beyond 2007-08.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 7 June 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26148 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 June 2006, how many criminal justice social workers there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The following table details thenumber of qualified criminal justice social workers in each local authority forthe requested period.
| Local Authority | 1999 Number | 2000 Number | 2001 Number | 2002 Number | 2003 Number | 2004 Number | 2005 Number |
| Aberdeen City | 33 | 35 | 33 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 40 |
| Aberdeenshire | 21 | 28 | 32 | 35 | 32 | 38 | 31 |
| Angus | 13 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
| Argyll and Bute | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Clackmannanshire | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 16 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 22 |
| Dundee City | 21 | 25 | 30 | 32 | 39 | 39 | 42 |
| East Ayrshire | 15 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 24 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| East Lothian | 0 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| East Renfrewshire | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 14 |
| Edinburgh | 74 | 70 | 65 | 69 | 62 | 69 | 90 |
| Eilean Siar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Falkirk | 17 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
| Fife | 48 | 48 | 55 | 54 | 58 | 58 | 57 |
| Glasgow | 109 | 131 | 115 | 113 | 122 | 92 | 131 |
| Highland | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 |
| Inverclyde | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 24 |
| Midlothian | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| Moray | 9 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 9 |
| North Ayrshire | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 23 | 23 |
| North Lanarkshire | 40 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 46 | 47 | 53 |
| Orkney Islands | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Perth and Kinross | 20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
| Renfrewshire | 26 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| Scottish Borders | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 9 |
| Shetland Islands | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| South Ayrshire | 8 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| South Lanarkshire | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 41 | 50 |
| Stirling | 13 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
| West Lothian | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Total | 627 | 624 | 612 | 642 | 704 | 729 | 831 |
These figuresrepresent the number of qualified social workers employed rather than full-timeequivalents.
