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: S3W-08592

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 February 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the relevant figures under section 2(2)(b)(i) and section 2(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 would be for each month in 2008-09 in the event of section 2 being relevant.

The relevant figures, based onlatest approved budgets for 2007-08, for each calendar month are show in the followingtable:

Portfolio	Monthly Amount 2007-08* (£ Million)
Office of the First Minister	21.2
Finance and Sustainable Growth	298.4
Health and Wellbeing	827.6
Education and Lifelong Learning	268.2
Justice	140.0
Rural Affairs and the Environment	82.3
Scottish Government Administration	21.1
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal	8.4
Local Government	666.7
General Register Office for Scotland	1.1
National Archives of Scotland	1.1
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator	0.3
Scottish Teachers’ and NHS Pensions	220.7
Forestry Commission	8.5
Food Standards Agency	0.9
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body	8.2
Audit Scotland	0.8

Note: *Budgets following Autumn Budget Revision 2007-08.

Question reference: S3W-07546

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 February 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Secretary of State for Justice’s announcement of additional funding of £1.2 billion for the prison estate following the Carter Review, whether additional consequential funding will be provided to the Scottish Government under the Barnett Formula and, if so, what amounts and in what years.

Question reference: S3W-08649

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3O-1869 by Shona Robison on 17 January 2008, what the projected cost to it will be of the reduction in the costs of prepayment prescription certificates and individual prescription charges in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11.

We estimate the projectedcosts, taking into account lost income from charges and the potential increaseddemand on drug costs, of phasing out prescription charges in each year from 2008-09to 2010-11 to be as set out in the table below. The projected costs will dependupon the actual level of any increased demand.

Year	Proposed Charge	Estimated Additional Cost
2008-09	£5.00	£17 million
2009-10	£4.00	£24 million
2010-11	£3.00	£32 million

Question reference: S3W-08047

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the reforms for payment for social care of older people, announced by the UK Secretary of State for Health in Putting People First, and whether such reforms are under consideration in Scotland.

PuttingPeople First is a concordat between theUK Government and other stakeholders in England for the delivery of social care services for adults,including increased personalisation.

Our Better Health, Better Care ActionPlan, published on 14 December 2007,confirms our commitment to continue to shift the balance of care in Scotland, toestablish a transparent resource framework to deliver new services and modelsof care, and to increase personalisation.

Local authorities in Scotlandhave had a specific duty since June 2003 to offer disabled people, includingolder people, the opportunity to purchase and manage their own self-directed supportin the community. Revised national guidance, to help further increase theuptake of self-directed care, was published in July 2007.

The UK Government plans topublish a green paper on the long-term funding of social care for older people.Scotland has led the way with the introduction of Free Personal and Nursing Careand we will keep in touch with developments and any implications for olderpeople here.

Question reference: S3O-01869

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to it will be of the reduction in the costs of pre-payment prescription certificates and individual prescription charges in each year from 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Question reference: S3O-01584

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost per prisoner place is for existing (a) public and (b) private prisons and what cost differential between public and private prison places is assumed by its Justice department when assessing how to procure new additional prison capacity.

Question reference: S3W-07498

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have properties in Scotland with a combined rateable value of (a) up to £8,000, (b) from £8,001 to £10,000 and (c) from £10,001 to £15,000, broken down by local authority area.

Information on businessesin the form requested is not held centrally. However, information on the numberand rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief underthe Small Business Bonus scheme is available for each local authority area on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk).This information is shown as follows:

Analysisof the Number of Business Properties in Scotland of which the Rateable Value is £15,000 orLess (Excluding Zero-Rated Subjects)

Local Authority	Number of Business Properties by Rateable Value
Local Authority	Less than £8,000	£8,001 to £10,000	£10,001 to £15,000	Total up to £15,000
Aberdeen City	3,390	569	844	4,803
Aberdeenshire	6,839	478	663	7,980
Angus	3,249	203	321	3,773
Argyll and Bute	5,858	236	338	6,432
Clackmannanshire	977	77	125	1,179
Dumfries and Galloway	6,307	280	435	7,022
Dundee City	2,884	336	573	3,793
East Ayrshire	2,435	230	351	3,016
East Dunbartonshire	1,141	197	260	1,598
East Lothian	2,043	178	244	2,465
East Renfrewshire	818	126	216	1,160
Edinburgh, City of	8,473	1,243	1,951	11,667
Eilean Siar	1,733	62	94	1,889
Falkirk	2,702	281	406	3,389
Fife	7,104	653	1,051	8,808
Glasgow City	11,943	1,628	2,420	15,991
Highland	12,284	625	894	13,803
Inverclyde	1,277	174	221	1,672
Midlothian	1,556	155	266	1,977
Moray	3,055	192	288	3,535
North Ayrshire	3,075	257	401	3,733
North Lanarkshire	4,518	626	881	6,025
Orkney Islands	1,589	66	78	1,733
Perth and Kinross	5,135	378	528	6,041
Renfrewshire	3,294	404	581	4,279
Scottish Borders	4,946	232	414	5,592
Shetland Islands	1,425	68	106	1,599
South Ayrshire	2,782	270	456	3,508
South Lanarkshire	4,956	626	905	6,487
Stirling	2,816	260	380	3,456
West Dunbartonshire	1,488	164	241	1,893
West Lothian	2,537	322	507	3,366
Scotland	124,629	11,596	17,439	153,664

Source:Scottish Assessors Portal as at 1 October 2007.

Notes:

The number of eligiblebusinesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area,because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibilityfor relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

the combined rateablevalue of all properties in Scotland for which the business is liable to pay rates;

whether the propertyis eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

the level of otherpublic sector assistance received by the business.

Question reference: S3W-06445

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of cash releasing savings will be retained in each directorate, also broken down by directorate.

The efficiencysavings made will allow £1.6 billion to be redirected over the next threeyears. Decisions on the allocation of the cash released will be made withinportfolios on the basis of how best to deliver the Scottish Government’spriorities. Under the Concordat, signed with the Convention of Scottish LocalAuthorities on 14 November 2007, local authorities for the first time will beallowed to retain all of their efficiency savings to redeploy and meet on-goingand new pressures. Other portfolios will have an element of their efficiencysavings deducted at source.

Question reference: S3W-06457

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total revenue from business rates will be in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11 if the plans outlined on page 12 of Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 are implemented.

The total revenuefrom business rates in each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11 is projected to be as follows,assuming implementation of the plans for the Small Business Bonus Scheme at thepercentage levels set out in the table included on page 12 of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007:

£ Million	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Non-Domestic Rates	1,859.2	1,962.8	2,019.1	2,014.0

Notes:

1. The non-domesticrates figures are estimates and are stated net of the projected cost of allrates reliefs, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2008-11. Firmerfigures for each year will be confirmed when the poundage rates are available.

2. These figuresare taken from the table in Chapter 27: Local Government of the ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007 (page 142), after deduction of Other AME Grants of £8 million annually.

3.The ScottishBudget: Spending Review 2007 is available at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/11/13092240/0.

Question reference: S3W-06455

Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what spending will be included in Other Miscellaneous as shown on page 127 of Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007, broken down by year and with indicative spending allocations where available.

The following tableshows the breakdown of the Other Miscellaneous Level 3 within the JusticeBudget.

Other Miscellaneous	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Reducing Reoffending and Court Reform	8.896	9.596	9.996
Criminal Law Research	0.617	0.617	0.617
Parole Board for Scotland	1.400	1.400	1.400
Criminal Justice Joint Working Fund	0.621	0.621	0.621
Prisoner Complaints Commission	0.153	0.153	0.153
Security	0.040	0.040	0.040
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission	1.300	1.300	1.300
Risk Management Authority	1.500	1.500	1.500
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons	0.335	0.335	0.335
Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey	1.000	1.000	1.000
Sentencing Commission	0.150	0.150	0.150
Integration of Scottish Criminal Justice Information Systems	0.500	0.500	0.500
Capital Charges/Depreciation	0.048	0.048	0.048
Court Reviews (McInnes and Bonomy)	0.870	0.870	0.870
National Criminal Justice Board	0.513	0.513	0.513
Legal Costs	0.080	0.080	0.080
Miscarriages Of Justice Organisations	0.066	0.066	0.066
Civil Justice Publications	0.045	0.045	0.045
Civil Justice Conferences	0.045	0.045	0.045
Civil Justice Advertising	0.051	0.051	0.051
In-Court Advice	0.320	0.320	0.320
Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman etc.	0.453	0.453	0.453
EU Justice and Home Affairs Initiatives	0.030	0.030	0.030
Immigration Advisory Service	0.405	0.405	0.405
Mediation and Tribunals	0.220	0.220	0.220
Access to Justice/Private International Law Legal Costs	0.070	0.070	0.070
Bankruptcy and Diligence	0.130	0.130	0.130
HR Scotland Project	0.010	0.010	0.010
Family Law and Scottish Law Commission	0.235	0.235	0.235
Adults with Incapacity National Practice Co-ordinator	0.028	0.028	0.028
Civil Law Publications	0.207	0.207	0.207
Research Civil Law	0.340	0.340	0.340
Scottish Legal Complaints Commission	0.800	0.800	0.800
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary	0.886	0.886	0.886
Her Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate	0.626	0.626	0.626
Ad hoc miscellaneous	2.599	2.599	2.599
Total	25.589	26.289	26.689