- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what promotional items were distributed as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the elections on 3 May 2007; how many of each item were (a) purchased and (b) distributed, and what the total cost was of (i) purchase and (ii) distribution of each item.
Answer
Please see the following tablewhich details promotional items distributed, how many items were purchased, thecost of purchase and cost of distribution by the Scottish Executive:
| Item | Number of Items | Number of Items Distributed | Purchase Cost | Distribution Cost |
| Pens | 43,000 | 43,000 | £28,516 | 0 |
| Post-Its | 33,000 | 33,000 | £19,261 | 0 |
| Earphones | 10,000 | 10,000 | £17,625 | 0 |
The promotional items listedwere only a small part of the marketing communications about the election. The VoteScotlandcampaign, which was funded jointly by the Electoral Commission, had a budget of£2 million. The full range of activities included advertising, marketing, mediarelations, PR, online, field marketing, sponsored editorial and broadcasting, sponsorships,events, and stakeholder/third-party alliances.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on promotional material and items as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the elections on 3 May 2007.
Answer
The Scottish Executive spent£65,402.00 on promotional material and items as part of the campaign to raise awarenessof the elections on 3 May 2007.
The promotional items listedwere only a small part of the marketing communications about the election. The VoteScotlandcampaign, which was funded jointly by the Electoral Commission, had a budget of£2 million. The full range of activities included advertising, marketing, mediarelations, PR, online, field marketing, sponsored editorial and broadcasting, sponsorships,events, and stakeholder/third party alliances.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to increase the supply of affordable homes (a) for rent and (b) to buy in each local authority area in the South of Scotland region.
Answer
The budget set for the2007-08 affordable housing investment programme in the South of Scotland regionis set out in the following table.
| Local Authority | Budget (£ Million) | Unit Approvals for Rent | Unit Approvals Low Cost Home Ownership |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £ 12.767 | 195 | nil |
| East Ayrshire | £ 11.533 | 100 | nil |
| East Lothian | £ 5.600 | 42 | 18 |
| North Ayrshire | £10.281 | 66 | 24 |
| Scottish Borders | £ 7.200 | 71 | 18 |
| South Ayrshire | £ 6.674 | 167 | 25 |
| South Lanarkshire | £ 19.284 | 240 | 20 |
Note: the figures for EastAyrshire, East Lothian, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire are for thewhole local authority area including parts not in the South of Scotland region.
Decisions on investmentbeyond 2008 will depend on the outcome of the spending review process laterthis year.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 1 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any changes are expected to the remit or timing of the Strategic Transport Projects Review.
Answer
The Strategic Transport ProjectsReview (STPR) commenced in August 2006 and is due to report during summer 2008.This review will identify a programme of transport interventions for 2012 to 2022that will tackle congestion, improve connections and reduce journey times. We haveno plans to change the scope or the reporting arrangements for the Strategic TransportProjects Review which is progressing well and is on schedule.
Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information,if required.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 30 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for exemption from the notification procedure for marches have been received since the publication of Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland - Guidance for Scottish Local Authorities in December 2006; from which local authorities and on what date each application was (a) received and (b) determined, and what the decision was in each case.
Answer
No applications have been received.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it assesses the value for money of its spending on recruitment advertising.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has acentral contract for the supply of recruitment advertising services. To ensuregood value for money the contract was let by competitive tender and theprocurement process followed the general principles of European UnionProcurement Directives following a restricted procedure.
Thevalue and performance of the contract are monitored at regular review meetingsusing monthly management information reports which show detailed information onthe cost of recruitment advertising and the savings made under the contract. Thecontractor is currently working to increase the scope of the managementinformation that they provide to enable even better analysis of spend – forexample to provide information on the quality of candidates applying througheach advertising source.
The contractor is continuallydelivering ways of getting better value from spend on recruitment. Furthervalue is added through regular recruitment market updates, seminars to thebusiness on new ideas, ad hoc projects, and through sharing good ideas and bestpractice.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by the Executive and its agencies on advertising job vacancies in each year since 1999.
Answer
Since 2000 the total amountspent on recruitment advertising in the Scottish Executive and its agencies isdetailed in the following table. Figures are not available for 1999.
| Year | Total Amount Spent (£) |
| 2000 | 863,701 |
| 2001 | 1,071,784 |
| 2002 | 1,279,605 |
| 2003 | 1,124,596 |
| 2004 | 1,064,463 |
| 2005 | 1,491.640 |
| 2006 | 841,357 |
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 21 December 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 were projected to be in the Financial Memorandum to the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the Act came into force, in each category.
Answer
The Financial Memorandum to thebill is available on the Scottish Parliament’s website. The only quantifiable costsarising from provisions in the bill relate to the operation of the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner.
The Scottish Parliamentary CorporateBody is responsible for funding the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 8 December 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Edinburgh Tram (Line 2) Act 2006 were projected to be in the Estimate of Expense and Funding Statement accompanying the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) costs have been to date since the Act came into force, in each category.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29585 on 8 December 2006. 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/wa.search.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 8 December 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) initial set up and (b) annual costs to (i) the Executive, (ii) local authorities, (iii) other public sector organisations or bodies and (iv) other individuals, organisations and bodies of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Act 2004 were projected to be in the Estimate of Expense and Funding Statement accompanying the Bill and what the actual (1) initial set up costs were and (2) annual costs have been in each year since the Act came into force, in each category.
Answer
The act followed a Private Bill.As such, a Financial Memorandum was neither required as part of the legislativeprocess nor prepared. The Executive has no direct locus in the parliamentary proceduresfor Private Bills and does not hold the information requested.
