- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 31 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to local authorities on the appropriate level of financial reserves which they should maintain.
Answer
There is currently no guidance issued to councils by the Executive on the appropriate level of financial reserves which they should maintain.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 30 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21779 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 January 2006, who will represent the Scottish Executive at the meeting on 31 January 2006 between Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, UK Health Departments, the Department for Education and Skills, NHS Employers and the University and Colleges Employers Association to discuss contractual solutions and other potential ways forward in respect of the Court of the University of Glasgow ruling on the form of contract for clinical academic posts.
Answer
The head of the financial performance management and accounting division of the Health Department Finance Directorate, Jane Davidson, and the technical accounting finance manager responsible for health VAT issues, Lee Shedden, will represent the Scottish Executive at this meeting.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 30 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21779 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 January 2006, whether it will fund in full any additional costs which have arisen, or will arise, for either academic institutions or the National Health Service as a result of the Court of the University of Glasgow ruling on the form of contract for clinical academic posts.
Answer
The decision as to whether additional funding is required will depend on the outcome of the meeting on 31 January 2006 with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, referred to the answer to question S2W-22554 on 30 January 2006. The Scottish Executive hopes that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will accept that the supply of academic staff for NHS research can be zero rated and will not therefore incur any additional expenditure for the NHS.
Should the outcome of the meeting not prove favourable and require that NHS bodies suffer the VAT consequences the issue of funding will require to be addressed, with possible recourse by Scottish Executive Finance to HM Treasury.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, 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: Wednesday, 04 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 30 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in delivering efficiency savings in the Fire Service, broken down by fire board.
Answer
A breakdown of efficiency savings by fire and rescue authority is not held centrally. We will be working with authorities to establish how details of savings achieved by individual authorities can best be recorded and collated. The Scottish Executive has taken a number of significant steps – such as the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, the introduction of Integrated Risk Management Plans, and the strategic guidance set out in the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2005 – to create the conditions in which the Fire and Rescue Service has the flexibility to operate more effectively and efficiently.
Areas where potential efficiency savings could be made on a Scotland-wide basis have been set out in Scottish Executive Efficiency Technical Notes, available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/0895455/54558.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 30 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or plans to take, following the suspension of production of Xylocaine® and Citanest® by Dentsply International Inc.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has notified National Procurement, the current contract holder for the supply of dental products to salaried and hospital dental services, of this issue.
The Executive will link with the UK Department of Health to monitor the efforts of DENTSPLY International Inc. to source alternative suppliers of dental local anaesthetic to the UK market.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 30 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on dental treatment of the suspension of production of Xylocaine® and Citanest® by Dentsply International Inc.
Answer
The Executive is monitoring the situation, but has not at this stage undertaken a formal impact assessment.
Alternative supplies of these products are currently available through Septodont and further suppliers are also being sought by DENTSPLY International Inc.
The Scottish Executive will continue to monitor the supply of local anaesthetic to the UK and Scottish markets and will review the need for an impact assessment.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that any of its spending since 1999 has been wasteful and, if so, how much.
Answer
The Scottish Executive strives at all times to ensure that the Scottish Budget is spent as effectively as possible. We monitor and review expenditure to ensure economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and with regard to propriety and good financial management. Independent scrutiny of the Executive is carried out by the Auditor General of Scotland.
Past expenditure was, and published spending plans are, set to meet our commitments to the Scottish people under the Programme for Government and A Partnership Agreement for a Better Scotland. Spending plans are approved annually by the Scottish Parliament through a Budget Act.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent since 1999 on projects which have not achieved their stated objectives.
Answer
The Scottish Executive strives at all times to ensure that the stated objectives and targets of our spending plans are met. We have published progress against targets set by each portfolio in the Annual Evaluation Reports. We also published a report of progress against the Programme for Government for 1999 to 2003, and are monitoring progress against A Partnership Agreement for a Better Scotland. We monitor progress against objectives, aiming for continuous improvement in value for money.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to reduce the number of days lost as a result of sickness absence in each of its departments.
Answer
A review of the Scottish Executive Managing Attendance procedures was undertaken during 2005 and consideration given to what further actions could be taken to reduce the Executive’s sickness absence below the current level.
The revised procedures, which will shortly be implemented, include involving line management to a greater extent in managing staff who breach the intermittent absence trigger point and a more prompt referral of staff to the Executive’s Occupational Health Service, where applicable. A new training course for line managers, intended to develop effective management techniques for dealing with managing attendance, is in its final design stage.
Resolution strategies for all long-term sick cases have been developed, resulting so far in the return to work of a third of the cases approached, with some others leaving the organisation through resignation, dismissal or medical retirement. This work is on-going.
These measures together with a variety of flexible working practices are aimed at reducing sick absence and assisting staff to return to work as quickly as possible.
- Asked by: Derek Brownlee, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 26 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of single farm payments in the south of Scotland have still to be made and what action is being taken to ensure that they are paid as soon as possible.
Answer
As at 27 January, 24% of businesses in the South of Scotland constituency are awaiting payment. In contrast, some 7,000 business in the same area have been paid at total of £125,630,288.31.
My officials are working through the outstanding claims with the aim of paying valid claims as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot give a single date when the remaining producers can expect to be paid. That depends on individual circumstances as payments cannot be made until all scheme eligibility checks have been completed.
