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: S4W-19096

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 21 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what account it will take of the number of (a) offices and services run by national agencies and (b) other Scottish Government-funded public sector jobs in Aberdeen when allocating resources.

The Scottish Government’s allocation of resources is driven by the Scottish Government’s purpose: to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth.

The Scottish Government and public bodies have policy and delivery functions across Scotland. Any regional allocation of central Scottish Government resources, such as to health boards and local authorities, is typically managed through objective formula incorporating indicators such as population, deprivation and rurality.

It is for individual agencies, in collaboration with their community planning partners, to determine the appropriate regional distribution of the resources under their control.

Question reference: S4W-19094

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 16 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector jobs are based in Aberdeen and how this compares with other cities in Scotland.

The Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) provides estimates of employment by industry sector, including a breakdown of the public and private sector at local authority level. The latest data cover 2012.

Public sector employment in Scottish cities, 2012

Local authority	Public sector employees
Aberdeen City	32,900
Dundee City	23,700
Edinburgh, City of	88,200
Glasgow City	87,700

Source: Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), ONS

Notes:

1. Figures rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. Estimates available at local authority level, therefore data are not presented for Stirling or Inverness, where the city lies within a larger authority area.

3. BRES does not include employment within HM Forces.

4. 2012 estimates are provisional.

Question reference: S4W-19095

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2014
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 January 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of any increased travelling costs for (a) Aberdeen City Council, (b) Police Scotland Aberdeen City Division and (c) local voluntary agencies as a result of the closure of HMP Aberdeen and the relocation of prisoners to HMP Grampian.

Question reference: S4W-18771

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 19 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for support under the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme have been (a) made and (b) granted in (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Aberdeenshire.

Question reference: S4O-02776

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-18769

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many boilers were replaced in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire under the boiler scrappage scheme in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13.

Question reference: S4W-18772

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many officers Police Scotland has recruited in the former Grampian police area.

Question reference: S4W-18773

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S4W-18770

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes were considered to be in fuel poverty in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Aberdeenshire in each of the last five years.

Figures for each of the last five years are not available.

Fuel poverty estimates for local authorities are only available for three year aggregated periods, as the sample sizes in the Scottish House Conditions Survey are too small to produce reliable annual estimates.

The most recent available figures from the Scottish House Condition Survey show that there was an average of 23,000 households in fuel poverty in Aberdeen between 2010 and 2012, and 45,000 in Aberdeenshire in the same period.

Figures for the last five reporting periods are as follows:

2005/6 - 2008

2007 - 2009

2008

- 2010

2009 - 2011

2010 – 2012

Aberdeen City

22,000

24,000

26,000

25,000

23,000

Aberdeenshire

36,000

33,000

40,000

45,000

Question reference: S4W-18512

Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the areas formerly covered by Grampian Police receive from Police Scotland’s budget; what proportion of the budget this represents, and how this compares with 2012-13.

This is a matter for the chief constable who is responsible for the day to day operation of the police service, including the allocation and deployment of resources received from the Scottish Police Authority.

The establishment of a single service will safeguard local policing from Westminster budget cuts. It also ensures all parts of Scotland have access to specialist expertise and equipment whenever and wherever required.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to maintaining a strong visible police presence with 1,000 extra police officers compared to 2007. At 30 September 2013, there were 17,313 police officers in Scotland.

	Aberdeen City	Aberdeenshire
Applications	85	49
Approved applications	79	46

	2011-12	2012-13	Total
Aberdeen	581	845	1,426
Aberdeenshire	541	789	1,330