Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-20778

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 29 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there are any reasons why local authorities will be unable to fill vacancies for teachers in subject departments and, if so, what these reasons are and what action it will take to address the issue as soon as possible.

The staffing of individual subject departments are matters for local authorities.

The Scottish Executive carries out an annual teacher workforce planning exercise to ensure at a national level adequate numbers of newly qualified teachers are trained for when they are required in publicly funded schools. This takes into account factors such as the age profile of the profession; changing pupil numbers; numbers of new entrants to the profession and those leaving due to resignation, retirement etc.

As part of the exercise subject specialisms are prioritised to make certain intakes to initial teacher education reflect the teachers needed. Factors which are considered in the prioritisation exercise include vacancy levels reported by local authorities and the demand from local authorities for probationer teachers in each sector/subject.

Question reference: S2W-20181

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 31 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 24 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any assessment has been made of the impact on the health and general well-being of disabled people in Scotland whose mobility is severely restricted of the situation whereby, according to Motability, the waiting time for a vehicle capable of being driven from a wheelchair is 24 months or more; whether it is aware of the number of people in Scotland made virtually housebound for two years or more because of this waiting time; what measures it believes could be applied to significantly reduce the waiting time, and what representations it has made, or intends to make, on this matter.

The Executive is aware that there is a current waiting list of close to two years for applications to be processed under the Motability Scheme for the drive-from-wheelchair vehicles under the Specialised Vehicles Fund (SVF) funded by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). At the present time there are seven people living in Scotland who are on the waiting list.

Currently there has been no impact assessment regarding the link between restricted mobility as a result of this waiting time for a vehicle and the health and general well-being of disabled people in Scotland.

We recognise that such extended waiting periods are not acceptable and Motability has a number of initiatives underway to address the situation including new procurement systems. A wider range of vehicles is also becoming available which should reduce waiting times for disabled drivers using SVF funding.

Motability is working with customers to ensure that their mobility is maximised during any waiting period for example by ensuring that the lease of any current vehicle they have on the Motability Scheme can be flexibly extended until their new vehicle is available. Six of the seven customers waiting for drive-from-wheelchair vehicles in Scotland fall into this category. In other cases, Motability would try to make a suitable used vehicle or a wheelchair-accessible passenger vehicle available in the interim until the desired vehicle can be delivered.

We will continue to support DWP in their work with Motability to reduce waiting times.

Question reference: S2W-20412

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 21 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated towards the funding of local authority PPP projects in total and broken down by project; how many local authority PPP projects have subsequently been referred for Executive consideration, broken down by project; how many local authority PPP projects have been agreed by the Executive, broken down by project, and whether the Executive's involvement in determining what method of development to support, providing funding towards local authority PPP projects and agreeing which projects can proceed could give rise to any conflict of interest.

The funding allocated by the Scottish Executive towards local authority PPP projects is shown in the following table. The figures represent the amount of financial support provided (or to be provided) by the Executive for these projects annually, and does not include any additional funding provided by the local authorities themselves.

The funding represents a capped annual figure and this has been (or will be) awarded for the length of the PPP contract which in most cases is 25 to 30 years. Executive funding has been confirmed in those projects marked “operational” or “at financial close” in the last column.

Further details on these projects and other PPP projects in Scotland can be found on the Financial Partnerships Unit’s website www.scotland.gov.uk/ppp.

Project by Local Authority	Level Playing Field Support/Revenue Support (£ Million per Annum)	Status of Project
Falkirk schools PPP1	8.64	Operational
Fife schools PPP1	3.68	Operational
City of Glasgow schools PPP	14.673	Operational
Aberdeenshire schools PPP1	1.4	Operational
Stirling schools PPP1 (Balfron)	1.59	Operational
City of Edinburgh schools PPP1	6.62	Operational
Highland schools PPP1	1.55	Operational
East Renfrewshire schools PPP1	1.25	Operational
Midlothian schools PPP1	3.116	Operational
West Lothian schools PPP1	1.916	Operational
Dumfries and Galloway waste management PPP	1.27	Operational
City of Dundee waste to energy PPP	2.319	Operational
Argyll and Bute waste management PPP	1.29	Operational
Perth and Kinross office accommodation PPP	1.405	Operational
Moray integrated education management service PPP	0.979	Operational
Highland IT services PPP	1.4	Operational
East Renfrewshire M77 / Glasgow Southern Orbital	3.735	Operational
Angus A92 PPP	3.4	Operational
East Lothian schools PPP	2.95	Operational
East Renfrewshire schools PPP2	3.77	At Financial Close
Renfrewshire schools PPP	7.54	At Financial Close
Aberdeenshire schools PPP2	3.4	At Financial Close
Argyll and Bute schools PPP	5.73	At Financial Close
North Lanarkshire schools PPP	10.74	At Financial Close
East Ayrshire schools PPP	4.3	Conditional Offer
North Ayrshire schools PPP	5.72	Conditional Offer
Midlothian schools PPP2	3.58	Conditional Offer
Falkirk schools PPP2	5.00	Conditional Offer
Perth and Kinross schools PPP	7.15	Conditional Offer
Fife schools PPP2	4.0	Conditional Offer
City of Dundee schools PPP	5.73	Conditional Offer
Clackmannanshire schools PPP	3.43	Conditional Offer
City of Edinburgh schools PPP2	12.87	Conditional Offer
Angus schools PPP	3.58	Conditional Offer
City of Aberdeen schools PPP	5.72	Conditional Offer
East Dunbartonshire schools PPP	7.15	Indicative Offer
Highland schools PPP2	7.16	Conditional Offer
Stirling schools PPP2	4.29	Conditional Offer
West Lothian schools PPP2	3.58	Conditional Offer
South Lanarkshire schools PPP	10.74	Conditional Offer
South Ayrshire schools PPP	4.3	Conditional Offer
Scottish Borders schools PPP	3.58	Conditional Offer
Eilean Siar schools PPP	3.43	Indicative Offer
Dumfries and Galloway schools PPP	7.16	Conditional Offer
Inverclyde schools PPP	5.73	Conditional Offer
West Dunbartonshire schools PPP	7.15	Indicative Offer
Moray schools PPP	3.58	Conditional Offer
Total	223.293

There have been two funding rounds for Executive support for local authority PPP projects. The first invited bids from local authorities for priority projects under Finance Circulars 2/1998 and 5/1998; the second for schools projects under Scottish Executive Education Department Circular 8/2001. The successful local authority projects from these rounds are shown in the above table. In both of the funding rounds the bids received were assessed against criteria already agreed by an evaluation panel. There are currently no other funding rounds for Executive support for local authority PPP projects.

Question reference: S2W-20370

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 04 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the statement by Dr Steven Gaines, Director or University of California’s Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute that “there are virtually no exceptions to the fact that all (no-take zones) have the exact same result: Where the average abundance (of marine species) goes up, the average size goes up, and the numbers of species goes up” and that fishermen would benefit from the spill over of species into unprotected areas and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The success of no-take zones (NTZs) is critically dependent on the mobility of the species that live within the zone and how fishing effort is displaced from the zone. Where species remain in the NTZ for most of their lives and fishing effort is removed from it, then there are usually benefits of the kind described by Dr Gaines. Typically such NTZs are successful in tropical reef systems where organisms are site specific. Where species are highly mobile and migrate freely through the zone, NTZs offer little or no protection. This is a common occurrence in temperate systems typical in Scottish waters and applies to most of our principal commercial fish species. Furthermore, where fishing effort is displaced from a NTZ, fishing activity may be aggregated on the margins of the zone and can actually cause additional damage through excess concentration of effort that may outweigh the benefits within the NTZ.

The Scottish Executive has indicated in its Sustainable Framework for Scottish Sea Fisheries that it believes there is a place for area based closures and restrictions in the management of fisheries. Such closures and restrictions will need to take into account the biology of the fish they are intended to protect and the activity of fishing vessels affected.

Question reference: S2W-18891

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 10 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs have been (i) created and (ii) lost in North Ayrshire in each year since 1999 and how these figures compare with other areas of Scotland.

Statistics on the number of jobs created are not centrally held. However the number of employee jobs in each local authority is available from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Table 1 shows the level of full-time employee jobs for each local authority area from 1999-2003 and Table 2 shows the level of part-time employee jobs for each local authority area from 1999-2003. Tables 3 and 4 show the change in the number of employee jobs for each year for full-time and part-time jobs respectively.

Table 1 Number of Full-time Employee Jobs by Local Authority Areas 1999-2003^1,2,3

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Aberdeen City	119,500	119,700	124,100	117,800	114,600
Aberdeenshire	52,900	55,100	57,400	51,800	52,200
Angus	27,500	25,600	23,300	22,300	22,600
Argyll and Bute	21,300	23,600	22,700	21,500	23,700*
Clackmannanshire	8,900*	9,700*	9,600	8,900*	9,000*
Dumfries and Galloway	38,800	37,100	39,800	35,800	34,800
Dundee City	44,200*	49,500*	48,200	46,400	48,700
East Ayrshire	26,200	25,200	26,300	26,300	28,200
East Dunbartonshire	16,300	17,700*	17,800	15,900*	16,000*
East Lothian	16,000	15,500	15,800	16,600	16,400
East Renfrewshire	10,100	10,900	11,200	11,200	11,200*
Edinburgh, City of	190,400	200,200	207,700	213,900	213,900
Eilean Siar	7,000	6,300	6,300	5,600	7,000
Falkirk	37,800	38,000	39,600	39,000	40,300
Fife	89,400	90,900	92,700	89,900	88,300
Glasgow City	255,400*	266,300*	279,300*	267,600*	274,200*
Highland	50,500	52,000	59,900	59,800	61,500*
Inverclyde	23,200*	22,300*	23,300*	21,600*	21,500
Midlothian	15,800	15,600	16,000	16,200	17,000
Moray	19,900	20,300	20,600	20,500	21,100
North Ayrshire	28,100	28,700	30,400	28,200	27,500
North Lanarkshire	84,800	78,800	81,800	85,400	83,000
Orkney Islands	5,400	5,000	5,000	4,300	4,800
Perthshire and Kinross	40,200	38,900	36,800	37,000	36,500
Renfrewshire	61,500	59,600	57,900	52,400	52,200
Scottish Borders	28,500	26,400	26,600	27,200	25,900
Shetland Islands	7,500	6,600	6,500	6,700	7,300
South Ayrshire	30,400	29,900	30,200	29,800	28,600
South Lanarkshire	79,400	80,800	81,500	77,100	77,300
Stirling	26,900	26,900	28,500	27,400	25,300
West Dunbartonshire	19,300	19,000	18,700	18,700	19,000
West Lothian	46,300	49,500	49,700	50,200	51,900

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

* These data exclude agriculture class 0100 (SIC 92) Agriculture, hunting and related service activities.

1. The 2003 ABI data for aggregate areas is based on 2003 Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards which differs from previous years ABI data which was build from 1991 census wards. This change in geographies may give rise to discontinuity, however at local authority level discontinuities are negligible.

2. Annual Business Inquiry data are workplace based.

3. Data has been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Table 2 Number of Part-time Employee Jobs by Local Authority Areas 1999-2003^1,2,3

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Aberdeen City	44,200	47,800	41,200	42,900	47,200
Aberdeenshire	21,400	25,000	24,500	26,200	29,500
Angus	11,400	12,400	12,700	13,300	13,600
Argyll and Bute	10,700	11,900	12,200	12,400	11,900
Clackmannanshire	3,700*	4,500*	4,500*	4,400*	4,100
Dumfries and Galloway	19,500	19,800	22,200	19,900	19,500
Dundee City	18,700*	21,500*	24,200	24,600	24,500
East Ayrshire	11,200	12,400	12,400	12,500	13,300
East Dunbartonshire	8,700	8,200*	9,800*	9,200*	8,500
East Lothian	8,000	9,700	9,100	9,200	8,700
East Renfrewshire	5,000	5,800	6,100	6,500	6,500
Edinburgh, City of	80,000	91,800	89,800	95,000	97,700*
Eilean Siar	3,900	4,700	4,600	3,900	5,100
Falkirk	15,100	16,300	18,000	17,700	17,400
Fife	39,300	42,000	43,300	44,800	43,300
Glasgow City	98,800*	97,700*	108,400*	118,200*	111,100*
Highland	33,600	28,200	34,400	33,000	34,600
Inverclyde	8,900*	9,400*	10,000*	9,900	9,900
Midlothian	6,700	7,200	8,500	8,600	9,100
Moray	9,700	11,900	11,600	12,300	13,100
North Ayrshire	11,400	13,000	13,300	13,600	13,000
North Lanarkshire	27,200	29,400	31,000	31,600	33,900
Orkney Islands	2,900	3,200	3,200	2,800	3,500
Perthshire and Kinross	18,200	19,900	20,800	21,000	20,200
Renfrewshire	21,300	20,800	22,100	21,900	22,700
Scottish Borders	14,400	15,500	14,200	14,800	17,000
Shetland Islands	3,500	3,700	3,600	4,400	5,100
South Ayrshire	13,000	14,600	13,600	15,200	14,200
South Lanarkshire	30,500	33,400	32,500	30,600	32,300
Stirling	13,100	13,800	13,600	13,900	13,200
West Dunbartonshire	9,300	9,600	10,600	14,300	13,700
West Lothian	14,200	17,800	18,300	17,600	19,800

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

* These data exclude agriculture class 0100 (SIC 92) Agriculture, hunting and related service activities.

1. The 2003 ABI data for aggregate areas is based on 2003 Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards which differs from previous years ABI data which was build from 1991 census wards. This change in geographies may give rise to discontinuity, however at local authority level discontinuities are negligible.

2. Annual Business Inquiry data are workplace based.

3. Data has been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Table 3 Change in Level of Full-time Employee Jobs by Local Authority Areas 1999-2003^1,2,3

	Change from 1999-2000	Change from 2000-2001	Change from 2001-2002	Change from 2002-2003
Aberdeen City	+200	+4,400	-6,300	-3,200
Aberdeenshire	+2,200	+2,300	-5,600	+400
Angus	-1,900	-2,300	-1,000	+300
Argyll and Bute	+2,200	-900	-1,200	+2,300
Clackmannanshire	+800	-100	-700	+100
Dumfries and Galloway	-1,700	+2,700	-4,000	-1,000
Dundee City	+5,300	-1,200	-1,800	+2,200
East Ayrshire	-1,100	+1,100	0	+1,900
East Dunbartonshire	+1,400	+100	-1,900	+200
East Lothian	-400	+200	+900	-300
East Renfrewshire	+700	+300	0	+100
Edinburgh, City of	+9,800	+7,500	+6,300	0
Eilean Siar	-700	0	-700	+1,300
Falkirk	+200	+1,600	-600	+1,300
Fife	+1500	+1,800	-2,800	-1,600
Glasgow City	+10,900	+13,000	-11,600	+6,600
Highland	+1,500	+7,900	-100	+1,800
Inverclyde	-900	+1,000	-1,700	-100
Midlothian	-200	+300	+300	+800
Moray	+400	+400	-100	+500
North Ayrshire	+600	+1,700	-2,200	-700
North Lanarkshire	-5,900	+3,000	+3,500	-2,400
Orkney Islands	-400	0	-600	+500
Perthshire and Kinross	-1,300	-2,100	+200	-600
Renfrewshire	-1,900	-1,700	-5,400	-200
Scottish Borders	-2,100	+200	+600	-1,300
Shetland Islands	-900	-100	+200	+600
South Ayrshire	-500	+400	-400	-1,200
South Lanarkshire	+1,500	+700	-4,400	+200
Stirling	0	+1,600	-1,100	-2,100
West Dunbartonshire	-300	-300	0	+200
West Lothian	+3,300	+200	+500	+1,700

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

1. The 2003 ABI data for aggregate areas is based on 2003 Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards which differs from previous years ABI data which was build from 1991 census wards. This change in geographies may give rise to discontinuity, however at local authority level discontinuities are negligible.

2. Annual Business Inquiry data are workplace based

3. Data has been rounded to the nearest hundred

Table 4 Change in Level of Part-time Employee Jobs by Local Authority Areas 1999-2003^1,2,3

	Change from 1999-2000	Change from 2000-2001	Change from 2001-2002	Change from 2002-2003
Aberdeen City	+3,600	-6,600	+1,700	+4,200
Aberdeenshire	+3,700	-500	+1,600	+3,400
Angus	+1,000	+300	+600	+300
Argyll and Bute	+1,200	+300	+100	-500
Clackmannanshire	+800	+100	-100	-300
Dumfries and Galloway	+300	+2,400	-2,300	-300
Dundee City	+2,900	+2,700	+400	-200
East Ayrshire	+1,200	-100	+200	+800
East Dunbartonshire	-400	+1,600	-700	-600
East Lothian	+1,700	-500	+100	-600
East Renfrewshire	+800	+300	+500	0
Edinburgh, City of	+11,800	-2000	+5,200	+2,700
Eilean Siar	+800	-100	-700	+1,200
Falkirk	+1,100	+1,800	-400	-300
Fife	+2,700	+1,300	+1,500	-1,500
Glasgow City	-1,100	+10,800	+9,700	-7,100
Highland	-5,400	+6,200	-1,400	+1,600
Inverclyde	+500	+600	-100	-100
Midlothian	+500	+1,200	+100	+500
Moray	+2,200	-300	+700	+800
North Ayrshire	+1,600	+300	+300	-600
North Lanarkshire	+2,200	+1,600	+600	+2,300
Orkney Islands	+400	0	-400	+700
Perthshire and Kinross	+1,700	+900	+300	-800
Renfrewshire	-600	+1,300	-200	+800
Scottish Borders	+1,100	-1,300	+500	+2,300
Shetland Islands	+200	-200	+800	+700
South Ayrshire	+1,600	-900	+1,600	-1,000
South Lanarkshire	+2,900	-900	-1,900	+1,700
Stirling	+700	-100	+300	-600
West Dunbartonshire	+200	+1,000	+3,700	-600
West Lothian	+3,600	+500	-700	+2,200

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

1. The 2003 ABI data for aggregate areas is based on 2003 Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards which differs from previous years ABI data which was build from 1991 census wards. This change in geographies may give rise to discontinuity, however at local authority level discontinuities are negligible.

2. Annual Business Inquiry data are workplace based.

3. Data has been rounded to the nearest hundred.

Question reference: S2W-19547

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 October 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what redress citizens have when protracted works carried out on roads by local authorities result in financial losses for business and noise nuisance and disruption for local residents.

Question reference: S2W-18894

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 27 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for drug rehabilitation treatment in the North Ayrshire local authority area in each of the last five years; what the current figure is, and how this compares with (a) East Ayrshire local authority area, (b) South Ayrshire local authority area and (c) each NHS board area.

This information is not heldcentrally. Average waiting times are not regarded as a particularly effective measureof the availability and efficiency of drugs services.

A national waiting times informationframework was implemented in April 2004. It collects data on the number of peoplewho wait less for less than one week, less than two weeks, and so on, for up tofour different treatment and support interventions. Information is collected atthe Alcohol and Drug Action Team (ADAT) level.

Reports are submitted to the Scottish Executive each quarter, and can be viewed on:

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/wtpilot/reports.htm.

Question reference: S2W-18895

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 27 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered heroin users there were in the North Ayrshire local authority area in each of the last five years; what the current figure is, and how this compares with (a) East Ayrshire local authority area, (b) South Ayrshire local authority area and (c) each NHS board area.

There is not a central register of heroin users in Scotland.

The Scottish Drug Misuse Database collects information on new clients at their point of contact with drug treatment and care services. The following table details the percentage of new clients reporting heroin use in (i) North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire local authority areas and (ii) each NHS board area, from 1999 to 2004. Data for 2004-05 will be published in December 2005

Area	% of Individuals Reporting Heroin Use
Area	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
North Ayrshire	71	83	76	71	66
East Ayrshire	77	83	78	77	71
South Ayrshire	85	86	72	68	66
NHS Boards	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Argyll and Clyde	81	84	82	80	79
Ayrshire and Arran	76	84	76	72	67
Borders	42	48	43	47	41
Dumfries and Galloway	96	98	91	91	81
Fife	69	73	70	75	72
Forth Valley	82	88	76	78	72
Grampian	81	87	88	86	85
Greater Glasgow	84	86	84	83	70
Highland	59	70	67	70	62
Lanarkshire	77	84	83	75	69
Lothian	46	59	70	66	67
Orkney	-	-	17	-	-
Shetland	23	47	84	84	81
Tayside	26	32	51	53	67

Question reference: S2W-18893

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 27 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities for drug rehabilitation are available in the North Ayrshire local authority area and how such facilities compare with those available in previous years.

Question reference: S2W-18889

Asked by: Campbell Martin, MSP for West of Scotland, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 September 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the rates of crime involving the illegal importation, cultivation, supply or possession of drugs have been in the North Ayrshire local authority area in each year since 2002-03.

The available information on the number of these crimes recorded by the police is given in the following table.

Number of Drug Crimes Recorded by the Police in North Ayrshire, 2002-03 and 2003-04

	2002-03	2003-04
Illegal importation of drugs	0	0
Illegal cultivation of drugs	3	9
Possession of drugs with intent to supply	267	231
Possession of drugs	756	892
Drugs, other offences	20	8
Total	1,046	1,140

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