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: S2W-25061

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2006
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 27 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many area tourism partnerships are in operation; what areas they cover, and what their responsibilities are.

There are currently 17 Area TourismPartnerships in operation covering: Aberdeen and Grampian; Dundee and Angus; Fife; Orkney;Perthshire; Argyll, Stirling and the Trossachs; Western Isles; Edinburgh andLothians; Dumfries and Galloway; Ayrshire and Arran; Borders; Shetland; Highlands; Glasgow; Northand South Lanarkshire; Renfrewshire; and East Dunbartonshire.

The Area TourismPartnerships currently involve 250 individuals with approximately halfrepresenting tourism businesses and the remainder representing a cross sectionof the public sector. The Area Tourism Partnerships have responsibility for overseeingthe production and implementation of local Tourism Action Plans; interpretingand implementing the Tourism Framework for Change at a local level andreviewing local alignment on an on-going basis; acting as a lobbying body and “voice”for local tourism; and monitoring and reporting on performance of local tourismaction plans.

Question reference: S2W-25075

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 24 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prescriptions have been issued for (a) Ritalin, (b) Concerta and (c) Strattera in the last 12 months.

The following table shows thenumber of items and gross ingredient cost for atomoxetine (Strattera®), methylphenidatestandard preparation (Ritalin®, Equasym® and the generic form of methylphenidate)and methylphenidate modified release (Concerta XL® and Equasym XL®) during the 12months from February 2005 to January 2006. Data given refer to prescriptions dispensedby community pharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicinesdispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics. The cost given is that beforeaddition of any pharmacy fees and deduction of any discount and patient charges.

Approved Name	Proprietary Name	No of Prescribed Items	Gross Ingredient Cost (£)
Atomoxetine	Strattera	3,268	273,388
Methylphenidate standard preparation	Methylphenidate, Ritalin and Equasym	18,695	302,227
Methylphenidate modified release	Concerta XL and Equasym XL	22,086	1,148,097
Total		44,049	1,723,712

The information in the tablehas been provided by NHS National Services Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-25204

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 24 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all (a) operational onshore wind farms and (b) consents granted for onshore wind farm planning applications in Scotland, giving in each case the (i) number of wind turbines, (ii) capacity and (iii) location.

This information is not heldcentrally. While no power station with an installed capacity in excess of 50MW canbe built, operated or extended without consent from the Scottish ministers unders.36 of the Electricity Act 1989, all other cases are considered by localplanning authorities. As a result the following data has been obtained from a numberof sources:

In Operation

Name	Location	No of Turbines	Capacity
Hagshaw Hill	South Lanarkshire	26	15.6
Windy Standard	Dumfries and Galloway	36	21.6
Novar	Easter Ross, Highland	34	17
Beinn Ghlas	Taynuilt, Argyll and Bute	14	8.4
Thorfinn	Burgar Hill, Orkney Islands	1	1.5
Dun Law	Scottish Borders	26	17.16
Sigurd	Orkney Islands	1	1.3
Hare Hill	Cumnock, East Ayrshire	20	13
Burra Dale	Shetland Islands	3	1.98
Sainsbury	East Kilbride, S Lanarkshire	1	0.6
Deucheran Hill	Kintyre, Argyll and Bute	9	15
Myres Hill	Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire	2	1.9
Beinn an Tuirc	Kintyre, Argyll and Bute	46	30
Bu Farm	Stronsey, Orkney Islands	3	2.7
Thorfinn, Burgar Hill	Orkney Islands	1	2.75
Bowbeat	Innerleithen, Scottish Borders	24	31.2
Tangy	Kintyre, Argyll and Bute	15	12.75
Burra Dale Extension	Shetland Islands	2	1.7
Forss	Caithness, Highland	2	2.32
Ardrossan	North Ayrshire	12	24
Crystal Rig	Scottish Borders, East Lothian	20	62.5
Cruach Mhor	Cowal, Argyll and Bute	35	29.75
Causeymire	Caithness, Highland	21	48
Gigha (Community)	Argyll and Bute	3	0.675
Spurness	Sanday, Orkney Islands	4	11
Burray	Orkney Islands	1	0.85
Rothes (Cairn Uish)	Moray	22	50.6
Artfield Fell	New Luce, Dumfries and Galloway	15	19.5
Glens of Foudland	Aberdeenshire	20	26
Black Law	S Lanarkshire, N Lanarkshire, W Lothian	42	97
Boulfruich	Caithness, Highland	15	13
Hadyard Hill	Barr, South Ayrshire	52	120

Under Construction

Name	Location	No of Turbines	Capacity
Braes O’ Doune	Stirling	36	72
Paul’s Hill	Moray	28	65
Beinn Tharsuinn	Easter Ross, Highland	17	30
Boyndie Airfield	Aberdeenshire	10	20
Wardlaw Wood	North Ayrshire	6	18
Farr	Tomatin, Highland	40	92
Black Law “B”	S Lanarkshire, N Lanarkshire, W Lothian	12	27.6
Black Hill	Longformacus, Scottish Borders	22	28.6
Clachan Flats	Cairndow, Argyll and Bute	9	15.75
Tangy Extension	Kintyre, Argyll and Bute	7	5.95
Earlsburn	Stirling	14	32
Michelin Tyre Factory	Dundee City	2	4
Fintry (Community)	Stirling	1	2
Balnamoon (Community)	Keith, Aberdeenshire	1	0.85

Consented

Name	Location	No of Turbines	Capacity
Wether Hill	Dumfries and Galloway	14	18
Arnish Moor	Western Isles	3	3.9
An Suidhe	Argyll and Bute	24	30
Torrs Hill	Forrest Estate, Dumfries and Galloway	2	4
Over Enoch and Ardoch	East Renfrewshire	5	6.5
Tullo	Mearns, Aberdeenshire	8	12
Mid Hill	Deeside, Aberdeenshire	25	50
Arnish Moor II	Western Isles	6	12
Pentland Road (incorporating Beinn Mholach	Western Isles	6	12
Dalswinton, Pennyland Moor	Dumfries and Galloway	16	36
Drummuir	Moray	21	48
Findhorn Foundation	Moray	3	0.9
Millennium (Glenmoriston)	Highland	16	48
Novar Extension	Easter Ross, Highland	16	32
Minsca Farm	Dumfries and Galloway	17	42.5
Crystal Rig Phase 2	Scottish Borders, East Lothian	52	164
Ben Aketil	Skye, Highland	10	15
Causeymire Extension	Caithness, Highland	3	6.7
Beinn an Tuirc Extension	Kintyre, Argyll and Bute	19	38
Hagshaw Hill Extension	North Lanarkshire	20	26
Dun Law Extension	Scottish Borders	35	30
Craig	Westerkirk, Dumfries and Galloway	3	5

Further information on thosedevelopments submitted for consent under the Electricity Act 1989 is in the Executivewebsite http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/infrastructure/19185/19102.

Question reference: S2W-24660

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 April 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been employed in the private sector in each of the last five years

Public and Private sector employmentin Scotland is officially published through the Scottish QuarterlyPublic Sector Employment (SQPSE) series. Estimates of private sectoremployment published in this series are calculated as total employment minus publicsector employment. Public sector employment is calculated using administrative andsurvey data direct from public sector organisations. Public sector employment isdefined using the National Accounts definition. The following table contains estimatesof private sector employment in the last five years taken from the SQPSEseries.

Private sector employment inScotland, 2001–05

	Private Sector Employment¹
Q4 2001	1,801,400
Q4 2002	1,846,300
Q4 2003	1,843,800
Q4 2004	1,876,900
Q4 2005	1,880,700

Source: Quarterly Public SectorEmployment in Scotland Q4 2005.

Note: 1. Figures are roundedto the nearest hundred.

Question reference: S2W-24343

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 24 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any ongoing teacher training programmes to enable teachers to recognise the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome or associated disorders in children.

Question reference: S2W-24345

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 23 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available for teachers and parents to help them to better understand Tourette Syndrome.

Question reference: S2W-24344

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 22 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-24019

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by John Scott on 20 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many staff members the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has had in each year since the office was established.

The Scottish Public ServicesOmbudsman’s staffing compliment since the office was established on 23 October 2002 is asfollows:

Year	Average Number of Whole-Time Equivalents
2002-03	23
2003-04	29
2004-05	31.9
2005-06	36

Question reference: S2W-24018

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by John Scott on 20 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the annual budget of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has been in each year since the office was established.

The annual budgets of the ScottishPublic Services Ombudsman since the office was established on 23 October 2002 areas follows:

Year	Budget
2002-03	£1,731,000¹
2003-04	£2,568,000
2004-05	£2,836,000
2005-06	£2,727,168

Note: 1. Includes £0.5 millionfor start-up costs.

Question reference: S2W-24020

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by John Scott on 20 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it considers that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has sufficient resources to cope with her workload.

We do consider that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has sufficient resources to undertake herstatutory functions. As part of the budgetary process, the SPCB invites theOmbudsman on an annual basis to prepare a budget submission which isscrutinised by the SPCB and which may include discussions between the SPCB andthe Ombudsman prior to the bid being reported to the Finance Committee as partof the SPCB’s overall budget submission.