- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 6 August 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected population is of the Peebles area for each of the next 10 years and whether such projections were taken into account when considering renovation or new build of the Peebles courthouse.
Answer
Population projections for areas smaller than council areas are not available. The latest, 2000 based, population projections up to the year 2016 for council areas within Scotland is published by the Registrar General in Table 1 of the booklet Population Projections, Scotland (2000 based). A copy of the booklet is available in the Parliament's Information Centre. This publication predicts a consistently decreasing population size for the Borders after 2003.Information on population trends was considered by the Scottish Court Service when examining the case for renovating Peebles Courthouse, but it was concluded did not materially affect the viability of Peebles Sheriff Courthouse.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 6 August 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21063 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 January 2002, what the estimated annual cost is of providing night-time sanitation to those 1,905 prisoners.
Answer
The cost of providing night-time sanitation is not separately identifiable from the other necessary improvements in living conditions in the prison service. The independently verified costs of improving the estate were set out in the Executive's consultation paper of the future of the Scottish Prison Service estate, which show that the public sector whole life costs would be about double those of the private sector for the same quality of output.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 31 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, applications which have qualified under its central heating installation programme have not yet had central heating installed, categorised by the month in which the application qualified in each of the last six months and broken down by local authority area.
Answer
In the period 1 January to 1 July 2002 there were a total of 5,301 applications for the central heating programme, as administered by Eaga. Four thousand, six hundred and fifty-nine of those applicants, or 88% of the total, are eligible for the programme. In the same period Eaga completed 3,651 central heating installations, of which 400 related to applications submitted after 1 January 2002. The remaining 3,251 installations related to applications submitted in 2001. Eaga do not collect figures on a local authority basis.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 31 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time was under its central heating installation programme (a) between an application qualifying and being passed to the surveyor; (b) for an application being passed from the surveyor to the heating company and (c) from an application reaching the heating company to completion of work in the period from January to June 2002 inclusive, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The terms of the question do not reflect the procedures under the central heating programme, as administered by Eaga. An application does not qualify until after a surveyor has visited the home to verify that the terms and conditions of the programme are met.When eligibility is confirmed, Eaga pass the applicant's details to a heating company. Details are generally passed on in the order in which applicants are confirmed as eligible. The period between determining eligibility and giving the applicant's name to a heating company will vary between parts of Scotland and over the duration of the programme. There are no figures by local authority area. When the heating company is authorised to proceed, the central heating is normally installed within three months.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to extend the 50% rates relief scheme available to post offices in rural areas to those in deprived urban areas and which local authorities currently operate an additional 50% relief scheme for post offices in rural areas.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no plans to extend the scope of the existing rural (village shop) rate relief scheme to post offices in deprived urban areas. Post offices in deprived urban areas may be eligible for rate relief under the small business rate relief scheme announced by Andy Kerr on 11 December 2001.The level of discretionary rate relief granted by local authorities under the rural (village shop) scheme is entirely a matter for each local authority. Information on the level of discretionary rate relief granted specifically to post offices by each local authority is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to (a) ensure that the rules and applications for 50% rates relief for rural post offices are uniformly applied across Scotland and (b) establish a uniform definition of what constitutes a rural post office for the purposes of the scheme.
Answer
Responsibility for interpreting the legislative framework within which local authorities are required to operate rests with the individual authority and subsequently, where a ratepayer disagrees with that interpretation, the Courts.The Non Domestic Rating (Rural Areas and Rateable Values Limits) (Scotland) Order 1997 designates rural areas for the purposes of the rural (village shop) rate relief scheme. The method used is based on the General Register Office for Scotland post code method of urban/rural classification.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reached any agreement with regard to a loan to Scottish Borders Council and, if so, whether it will detail the amount of the loan and any conditions attached to it.
Answer
No request for a loan has been received from Scottish Borders Council, and no loan has been agreed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what degree of overcrowding there was in Scottish prisons in total and broken down by prison, also expressed as a percentage of the capacity of prisons, on 31 January, 31 March and 30 June 2002.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The available information is in the following tables:Position at Friday 1 February 2002
| | Available capacity | Total | % of available capacity |
| South and West | |
| Barlinnie | 825 | 1,064 | 129.0% |
| Cornton Vale | 230 | 232 | 100.9% |
| Dumfries | 162 | 111 | 68.5% |
| Greenock | 254 | 313 | 123.2% |
| Kilmarnock | 548 | 541 | 98.7% |
| Low Moss | 375 | 237 | 63.2% |
| Polmont | 422 | 389 | 92.2% |
| Shotts | 516 | 513 | 99.4% |
| Area Total | 3,332 | 3,400 | 102.0% |
| North and East | |
| Aberdeen | 155 | 193 | 124.5% |
| Castle Huntly | 151 | 132 | 87.4% |
| Edinburgh | 578 | 658 | 113.8% |
| Glenochil | 489 | 487 | 99.6% |
| Glenochil YOI | 58 | 56 | 96.6% |
| Inverness | 108 | 129 | 119.4% |
| Noranside | 121 | 100 | 82.6% |
| Perth | 582 | 527 | 90.5% |
| Peterhead | 296 | 293 | 99.0% |
| Area Total | 2,538 | 2,575 | 101.5% |
| All Scotland Total | 5,876 | 5,976 | 101.7% |
Position at Friday 29 March 2002
| | Available capacity | Total | % of available capacity |
| South and West | |
| Barlinnie | 818 | 1,115 | 136.3% |
| Cornton Vale | 230 | 237 | 103.0% |
| Dumfries | 122 | 139 | 113.9% |
| Greenock | 254 | 317 | 124.8% |
| Kilmarnock | 548 | 526 | 96.0% |
| Low Moss | 345 | 264 | 76.5% |
| Polmont | 422 | 434 | 102.8% |
| Shotts | 516 | 518 | 100.4% |
| Area Total | 3,255 | 3,550 | 109.1% |
| North and East | |
| Aberdeen | 155 | 172 | 111.0% |
| Castle Huntly | 151 | 127 | 84.1% |
| Edinburgh | 578 | 724 | 125.3% |
| Glenochil | 496 | 483 | 97.4% |
| Glenochil YOI | 58 | 56 | 96.6% |
| Inverness | 108 | 135 | 125.0% |
| Noranside | 121 | 100 | 82.6% |
| Perth | 582 | 567 | 97.4% |
| Peterhead | 296 | 287 | 97.0% |
| Area Total | 2,545 | 2,651 | 104.2% |
| All Scotland Total | 5,806 | 6,201 | 106.8% |
Position at Friday 28 June 2002
| | Available capacity | Total | % of available capacity |
| South and West | |
| Barlinnie | 860 | 1,200 | 139.5% |
| Cornton Vale | 230 | 266 | 115.7% |
| Dumfries | 178 | 178 | 100.0% |
| Greenock | 254 | 353 | 139.0% |
| Kilmarnock | 548 | 537 | 98.0% |
| Low Moss | 318 | 295 | 92.8% |
| Polmont | 422 | 471 | 111.6% |
| Shotts | 508 | 498,518 | 98.0% |
| Area Total | 3,318 | 3,798 | 114.5% |
| North and East | |
| Aberdeen | 155 | 210 | 135.5% |
| Castle Huntly | 156 | 145 | 92.9% |
| Edinburgh | 578 | 793 | 137.2% |
| Glenochil | 496 | 497 | 100.2% |
| Glenochil YOI | 76 | 73 | 96.1% |
| Inverness | 108 | 138 | 127.8% |
| Noranside | 121 | 112 | 92.6% |
| Perth | 582 | 543 | 93.3% |
| Peterhead | 296 | 286 | 96.6% |
| Area Total | 2,568 | 2,797 | 108.9% |
| All Scotland Total | 5,886 | 6,595 | 112.0%" |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of ancillary staff to general practitioners is in Scotland compared with England and Wales.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 4 July 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding for a feasibility study into the possibility of re-opening Reston railway station.
Answer
The reopening of a railway passenger station at Reston is a local transport issue. As such we would expect the relevant local authority to take such a project forward.Local authorities may apply for funding of feasibility studies for public transport improvements from the Public Transport Fund (PTF). Studies or projects supported by the PTF would have to satisfy eligibility criteria and compete with other bids. Applications for the current round must be submitted by 12 August.
