Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-21515

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 16 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what would be required to enable freight to be transported on the Leven to Thornton railway line.

Question reference: S3W-21567

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are held in secure accommodation and how many were held in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area and institution.

The current number of children in secure care accommodation is not held centrally. However, the government annually publishes secure care accommodation statistics which can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/09105012/0.

Details of the number of children held in secure accommodation are as follows:

Number of Young People in Secure Accommodation on 31 March 2006 by Centre and Local Authority Area of Young Person''s Home

Local Authority of Young Person''s Home	Edinburgh Secure Services	The Elm''s Close Support Unit	Rossie School	St Mary''s Kenmure	St Philip''s	Total
Aberdeen City	0	0	3	1	0	4
Aberdeenshire	0	0	1	0	0	1
Angus	0	0	1	1	0	2
Argyll and Bute	0	0	0	0	1	1
Clackmannanshire	1	0	0	1	0	2
Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	0	1	0	1
Dundee City	1	0	2	0	1	4
East Ayrshire	0	0	1	1	1	3
East Dunbartonshire	1	0	0	1	0	2
East Lothian	1	0	1	0	0	2
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh City	8	0	1	0	0	9
Eilean Siar	0	0	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	0	1	0	1
Fife	0	0	1	1	0	2
Glasgow City	0	0	3	3	7	13
Highland	0	0	0	1	0	1
Inverclyde	0	0	1	1	0	2
Midlothian	1	0	0	0	0	1
Moray	0	0	1	0	0	1
North Ayrshire	0	0	1	2	0	3
North Lanarkshire	0	0	1	2	0	3
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	1	0	1
Perth and Kinross	0	0	1	0	0	1
Renfrewshire	0	0	2	2	0	4
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	2	0	2
South Lanarkshire	0	0	0	3	0	3
Stirling	0	0	0	0	0	0
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	1	0	1
West Lothian	0	0	0	2	0	2
Outwith Scotland or Unknown	0	0	2	7	1	10
Total	13	0	23	35	11	82

Source: Secure Accommodation Statistics 2005-06 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00523.

Note: St. Philip''s opened on 14 March 2006.

Number of Young People in Secure Accommodation on 31 March 2007 by Centre and Local Authority Area of Young Person''s Home

Local Authority of Young Person''s Home	Edinburgh Secure Services	The Elm''s Close Support Unit	Rossie School	St Mary''s Kenmure	St Philip''s	Good Shepherd	Total
Aberdeen City	0	0	3	1	0	1	5
Aberdeenshire	0	0	6	0	0	1	7
Angus	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
Argyll and Bute	0	0	0	0	2	0	2
Clackmannanshire	0	0	1	1	1	0	3
Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	0	0	0	3	3
Dundee City	0	3	1	2	0	0	6
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	1	0	1	2
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh City	12	0	2	0	2	0	16
Eilean Siar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fife	0	0	0	5	1	0	6
Glasgow City	0	0	5	3	10	1	19
Highland	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Inverclyde	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moray	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
North Ayrshire	0	0	1	4	2	0	7
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Renfrewshire	0	0	0	2	0	4	6
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
South Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Stirling	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	3	0	3
West Lothian	0	0	0	1	1	2	4
Outwith Scotland or Unknown	0	0	2	4	0	0	6
Total	12	3	24	27	22	18	106

Source: Secure Accommodation Statistics 2006-07 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00606.

Notes: Good Shepherd opened on 29 August 2006.

Number of Young People in Secure Accommodation on 31 March 2008 by Centre and Local Authority Area of Young Person''s Home

Local Authority of Young Person''s Home	Edinburgh Secure Services	The Elm''s Close Support Unit	Rossie School	St Mary''s Kenmure	St Philip''s	Good Shepherd	Kibble	Total
Aberdeen City	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	5
Aberdeenshire	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Angus	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Argyll and Bute	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	4
Clackmannanshire	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2
Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dundee City	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	4
East Ayrshire	0	0	0	1	2	1	2	6
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	4
East Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Edinburgh City	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	9
Eilean Siar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Falkirk	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3
Fife	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	6
Glasgow City	0	0	2	6	9	6	3	26
Highland	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	3
Inverclyde	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	3
Midlothian	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	3
Moray	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
North Ayrshire	0	0	2	4	2	1	2	11
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	2	3	1	1	7
Orkney Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Renfrewshire	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	4
Scottish Borders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	2
South Lanarkshire	0	0	2	2	1	1	0	6
Stirling	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
West Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2
West Lothian	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2
Outwith Scotland or Unknown	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	11	3	19	25	24	18	18	118

Source: Secure Accommodation Statistics 2007-08:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00681

Notes:

St. Mary''s Kenmure was temporarily closed from 30 March 2008 but young people were still reported as being in this centre at the end of the month. Consequently, some young people will be counted in admissions for other centres for 30 to 31 March without having been recorded as discharged by St. Mary''s.

For 2007-08, young people using the emergency bed have been included for St. Mary''s Kenmure as they were not able to differentiate between emergency and non-emergency beds.

Kibble opened on 23 July 2007.

Question reference: S3W-21568

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by NHS hospitals on courier or taxi transportation services for medical samples, products, equipment and documents, including blood products, medical products, samples for analysis, medical equipment, x-rays, patient records and other medical documents, in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board area and hospital.

Question reference: S3W-21566

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of restraint of a child there have been in secure units for children in each of the last three years, broken down by institution.

Question reference: S3W-21562

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time higher education students were assessed as being exempt from parental/spousal contribution and as income not declared/required in each of the last five years and when new statistics will be available.

The following table shows the number of full-time higher education students supported by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic years 2003-04 to 2007-08 who were assessed as:

1. Income not declared/required, and

2. Exempt from parental spousal contribution.

The total number of full-time higher education students supported by SAAS is also shown.

Academic Year	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Academic Year	Number of Students
Income not declared/required	34,715	37,395	38,865	39,740	42,345
Exempt from parental/spousal contribution	19,785	18,060	17,765	18,990	18,865
All full-time students receiving support	121,020	119,745	120,400	121,200	121,775

Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

Student numbers have been rounded up or down to the nearest five.

The income categories are based on residual benefactor income i.e. income after deductions allowed by SAAS have been subtracted.

Statistics on the assessed benefactor income of full-time students supported by SAAS in academic year 2008-09 will be available in November this year.

Question reference: S3W-21561

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time higher education students were assessed as coming from single parent families in each of the last five years and when new statistics will be available.

Prior to the introduction of the new means testing arrangements at the beginning of the current academic year (2008-09), the income of a parent''s partner or of a step-parent (unless they had legally adopted a student) was not included in the assessment of student support. Therefore students would not need to supply details of such relationships. As a result it is not possible to say how many students came from single parent families.

From 2008-09 onwards the income of parents'' partners and step-parents who haven''t legally adopted the student will be included in support assessments and therefore it will be possible to look at how many students applying for income assessed support come from single parent families.

Statistics on higher education student support provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic year 2008-09 will be available in November this year.

Question reference: S3F-01534

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Salmond on 12 March 2009

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take to address student hardship among those at university.

Question reference: S3W-21498

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received requests for additional discretionary funds in the last 14 months from colleges, universities or the Scottish Funding Council and, if so, from whom and for how much.

The requests for additional Discretionary Funds in academic years 2007-08 and 2008-09 are shown in the following tables:

In-Year Re-Distribution 2007-08

Institution	Additional Amount Requested (£)
Adam Smith College	50,000.00
Cumbernauld College	20,000.00
Cardonald College	20,000.00
Napier University	40,000.00
Motherwell College	70,000.00
GCNS	5,000.00
James Watt College	90,000.00
University of Abertay Dundee	21,000.00
Stevenson college	43,207.00
Ayr College	10,000.00
Borders College	10,000.00
Central College of Commerce	100,000.00
Oatridge College	12,000.00
Angus College	40,000.00
Glasgow School of Art	10,000.00
Scottish Agricultural College	10,000.00
Forth Valley College	156,875.00
South Lanarkshire College	240,000.00
Coatbridge College	15,000.00
John Wheatley College	6,000.00
UHI	40,000.00
Dundee College	70,000.00
North Glasgow College	30,000.00

In-Year Re-Distribution 2008-09

Institution	Additional Amount Requested (£)
Ayr College	20,000
Barony College	3,000
Borders College	7,250
Cardonald College	30,500
Central College	89,000
Clydebank College	40,000
Cumbernauld College	23,000
Dumfries and Galloway College	8,000
Adam Smith College	35,000
James Watt College	120,630
Motherwell College	27,869
North Glasgow College	60,000
Oatridge College	15,000
Reid Kerr College	30,000
South Lanarkshire College	10,240
Stevenson College	34,748
Stow College	123,000
West Lothian College	26,000
University of Abertay Dundee	48,000
Glasgow Scholl of Art	15,000
St Andrews University	15,000
Stirling University	25,000
UHI	40,000
Glasgow Metropolitan College	23,398
Anniesland College	10,000
Elmwood College	2,865
Total	882,500

Question reference: S3W-21499

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much discretionary funding has been provided to higher education and further education institutions in the 2008-09 academic year, broken down by type and institution.

The full list of allocations for the Higher Education Discretionary Funds, provided to colleges and universities, is available on the Student Award Agency for Scotland (SAAS) website at http://www.saas.gov.uk/student_support/other_funding.htm#discretionary.

In addition to this, information on which institutions have received further funds as part of the in-year re-distribution process can be found in the answer to question S3W-21493 on 6 March 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Information on discretionary fund allocations to colleges for further education students is not held by the Scottish Government and can be obtained from the Scottish Funding Council.

Question reference: S3W-21493

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any reallocations of discretionary funds that it has made for colleges or universities in 2008-09.

The in-year re-allocation of Higher Education Discretionary Funds for 2008-09 was as follows:

Institution	Additional Amount Allocated
Ayr College	20,000
Barony College	3,000
Borders College	7,250
Cardonald College	23,272.99
Central College	23,272.99
Clydebank College	23,272.99
Cumbernauld College	23,000
Dumfries and Galloway College	8,000
Adam Smith College	23,272.99
James Watt College	23,272.99
Motherwell College	23,272.99
North Glasgow College	23,272.99
Oatridge College	15,000
Reid Kerr College	23,272.99
South Lanarkshire College	10,240
Stevenson College	23,272.99
Stow College	23,272.99
West Lothian College	23,272.99
University of Abertay Dundee	23,272.99
Glasgow Scholl of Art	15,000
St Andrews University	15,000
Stirling University	23,272.99
UHI	23,272.99
Glasgow Metropolitan College	23,272.99
Anniesland College	10,000
Elmwood College	2,865
Total	478,449.85

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