Seòmar agus comataidhean

Estimates of the medianage of first-time buyers in Scotland are set out in the following table. Thesedata are sourced from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The notes to the tables explainthe coverage of the estimates and the reasons for a possible break in comparabilitybetween 2004 and 2005, at which point the Regulated Mortgage Survey replaced theSurvey of Mortgage Lenders.

Mortgage lenders definefirst-time buyers as those whose names have not previously been on a mortgage contract.As such these figures include divorcees and others who have previously been owner-occupiersbut have not been named mortgage holders.

Median Age ofFirst-Time Buyers taking out Loans for House Purchase – Scotland

Year
1995	31
1996	30
1996	31
1998	30
1999	30
2000	30
2001	30
2002	32
2003	33
2004	34

Source: Survey ofMortgage Lenders (SML).

Median Age ofFirst-Time Buyers taking out Loans for House Purchase - Scotland

Year
2005	31
2006	28

 

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-313 on 7 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The following tableprovides estimates of the number of vacant dwellings and second homes by unitarylocal authority area from 1996, the year in which unitary local authorities werecreated. The footnotes to the table explain the derivation of the figures.

Vacant Dwellings andSecond Homes by Local Authority Area 1,2, September 1996-2006

Local Authority	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Scotland	91,251	85,749	88,142	91,714	99,854	104,003	106,463	106,312	104,668	101,734	101,445
Aberdeen City	6,403	3,564	3,647	4,208	4,858	5,304	5,443	5,550	5,259	5,574	4,840
Aberdeenshire	4,582	4,719	4,438	5,040	5,184	5,508	5,322	5,222	4,931	4,681	4,766
Angus	2,169	2,256	2,386	2,572	2,581	2,813	2,876	2,857	2,808	2,756	2,653
Argyll and Bute	3,816	4,176	5,507	4,653	5,794	5,955	5,960	5,402	5,442	5,042	5,085
Clackmannanshire	609	472	554	576	664	671	774	677	735	794	789
Dumfries and Galloway	2,767	3,006	3,292	3,244	3,508	3,753	3,693	3,384	3,484	3,331	3,757
Dundee City	4,443	4,580	4,611	4,646	5,431	5,631	5,507	5,671	5,163	4,822	5,159
East Ayrshire	836	921	917	1,193	1,372	1,437	1,571	1,390	1,267	1,286	1,161
East Dunbartonshire	500	438	520	451	404	410	445	475	482	547	437
East Lothian	1,115	1,067	1,044	1,052	1,109	1,220	1,175	1,342	1,323	1,419	1,386
East Renfrewshire	527	558	799	304	595	636	846	763	907	883	931
Edinburgh, City of	11,897	7,542	6,999	7,470	8,616	8,596	9,020	8,803	9,465	8,734	9,633
Eilean Siar	1,593	1,627	1,705	1,809	1,866	1,865	2,014	2,002	1,985	1,866	1,838
Falkirk	1,918	1,750	1,081	1,170	1,433	1,525	1,445	1,637	1,570	2,069	1,808
Fife	5,705	5,460	5,593	5,657	6,307	6,655	6,801	7,252	7,474	7,122	7,607
Glasgow City3	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395	10,395
Highland	8,370	8,839	8,680	8,587	9,102	9,419	9,631	9,673	9,819	9,444	9,279
Inverclyde	1,402	1,200	1,678	2,046	2,342	2,111	2,447	2,561	2,612	2,368	2,120
Midlothian	545	595	573	574	477	487	480	510	534	522	560
Moray	1,890	2,289	2,100	2,261	2,382	2,367	2,241	2,278	2,116	2,021	1,933
North Ayrshire	1,928	2,100	2,433	2,448	2,686	2,674	3,675	4,695	3,056	2,897	2,875
North Lanarkshire	1,699	1,899	3,393	3,725	3,503	3,162	2,679	2,350	2,184	2,266	2,316
Orkney Isles	926	1,064	1,115	1,192	1,274	1,368	1,406	1,406	846	785	810
Perth and Kinross	3,826	3,642	3,575	3,536	3,763	4,125	4,178	4,030	4,018	3,817	3,393
Renfrewshire	1,732	1,647	1,690	2,461	3,523	4,410	3,672	2,891	3,281	2,909	2,733
Scottish Borders	2,956	3,051	2,897	3,124	3,129	3,402	3,344	3,350	3,285	3,263	3,408
Shetland	677	757	786	839	881	839	884	844	837	768	773
South Ayrshire	1,129	1,116	1,151	1,270	1,262	1,449	1,641	1,570	1,645	1,534	1,679
South Lanarkshire	1,544	1,845	1,884	1,804	1,929	1,997	2,703	3,247	3,605	3,500	3,147
Stirling	1,457	1,393	1,358	1,376	1,445	1,680	1,601	1,486	1,608	1,648	1,594
West Dunbartonshire	760	648	582	1,335	1,193	1,182	1,605	1,675	1,596	1,508	1,304
West Lothian	1,135	1,133	759	696	846	957	989	924	936	1,163	1,276

Notes:

1. Figures include:

 - Unoccupied dwellingsthat are exempt from council tax.

 - Dwellings subjectto second home or long-term empty property discount (including holiday homes andself-catering accommodation available to let for less than 140 days per year).

- A small number ofdwellings occupied entirely by adults who are ‘disregarded’ for the purpose of payingcouncil tax, such as adults who are severely mentally impaired.

2. The figures recordedmay fluctuate for two main reasons:

 - Self-catering holidayaccommodation available to let for less than 140 days per year will be included.If it is let for more than this, it will be included on the non-domestic rates valuationroll instead.

 - There can be delaysin the information on council tax systems being updated, or councils may amend theinformation held on their systems.

This is most likelyto lead to fluctuations in areas with high turnover, or high levels of vacanciesor second homes.

Comparable figuresare not available prior to 1996.

3. In 2006, GlasgowCity Council Financial Services moved to a new software system for council tax.This has resulted in a lack of consistency between the figures on the number ofdwellings entitled to discounts and exemptions for 2006, and the figures for earlieryears. In order to overcome this problem, the number of discounts and exemptionsin 1996-2005 were adjusted to be equal to the figures for 2006. This is in linewith other available data, which show little change in the number of vacancies inGlasgow in 2001-06.

Source: GROS householdestimates:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/household-estimates-statistics/household-estimates-for-scotland-2006/index.html.

The requested informationis not held centrally.

The Scottish Executive has statedits opposition to extraordinary rendition. We consider torture to be an abhorrentpractice and take our international obligations to this very seriously. We believethat under Scots law all the appropriate procedures are in place for the investigationof crimes of torture, attempt or conspiracy to commit torture and other possiblerelated offences including abduction and assault and that the punishments availableto courts reflect the grave nature of the offences.

Student teachers are given generaltuition and guidance on how to recognise and support pupils with additional supportneeds, including dyslexia, as part of a series of core and elective modules withininitial teacher education courses.

The Executive are also fundinga pioneering new project at Aberdeen University, providing £1.39 million over 2005-10,to embed inclusive approaches to teaching for pupils with additional support needs,including dyslexia, within initial teacher education. The findings and best practicewill be disseminated to other initial teacher education providers.

Information prior to 1994 innot centrally held, however headcount andwhole-time equivalent (WTE) numbers in each staff group employed from 1994 in the Scottish Ambulance Service by grade are outlined in the following tables 1 and 2.The information is shown as at 30 September in each year.

NHSScotland WorkforceStatistics

Table 1: Scottish AmbulanceService Head Count, at 30 September

	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
All Scottish Ambulance Service	2,721	2,811	2,903	2,909	2,929	2,947	2,962	3,083	3,233	3,462	3,543	3,661
Whitley Grades	2,721	2,811	2,903	2,909	2,929	2,947	2,962	3,083	3,233	3,462	3,543	3,661
Grades 7-10 and Senior Management	58	57	68	63	65	55	60	69	71	67	72	78
Grades 4-6	35	25	29	31	28	31	36	38	50	52	62	70
Grades 1-3	78	76	68	61	61	63	54	53	56	60	61	61
Ambulance and control officer	230	232	238	245	260	263	264	285	322	371	369	366
Ambulance Man 34	669	1,455	1,440	1,472	1,457	1,464	1,485	1,483	1,520	1,566	1,672	1,697
Leading Ambulance man	239	237	246	256	264	257	259	250	231	321	332	337
Trainee Ambulance man	80	162	142	98	82	85	66	129	159	196	111	138
Care assistant 3	-	-	538	546	576	604	624	616	634	687	659	723
Ancillary Staff 2	36	31	34	32	23	20	17	17	17	21	20	23
Trades 2	51	49	48	50	59	59	56	58	58	60	61	59
Other 3	1,245	487	52	55	54	46	41	85	115	61	124	109

Source: ISD Scotland.

NHSScotland WorkforceStatistics

Table 1: Scottish AmbulanceService Whole-Time Equivalent, at 30September

	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
All Scottish Ambulance Service	2,645	2,722	2,798	2,791	2,813	2,829	2,842	2,967	3,112	3,335	3,398	3,514
Whitley Grades	2,645	2,722	2,798	2,791	2,813	2,829	2,842	2,967	3,112	3,335	3,398	3,514
Grades 7-10 and Senior Management	58	57	68	63	65	55	60	69	71	67	72	78
Grades 4-6	35	25	29	31	28	30	36	37	48	51	60	67
Grades 1-3	75	73	64	55	55	56	47	48	50	51	51	53
Ambulance and control officer	229	230	234	240	253	258	258	278	315	366	361	357
Ambulance man 34	605	1,445	1,433	1,458	1,442	1,448	1,465	1,462	1,501	1,546	1,648	1,671
Leading Ambulance man	239	237	246	256	264	257	259	250	231	318	330	336
Trainee Ambulance man	80	159	133	92	79	81	63	124	155	192	103	132
Care assistant 3	-	-	475	480	509	537	553	565	583	623	606	660
Ancillary Staff 2	28	24	26	25	17	14	12	12	11	15	15	17
Trades 2	51	49	48	50	59	59	56	58	58	60	61	59
Other 3	1,245	424	41	41	42	35	33	63	89	46	92	84

Source: ISD Scotland.

Notes:

1. Includesambulance staff, ancillary staff, maintenance staff, administrative and clericalstaff and senior management.

2. The number ofstaff in these categories is dependent upon whether the service is provided bydirectly employed staff or by external agencies.

3. In 1994 and1995, it is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown by Whitley grade forall staff. In 1994, staff recorded as “other” were predominately ambulance menand care assistants; in 1995 staff recorded as “other” were predominately careassistants.

4. Ambulance man is aWhitley Council grade/post descriptor and covers both sexes and workers

Scottish Ambulance Serviceidentified a discrepancy with the 2006 data which ISD are investigatingfurther, therefore 2006 figures for Scottish Ambulance Service are not shown.

1. Scotland had2.7 physicians per 1,000 population in 2005, (Scottish Health Statistics (ISD) andGeneral Register Office (GRO)).

2. The UK had 2.4 physiciansper 1,000 population in 2005, (Organisation for Economic Development and Organisation,OECD.

3. Table 1 shows how many physiciansper 1000 population each EU member state had in 2005 (unless stated otherwise).

Table 1 – Physicians Per 1,000Population, EU

Country	Physicians Per 1,000 Population
Austria	3.5
Belgium	4.0
Bulgaria	3.6
Cyprus	2.3
Czech Republic	3.6
Denmark	2.9 (2002)
Estonia	4.4 (2000)
Finland	2.4
France	3.4
Germany	3.4
Greece	4.3 (2001)
Hungary	3.0
Ireland	2.8
Italy	3.8
Latvia	3.2
Lithuania	3.9
Luxembourg	2.5
Malta	3.5
Netherlands	3.7
Poland	2.1
Portugal	3.4
Romania	1.9
Slovakia	3.1 (2003)
Slovenia	2.2 (2002)
Spain	3.8
Sweden	3.3 (2002)

Source: World Health Organization(WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

4. Table 2 shows physicians per1,000 population for OECD nations in 2005 (unless otherwise stated).

Country	Physicians per 1,000 population
Australia	2.8 (2001)
Canada	2.2
Iceland	3.7
Japan	2.0 (2002)
Korea	1.6
Mexico	1.8
New Zealand	2.4 (2001)
Norway	3.7
Switzerland	3.8
Turkey	1.4 (2003)
United States	2.4

Source: World Health Organization(WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

5. It should be noted the figuresquoted do not say anything about access or quality of care citizens in these countriesreceive. It is simply a ratio of physicians to population.

6. The methodologies behind thesefigures vary. For example, some countries arrive at the figure by including internsand both public and private physicians while others do not. Some countries alsoinclude domestic physicians who are working abroad. Overall, therefore the figuresare not directly comparable.

7. The figures are based on headcountor total numbers of physicians. They do not take into account different workingpatterns that exist in different countries which will also impact on the type ofcare received. Similarly, the type of care and services a physician provides ineach country will not necessarily be comparable.

This information is not held.Dentists are not obliged to advise NHS boards if they are accepting or have stoppedaccepting new NHS patients.

The National Parks(Scotland) Act 2000 provides powers for Scottish Ministers to designatenational parks where they are satisfied: that an area is of outstandingnational importance because of its natural, or natural and cultural heritage;that the area has a distinctive and coherent identity; and that designation ofa national park would represent the best means of meeting the special needs of the area. The Act identifies the aims of National Parks as:

(a) to conserve and enhancethe natural and cultural heritage of the area;

(b) to promote sustainableuse of the natural resources of the area;

(c) to promote understandingand enjoyment (including enjoyment in the form of recreation) of the specialqualities of the area by the public; and

(d) to promote sustainableeconomic and social development of the area’s communities.

Regional Parks may bedesignated by local authorities under powers provided in the Wildlife andCountryside (Scotland) Act 1981. The Act defines a regional park as ‘anextensive area of land, part of which is devoted to the recreational needs of the public’. Regional Park designations are subject to confirmation byMinisters.