Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-38755

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) change in percentage use of and (b) expenditure for agency and bank nursing and midwifery staff was in each NHS board in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10.

The information requested is as follows:

(a) Separate tables showing information about the change in percentage use of agency and bank nursing and midwifery staff have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52305 and 52306 respectively).

(b) Trend costs for agency nursing and midwifery staff in each NHS board are available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Agency%20Nurse%20200910.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

Trend costs for bank nursing and midwifery staff in each NHS board are available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Bank%20Nurses%20200910.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

Question reference: S3W-38757

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 20 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was allocated to each local authority for the construction of new council houses in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07, (e) 2007-08, (f) 2008-09 and (g) 2009-10.

No funding was allocated to local authorities to support the construction of new council houses between 2003-04 and 2008-09. In 2009-10, the Scottish Government allocated £49.9 million across two rounds of funding to support new council house building. A further £30.03 million was allocated in a third round of funding in 2010-11.

Local Authority	Round 1 Allocation (2009-10)	Round 2 Allocation (2009-10)	Round 3 Allocation (2010-11)	Rounds 1 to 3 Total
Aberdeen City	78 units £1.95 million	42 units £1.05 million	31 units £0.93 million	151 units £3.93 million
Aberdeenshire	35 units £875,000	74 units £1.85 million	45 units £1.35 million	154 units £4.075 million
Angus	Unsuccessful application	38 £950,000	43 units, £1.29 million	81 units £2.24 million
Argyll and Bute	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
City of Edinburgh	134 units £3.35 million	50 units £1.25 million	96 units, £2.88 million	280 units, £7.48 million
Clackmannan-shire	Did not apply	24 units £600,000	Did not apply	24 units £600,000
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Dumfries and Galloway	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Dundee City	32 units £800,000	Unsuccessful application	8 units £240,000	40 units £1.04 million
East Ayrshire	10 units £250,000	30 units 750,000	10 units £300,000	50 units £1.3 million
East Dunbarton-shire	Did not apply	26 units £650,000	26 units £780,000	52 units £1.43 million
East Lothian	117 units £250,000	54 units £1.35 million	96 units £2.88 million	267 units £7.155 million
East Renfrewshire	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Falkirk	54 units £1.35 million	42 units £1.05 million	36 units £1.08 million	132 units, £3.48 million
Fife	41 units £1,025 million	57 units £1.425 million	62 units £1.86 million	160 units £4.31 million
Glasgow City	Did not apply	Unsuccessful application	Did not apply	N/A
Highland	Did not apply	51 units £1.275 million	55 units £1.65 million	106 units £2.925 million
Inverclyde	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Midlothian	252 units £2.52 million	53 units £1.325 million	47 units £1.41 million	352 units, £5.255 million
Moray	48 units £1.2 million	Unsuccessful application	124 units, £3.72 million	172 units, £4.92 million
North Ayrshire	23 units £575,000	26 units £650,000	14 units £0.42 million	63 units £1.645 million
North Lanarkshire	78 units £1.95 million	105 units £2.625 million	35 units, £1.05 million	218 units, £5.625 million
Orkney	30 units £750,000	38 units £950,000	10 units £300,000	78 units £2 million
Perth and Kinross	26 units £650,000	10 units £250,000	45 units, £1.35 million	81 units, £2.25 million
Renfrewshire	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Scottish Borders	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
Shetland Islands	Unsuccessful application	Unsuccessful application	20 units £600,000	20 units £600,000
South Ayrshire	N/A	42 units £1.05 million	26 units £780,000	68 units £1.83 million
South Lanarkshire	61 units £1.525 million	20 units £500,000	25 units £750,000	106 units £2.775 million
Stirling	25 units £625,000	47 units £1.175 million	55 units £1.65 million	127 units £3.45 million
West Dunbartonshire	Did not apply	Did not apply	Did not apply	N/A
West Lothian	298 units £3.73 million	125 units £3.125 million	92 units £2.76 million	515 units £9.615 million
Total	1342 units £26.05 million	954 units £23.85 million	1,001 units, £30.03 million	3,297 units, £79.93 million

Question reference: S3W-38756

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 19 January 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been allocated to each local authority area under the CashBack for Communities programme since the inception of the scheme, also broken down by year.

The Scottish Government does not hold the amount allocated broken down by each local authority except for the funding given to Youthlink Scotland, which is broken down in this way for each year. The following table sets out the amounts administered by Youthlink Scotland since 2007 within each local authority. However, as from 1 April 2011 we will be collecting this information from all CashBack partners, which will allow allocations to be shown by each local authority.

To date the Scottish Government has committed to invest £24 million in the CashBack for Communities programme which includes diversionary and participatory projects for young people across Scotland, and in a wide range of projects.

So far over 300,000 young people participate in CashBack for Communities activities.

Cashback for Communities Youth Work Fund, Summary of Awards by Local Authority in Each Funding Round at 17 January 2011

LA NO	LA	Round 1 Awards Total	Round 2 Awards Total	Round 3 Awards Total	Round 4 Phase 1 Awards Total	LA Total Awards
1	Aberdeen	£24,966.00	£63,525.00	£33,623.00	£47,808.00	£169,922.00
2	Aberdeenshire	£28,620.00	£52,379.56	£56,987.00	£37,576.00	£175,562.56
3	Angus	£7,200.00	£35,800.00	£22,501.00	£8,731.00	£74,232.00
4	Argyll and Bute	£40,000.00	Nil	£21,474.00	£19,880.00	£81,354.00
5	Clackmannanshire	Nil	£40,000.00	£9,721.00	£19,904.00	£69,625.00
6	Dumfries and Galloway	£9,565.00	£51,435.00	£39,662.00	£36,282.00	£136,944.00
7	Dundee	£79,532.00	£42,468.00	£27,405.00	£71,349.00	£220,754.00
8	East Ayrshire	Nil	£82,000.00	£23,059.00	£12,949.00	£118,008.00
9	East Dunbartonshire	£12,692.00	£26,307.86	£19,591.00	Nil	£58,590.86
10	East Lothian	£31,000.00	Nil	£18,983.00	£17,094.00	£67,077.00
11	East Renfrewshire	Nil	£34,301.74	£17,077.00	£15,256.00	£66,634.74
12	Edinburgh	£176,383.00	£43,617.00	£71,185.00	£79,581.00	£370,766.00
13	Falkirk	Nil	£68,975.00	£27,829.00	£18,401.00	£115,205.00
14	Fife	£71,522.00	£113,478.00	£72,928.00	£25,974.00	£283,902.00
15	Glasgow	£103,711.00	£576,259.00	£131,558.00	£70,667.00	£882,195.00
16	Highland	£72,751.00	£11,249.00	£49,854.00	£5,000.00	£138,854.00
17	Inverclyde	£13,659.00	£69,341.00	£15,739.00	£15,041.00	£113,780.00
18	Midlothian	£8,132.00	£24,867.00	£15,438.00	£22,471.00	£70,908.00
19	Moray	£22,146.00	£4,854.00	£18,941.00	£11,000.00	£56,941.00
20	North Ayrshire	£4,057.00	£89,870.95	£28,215.00	£29,410.00	£151,552.95
21	North Lanarkshire	£224,000.00	Nil	£61,468.00	£80,329.00	£365,797.00
22	Orkney Islands	£4,445.00	£5,555.00	£5,296.00	£4,925.00	£20,221.00
23	Perth and Kinross	£30,091.00	£20,867.20	£29,689.00	£15,859.00	£96,506.20
24	Renfrewshire	Nil	£100,000.00	£30,952.00	£21,524.00	£152,476.00
25	Scottish Borders	£30,429.00	£6,571.00	£24,036.00	£15,603.00	£76,639.00
26	Shetland Islands	Nil	£10,000.00	£6,320.00	Nil	£16,320.00
27	South Ayrshire	Nil	£49,999.61	£30,015.00	£24,532.00	£104,546.61
28	South Lanarkshire	£144,698.00	£31,302.00	£58,527.00	£41,459.00	£275,986.00
29	Stirling	Nil	£40,000.00	£14,776.00	£15,390.00	£70,166.00
30	West Dunbartonshire	£42,548.00	£39,452.00	£17,672.00	£9,822.00	£109,494.00
31	West Lothian	£12,600.00	£58,388.37	£42,624.00	£32,477.00	£146,089.37
32	Western Isles	£4,920.00	£5,080.00	£7,284.00	£7,284.00	£24,568.00
>	Round Totals	£1,199,667.00	£1,797,943.29	£1,050,429.00	£833,578.00	£4,881,617.29

Question reference: S3W-37969

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 December 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) what percentage of its employees is paid at or above the living wage target of £7.15 per hour and how this compares with each year since 1999.

All 5,492 staff (100%) in the core directorates of the Scottish Government are paid above £7.15 per hour. The minimum rate of pay in the government is currently £7.23 per hour.

The Scottish Living Wage was established in 2009 at £7.00 per hour. The minimum rate of pay of staff in the government in 2009 was set in 2008 as part of a three-year pay award and before the establishment of the Scottish Living Wage. At that time, 95.1% of the 5,591 staff were paid above £7.00 per hour.

Since the Scottish Living Wage was only established in 2009, there are no comparison figures for the years prior to that date.

Question reference: S3O-11695

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2010
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 28 October 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what position it takes on tuition fees.

Question reference: S3W-36436

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 5 October 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeships were there in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2009-10, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S3W-36403

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 October 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to the development of rugby.

Question reference: S3W-36406

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Bruce Crawford on 1 October 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits accrued from the Cabinet’s summer programme.

The Cabinet''s summer programme has given local communities a greater opportunity to speak directly to Ministers about important issues of local and national concern. The Scottish Cabinet visited Dornoch, Stirling, Isle of Bute and Kilmarnock. As well as the formal Cabinet meeting, ministers hosted public meetings on the Government''s Vision for Scotland, staged receptions to celebrate Scotland''s Year of Food and Drink, and undertook visits and engagements around each meeting. More than 1,000 people attended events as part of the Cabinet''s summer programme

This year''s summer Cabinet programme follows on from two previous years of successful summer Cabinet events in Dundee, Melrose, Stornoway, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dumfries, Inverness, Pitlochry and Skye.

Further information on the Cabinet''s summer programme for this and previous years on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/cabinets2010.

Question reference: S3W-36407

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 30 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reach the 2020 emissions reduction target of 42% and how it is measuring progress.

On 22 September 2010, the Scottish Government laid a draft Order before Parliament that will set annual emissions reduction targets for the years 2010 to 2022. These targets are designed to prescribe an emission trajectory which will achieve the 42% reduction required by 2020.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 requires that the Scottish ministers also publish a Report on Proposals and Policies for meeting these targets. This report will be published together with a Low Carbon Economy Strategy before the end of the year. These documents will follow the publication of the Energy Efficiency Action Plan in October and together will detail the specific measures that the Scottish Government is putting in place to accelerate emissions reduction and provide strategic direction for the public and private sectors.

This work will build on emissions reduction measures that the Scottish Government is already undertaking, including, for example:

The Scottish Government launched the £10 million Saltire Prize and has tripled funding for micro and community generation with £13.5 million available per year.

In 2009-10, we committed £15 million to a new Home Insulation Scheme targeting 100,000 homes in 10 local authority areas. This was increased to £25 million in 2010-11.

Our £27million Climate Challenge Fund has helped around 250 communities reduce their emissions saving around 700,000 tonnes of CO₂, the equivalent of taking 225,000 cars off Scotland''s roads.

The Energy Saving Scotland boiler scrappage scheme supported over 4,600 householders with a £400 grant towards the replacement of a working G-rated boiler (for over 60s, this did not need to be in working order) with an energy efficient model certified under the Energy Saving Trust recommended scheme.

With regard to measuring progress, the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 includes extensive provision for monitoring and reporting on progress towards achieving Scotland''s climate change targets (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact/targets). This includes a requirement that for each year in the period 2010-50, ministers provide Parliament with a report on annual targets, no later than October 31 in the second year after the target year, when emissions figures become available in the Disaggregated Greenhouse Gas Inventory for Scotland. In recognition of the time-lag associated with these figures, the Act also requires that the Scottish ministers publish an assessment of the impact on emissions of budget proposals. The first of these carbon assessments was published in September 2009. To ensure external scrutiny, from 2011 ministers must request that the expert Committee on Climate Change report annually setting out its views on progress towards Scottish emissions reduction targets. Ministers are also required to publish a response to this report.

More information about the Scottish Government''s action on climate change is available online at the following address:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange.

Question reference: S3W-36405

Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2010
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 30 September 2010

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will enhance the assistance that it gives to asylum seekers and, if so, how.

Asylum support (accommodation and cash support) for asylum seekers is a matter for the UK Border Agency. However, through the Race, Religion and Refugee Integration Funding Stream the Scottish Government has provided £5.6 million for the period 2008-11 to improve the lives of minority ethnic and faith communities in Scotland including refugees and asylum seekers, migrant workers and gypsies/travellers.

No decisions have been made regarding funding post 2011 which will be subject to the spending review.

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