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Households should treat housing costs as they would any other relatively, fixed item of expenditure for budgeting purposes. The Scottish Executive publishes low income thresholds on both a “before housing costs” basis and an “after housing costs” basis. This is because some people choose to spend more of their income on housing costs. An after housing costs measure therefore, would understate the relative standard of living of those individuals who were actually benefiting from a better quality of life by paying more for better accommodation. Conversely, any income measure which does not deduct housing costs will overstate the living standards of individuals whose housing costs are high relative to the quality of their accommodation.

I am advised by the Food StandardsAgency that 10 farms in Scotland, comprising nine in East Ayrshire Council Area and onein Stirling Council Area, are still subject to restrictions as a result of the Chernobyl incident.The restricted areas are defined in the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions)(Radioactivity in Sheep) Order 1991 No. 20 (as amended) and sheep from these farmsare required to be monitored for radioactivity prior to being moved off farm.

The total amount of compensationpaid to Scottish farmers since 1999 as a result of the Chernobyl incidentamounts to approximately £398,000. Details for each financial year are set out inthe following table.

Year	£
1999-2000	£64,000
2000-01	£60,000
2001-2002	£61,000
2002-03	£63,000
2003-04	£57,000
2004-05	£49,000
2005 to date	£44,000

 

We have made it clear throughoutthat the best way to ensure that individuals have the National Entitlement Cardwhich they will need to access the Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme was to submit theirapplications early. We will make every effort to ensure that everyone who submitteda valid application before 20 March 2006 will receive their entitlement card by 1 April 2006. Thosewho for whatever reason do not have a new Entitlement Card by 1 April will be ableto use their old travel card for local travel for a limited period of time thereafter.

The costs for staff and administrationexpenses in the Deputy First Minister’s office are contained in the following table.Staff costs are based on gross pay and include National Insurance and Superannuationcosts and overtime payments. Administration costs include travel, hospitality, telecommunications,IT, stationary and other office costs.

Year	Staff Costs (£)	Administration Costs (£)	Total Costs (£)	Total Costs in 1999 Prices (£)
Part-year June 1999- March 2000	55,009	22,101	77,110	77,110
2000-01	106,467	33,299	139,766	137,960
2001-02	116,924	32,527	149,451	143,963
2002-03	129,436	30,736	160,172	149,540
2003-04	164,149	56,459	220,608	200,659
2004-05	211,962	61,324	273,286	243,383

 

Increased costs since1999 reflect a range of factorsincluding changes to the grading profile of private office posts to engage moreeffectively with the policy detail and administrative requirements of an increasedlegislative and parliamentary programme and updated rules allowing middle gradestaff in private offices to claim overtime. The change in ministerial portfolioresponsibilities on the Deputy First Minister’s office, from Justice to Enterprise,Transport and Lifelong Learning, has also impacted on the requirement for travel,etc.

The total numbers of staff (posts)employed in the Deputy First Minister’s private office since 1999 are set out inthe following table:

Year	Staff
1999/2000	3
2000-01	4
2001-02	4
2002-03	4
2003-04	5
2004-05	5

 

The increase in the number ofposts reflects the need to engage more effectively with the policy detail and administrativerequirements of an increased legislative and parliamentary programme following devolution.

The costs for staff in the FirstMinister’s office are contained in the following table. These figures are basedon gross pay and include National Insurance and Superannuation costs and overtimepayments. Administration costs are also shown and include travel, hospitality, telecommunications,IT, stationary and other office costs.

Year	Staff Costs (£)	Administration Costs (£)	Total Costs (£)	Total Costs at 1999-2000 Prices (£)
Part-year June 1999-March 2000	131,258	109,124	240,382	240,382
2000-01	233,952	82,378	316,330	312,242
2001-02	303,205	81,015	384,220	370,111
2002-03	330,928	96,272	427,200	398,843
2003-04	370,926	94,770	465,696	423,554
2004-05	422,535	104,419	526,954	469,300

 

Increased costs since1999 reflect a range of factorsincluding changes to the grading profile of private office posts to engage moreeffectively with the policy detail and administrative requirements of an increasedlegislative and parliamentary programme and updated rules allowing middle gradestaff in private offices to claim overtime.

Total staff and administrationcosts per member of staff in real terms have increased by less than 0.2% (£104)between 2004-05 and 2000-01, the first full year of devolution (from £52,040 to£52,144).

The total number of staff (posts)employed in the First Minister’s private office in each year since 1999 are setout in the following table:

Year	Staff
1999-2000	6
2000-01	6
2001-02	8
2002-03	10
2003-04	9
2004-05	9

 

The increase in the number ofposts reflects the need to engage more effectively with the policy detail and administrativerequirements of an increased legislative and parliamentary programme following devolution.The 2002-03 figure includes one post dedicated to the overall management of MinisterialPrivate Offices which has subsequently been transferred from the First Minister’sOffice to the Cabinet Secretariat.

The information requested isprovided in the following table. Concessionary travel for young people is a discretionarymatter for local authorities. All 16 local concessionary travel schemes give concessionsto disabled young people under the age of 18 if they meet their scheme’s specificeligibility criteria.

LocalAuthority Concessionary Travel Schemes for Young People

Scheme Type	2003 -04	2004 -05	2005 -06
Children Aged Under 16	Clackmannanshire (14 – 15)   Falkirk (14 – 15)   Shetland (5 – 16)   Stirling (14 – 15)   Western Isles (5 – 16)	Clackmannanshire (14 – 15)   Falkirk (14 – 15)   Shetland (5 – 16)   Stirling (14 – 15)   Western Isles (5 – 16)	Clackmannanshire (14 – 15)   Falkirk (14 – 15)   Shetland (5 – 16)   Stirling (14 – 15)   Western Isles (5 – 16)
16 -18 Year Olds in Full Time Education	Fife	Aberdeen City   Fife	Aberdeen City   Fife
16 – 18 Year Olds Not in Full Time Education or in Receipt of Jobseekers Allowance, who Live Independently and are in Receipt of a Living Allowance from Social Work Departments	None	None	None

 

Although the Executive is notaware of evidence to suggest Scotland has a particular problem with malnutrition, the NHS QualityImprovement Scotland standards on food, fluid and nutritional care in hospital putScotland at the forefront in the UK for dealing with the issue. These advise that all peopleadmitted to hospital should be screened for malnutrition.