Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-10668

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support (a) it and (b) its agencies provided to voluntary organisations in each of the last five years (i) in total and (ii) broken down by organisation.

Centrally held details of direct Scottish Executive financial support to the voluntary sector are only available from 2000-01 and these are as follows:

2000-01	£34,530,578
2001-02	£38,860,792
2002-03	£228,403,745
2003-04	£262,864,116

In addition to direct Scottish Executive grants the voluntary sector has received considerable financial support through indirect funding from public bodies such as local authorities, NHS boards, NHS TRUSTS and the enterprise networks. Resources allocated through these organisations are as follows:

2000-01	£265,202,768
2001-02	£304,489,736
2002-03	£131,300,945
2003-04	£112,001,623

Information on financial support earmarked for the voluntary sector in 2004-05 will be published in November 2004.

Tables containing a breakdown of the organisations provided with Scottish Executive grant funding have been placed in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. numbers 33880 - direct and 33881 - indirect).

Question reference: S2W-10664

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of households was living in property that was below tolerable standard in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) is the only consistent national source of information on houses below tolerable standard (BTS), and provides the most reliable estimate of numbers of BTS houses in Scotland. The 2002 survey gives an estimate of 20,000 households living in houses below the standard in 2002. This is 0.9% of all households in Scotland. Because of the small number of houses identified in the survey as below the tolerable standard, the survey cannot provide estimates for individual councils.

Councils provide the Executive with annual estimates of the number of below tolerable standard dwellings in the council area. Independent research conducted on behalf of the Executive into the basis for local and national estimates concluded that there were significant variations between councils in the way in which they interpret the standard when compiling their estimates, and identified weaknesses in the estimates. The report is available on the Scottish Executive website at (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drf90-00.asp)

The tables provide councils’ own estimates of total number of occupied dwellings below tolerable standard for each of the past five years, and expresses these as a percentage of the estimated number of households.

Councils’ Estimates of Number of Occupied Dwellings Below Tolerable Standard.

Local Authority	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Scotland	64,540	62,401	53,875	52,544	51,677
Aberdeen City	820	812	702	620	510
Aberdeenshire	2,551	2,551	Not Known	Not Known	599
Angus	586	600	600	600	600
Argyll and Bute	6,515	6,515	6,044	5,988	5,958
Clackmannanshire	248	248	228	145	145
Dumfries and Galloway	484	430	384	342	316
Dundee City	334	475	362	220	198
East Ayrshire	315	300	293	286	278
East Dunbartonshire	10	10	10	10	10
East Lothian	1,039	1,039	972	953	940
East Renfrewshire	59	38	106	93	88
Edinburgh, City of	4,503	4,403	33	33	33
Eilean Siar	2,786	2,786	2,786	2,019	2,019
Falkirk	191	191	191	191	191
Fife	694	648	740	728	734
Glasgow City	22,845	22,213	22,213	22,213	22,213
Highland	4,674	4,070	4,053	4,117	4,139
Inverclyde	1,717	1,674	1,370	1,036	1,005
Midlothian	9	9	9	9	0
Moray	327	332	333	342	347
North Ayrshire	2,548	2,524	2,524	2,509	2,504
North Lanarkshire	574	482	481	502	515
Orkney	965	912	885	789	424
Perth and Kinross	1,699	1,614	1,579	1,568	1,544
Renfrewshire	933	695	677	799	821
Scottish Borders, The	3,786	3,521	3,319	3,139	3,020
Shetland	414	395	383	371	371
South Ayrshire	450	450	454	459	462
South Lanarkshire	1,547	1,547	1,227	1,547	1,227
Stirling	438	438	438	437	437
West Dunbartonshire	450	450	450	450	0
West Lothian	29	29	29	29	29

Source: Scottish Executive Development Department IMP2 returns.

Note: There are weaknesses and inconsistencies in these estimates – see text of reply for background.

Councils’ Estimates of Number of Occupied Dwellings Below Tolerable Standard as a Percentage of Estimated Number of Households in the Council Area.

Local Authority	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Scotland	112	109	100	90	84
Aberdeen City	1	1	1	1	1
Aberdeenshire	3	3	Not Known	Not Known	1
Angus	1	1	1	1	1
Argyll and Bute	17	17	15	15	15
Clackmannanshire	1	1	1	1	1
Dumfries and Galloway	1	1	1	1	0
Dundee City	0	1	1	0	0
East Ayrshire	1	1	1	1	1
East Dunbartonshire	0	0	0	0	0
East Lothian	3	3	3	2	2
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh, City of	2	2	0	0	0
Eilean Siar	24	25	25	18	18
Falkirk	0	0	0	0	0
Fife	0	0	0	0	0
Glasgow City	8	8	8	8	8
Highland	5	5	4	5	5
Inverclyde	5	5	4	3	3
Midlothian	0	0	0	0	0
Moray	1	1	1	1	1
North Ayrshire	4	4	4	4	4
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	0	0
Orkney	12	11	10	9	5
Perth and Kinross	3	3	3	3	3
Renfrewshire	1	1	1	1	1
Scottish Borders, The	8	7	7	6	6
Shetland	4	4	4	4	4
South Ayrshire	1	1	1	1	1
South Lanarkshire	1	1	1	1	1
Stirling	1	1	1	1	1
West Dunbartonshire	1	1	1	1	0
West Lothian	0	0	0	0	0

Note: There are weaknesses and inconsistencies in these estimates – see text of reply for background.

Question reference: S2W-10667

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable homes are currently required and how many are planned to be built in the next five years, broken down by local authority area.

Preliminary findings from the Executive’s review of affordable housing were published on 7 July 2004. This included work undertaken by Professor Bramley of Heriot Watt University, to assess the national picture of affordable housingneed. Details of the findings and the Bramley Report can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/DD/H3/00019504/page1661430580.aspx.

Our plans for future investment in affordable housing will be announced following the outcome of the Spending Review.

Question reference: S2W-10665

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were admitted to hospital suffering from hypothermia in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age and (b) NHS board area.

The table below shows the numberof discharges from hospital with a diagnosis of hypothermia, by NHS board of residenceand age.

	Year Ending March
Board of Residence	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004^P
All Areas
All Ages	346	320	233	278	239
0-14	12	17	8	13	8
15-24	33	23	24	20	18
25-44	49	61	37	36	34
45-64	86	66	51	83	64
65-74	65	41	43	40	34
75-84	48	49	27	44	40
85+	53	63	43	42	41
Argyll and Clyde
All ages	21	17	27	18	14
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	5	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	7	6	6	*
45-64	6	*	5	*	5
65-74	*	*	5	*	*
75-84	5	*	*	*	5
85+	*	*	6	*	*
Ayrshire and Arran
All ages	52	47	29	31	19
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	5	*
25-44	9	*	6	*	7
45-64	12	9	*	5	*
65-74	11	8	5	7	*
75-84	7	10	7	6	5
85+	9	15	*	7	*
Borders
All ages	*	*	*	*	*
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Dumfries and Galloway
All ages	11	*	12	*	8
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	6	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	6	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Fife
All ages	23	28	11	19	10
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	8	*	*	*
45-64	5	*	*	13	*
65-74	*	7	*	*	*
75-84	*	5	*	*	*
85+	*	6	5	*	*
Forth Valley
All ages	*	13	*	16	9
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	6	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	5	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Grampian
All ages	24	25	23	27	25
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	5	*	*	*	6
45-64	*	5	6	7	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	5
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	5	7	9	*
Greater Glasgow
All ages	61	49	33	43	40
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	6	*	*	6	7
45-64	9	13	11	16	8
65-74	16	7	10	7	6
75-84	12	9	*	10	9
85+	15	13	6	*	9
Highland
All ages	27	29	21	25	34
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	10	*	*	*
45-64	10	7	8	7	8
65-74	6	*	*	9	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	11
Lanarkshire
All ages	17	10	5	8	17
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	7	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	8
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Lothian
All ages	17	17	13	29	21
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	5	10
65-74	*	*	5	9	5
75-84	*	*	*	8	*
85+	*	9	*	*	*
Orkney
All ages	*	*	7	6	*
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Shetland
All ages	*	6	*	*	5
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Tayside
All ages	50	45	23	34	12
0-14	*	5	*	*	*
15-24	*	6	*	*	*
25-44	5	8	7	*	*
45-64	14	11	*	9	*
65-74	12	*	*	*	*
75-84	8	9	*	6	*
85+	10	*	6	10	*
Western Isles
All ages	*	*	6	*	*
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	*	*	*	*	*
45-64	*	*	*	*	*
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*
Other
All ages	26	24	13	16	20
0-14	*	*	*	*	*
15-24	*	*	*	*	*
25-44	10	10	*	6	*
45-64	11	9	6	7	11
65-74	*	*	*	*	*
75-84	*	*	*	*	*
85+	*	*	*	*	*

Notes:

*Numbersunder five have been suppressed in line with ISD(Scotland)’s policy of maintaining patient confidentiality – this reducesthe risk of the indirect identification of patients.

^PInformation for the year ended 31 March 2004 is provisional.

Question reference: S2W-10663

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of unemployment is, broken down by local authority area.

There are two measures of unemployment used in the UK. Unemployment (previously know as International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment) and the claimant count. There are significant differences between the unemployment level derivedfrom the ILO unemployment measure and the claimant count. The ILO measure of unemployment is a wider definition and includes individuals who are actively seeking work as well as those claiming job seekers benefits, whereas claimant count only includes those claiming job seekers benefits.

Unemployment levels obtained from the Labour Force Survey using the ILO definition is the Executive’s preferred measure of unemployment. However, it is currently less reliable for geographical areas lower than Scotland level. The claimant count is based on administrative records and is more reliable at local authority level.

Table 1: Unemployment Levels by Local Authority Area, Scotland

Area	Unemployment (ILO), Total 16+	Claimant Count August 2004
Scotland	151,000	94,494
Aberdeen City	*	2,683
Aberdeenshire	*	1,915
Angus	*	1,933
Argyll and Bute	*	1,414
Clackmannanshire	*	1,055
Dumfries and Galloway	*	2,208
Dundee City	*	3,889
East Ayrshire	*	3,198
East Dunbartonshire	*	1,199
East Lothian	*	936
East Renfrewshire	*	916
City of Edinburgh	11,000	7,194
Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	*	594
Falkirk	*	2,758
Fife	11,000	7,900
Glasgow City	24,000	16,616
Highland	*	2,927
Inverclyde	*	2,829
Midlothian	*	1,026
Moray	*	1,008
North Ayrshire	*	3,854
North Lanarkshire	13,000	6,562
Orkney Islands	*	177
Perth and Kinross	*	1,566
Renfrewshire	*	3,510
Scottish Borders	*	1,092
Shetland Islands	*	228
South Ayrshire	*	2,208
South Lanarkshire	*	5,039
Stirling	*	1,209
West Dunbartonshire	*	2,454
West Lothian	*	2,397

Source: Labour Force Survey, 2004 Spring Quarter, Seasonally Adjusted.

First Release: Labour Market Statistics, Scotland September 2004.

Note: *Sample size too small for reliable estimate.

Question reference: S2W-10268

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been waiting for a heart-lung transplant operation in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-10273

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time has been for an assessment for a (a) heart-lung, (b) heart and (c) lung transplant in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-10270

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for a heart-lung transplant has been in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-10193

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reinstate the Scottish Key Indicators Package for Performance (SKIPPER) database and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The SKIPPER package was originally developed by ISD Scotland, in the mid 1990s, as a means of supporting NHSScotland in planning and performance management. It is based on old pre-web technology and is expensive to maintain, distribute and support. Difficulties have increased with the introduction and use of more modern operating systems (e.g. Windows 2000) where the successful installation of SKIPPER requires much more effort.

Finally, the knowledge that the system needed substantial development to reflect changes in information requirements and organisational changes in NHSScotland led ISD Scotland to conclude that it was not viable to continue to support SKIPPER.

The final release of SKIPPER was at end of May 2004. Before reaching a final decision ISD Scotland reviewed to what extent there were alternative sources to the SKIPPER screens. In some cases SKIPPER duplicated information published on the ISD Scotland website. Indeed, ISD Scotland found that the majority of SKIPPER screens had an alternative source, although not necessarily with the same level of detail. ISD is committed to continual improvement of the contents of its website and is confident that, in time, much of the useful information, previously on SKIPPER, can be made available through the web.

Question reference: S2W-10267

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many heart-lung transplants there have been in Scotland in each year since 1999 and how many patients were referred outside Scotland for such transplants in each year.

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