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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-32488

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dental patients have been newly registered in NHS Forth Valley in the last year, broken down by month.

The informationrequested is provided in the following table.

Number of Newly Registered NHS Dental Patients in NHS Forth Valley;March 2006 to February 2007

Month	No. of patients^1,2,3,4
March 2006	1,996
April 2006	1,695
May 2006	1,825
June 2006	1,693
July 2006	1,321
August 2006	2,086
September 2006	2,248
October 2006	1,671
November 2006	1,478
December 2006	977
January 2007	1,223
February 2007	907
Total	19,120

Source: MIDAS (ManagementInformation & Dental Accounting System).

Data extracted 20 March 2007.

Notes:

1. These patients were not registeredwith a dentist in NHS Forth Valley in the preceding 12 months.

2. Practitioner Services Divisionaccepts claims which will backdate registrations. More claims from recent datesare expected, so figures for recent months are expected to increase and may consequentlybe understated in comparison to older periods.

3. Period examined is the12 months from March 2006 to February 2007. This represents the most recent periodof completed months.

4. Registration records in MIDAS(Management Information & Dental Accounting System) date from October 1990.

Question reference: S2W-32487

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest available annual information is on the average age of (a) the population of Stirling and (b) those who have migrated to the city.

Question reference: S2W-32460

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs there were in each standard industrial sector in Stirling in each of the last three years, also shown as a percentage of all jobs in Stirling.

Table 1 shows the number of employeejobs in Stirling by standard industry sector for the last three yearsfor which figures are available.

Table 1: Employee Jobs by IndustrySector – Stirling

	Levels			Proportion of Total
	2003	2004	2005	2003	2004	2005
Construction	2,800	2,400	2,500	6.83%	5.58%	5.56%
Manufacturing	2,100	2,600	2,700	5.22%	6.08%	6.11%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods	8,500	8,700	7,700	20.72%	20.34%	17.28%
Hotels and restaurants	3,100	3,700	4,000	7.49%	8.74%	8.86%
Financial intermediation	3,300	3,300	2,400	8.15%	7.62%	5.44%
Real estate, renting and business activities	3,800	4,500	5,600	9.40%	10.43%	12.58%
Transport, storage and communication	1,500	1,400	1,400	3.70%	3.24%	3.19%
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	2,800	3,800	4,400	6.87%	8.93%	9.91%
Education	4,300	4,100	5,200	10.50%	9.57%	11.60%
Health and social work	5,700	5,200	5,700	14.02%	12.25%	12.62%
Other	2,900	3,100	3,100	7.10%	7.24%	6.83%
Total	40,900	42,800	44,800	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

1. Catering sector is includedin H: hotels and restaurants.

2. Distribution sector is includedin I: transport, storage and communications.

3. Finance, IT and other businessactivities are included in J: financial services and K: Real estate, renting andbusiness activities

4. Other includes A: agriculture,hunting and forestry; B: fishing; C: mining and quarrying; E: electricity, gas andwater supply and O: other community, social and personal service activities.

5. The figures for constructionwill be underestimated due to the high level of self employment in this industryand that the self employed are excluded from the Annual Business Inquiry.

6. 2002 figures are based onSIC 1992 codes and 2003-04 figures are based on SIC 2003 codes. This may lead toa discontinuity in levels.

7. Figures have been roundedto the nearest hundred.

8. The total may not equal thesum of the individual components due to rounding.

Question reference: S2W-32486

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of households in Stirling have a head of the household aged from (a) 16 to 29, (b) 30 to 44, (c) 45 to 59, (d) 60 to 74, (e) 75 to 84 and (f) 85 and over.

The latest statistics are shown as follows:

Age of Head of Household, 2006

Local Authority	16-29	30-44	45-59	60-74	75-84	85+	Total
Stirling	11%	27%	28%	22%	9%	3%	100%

Source: GROS household projections:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/household-estimates-projections/household-projections-for-scotland-2004-based/index.html.

Question reference: S2W-32457

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the claimant count (a) number and (b) unemployment rate have been in each ward of Stirling Council in the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Claimant Count gives thenumber of people claiming unemployment related benefits and is produced by the Officeof National Statistics.

Table1 shows the claimant count number and the claimant count rate for each ward in Stirling in February2007.

Pleasenote that the rates are calculated using the resident working age population.

Table1 Claimant Count Unemployment for Wards in Stirling, February 2007

Stirling Wards	Number	Rate
Argyll	68	2.7
Bannockburn East	35	1.5
Bannockburn West	63	2.5
Blane Valley	19	0.7
Borestone	72	3.7
Bridge of Allan	22	0.9
Broomridge	68	2.9
Campsies	25	1.1
Dunblane East	26	1.0
Dunblane West	32	1.3
Highland	44	2.0
King’s Park and Cambusbarron	32	1.4
Logie	3	0.1
Polmaise	74	2.5
Raploch	120	5.0
Sauchenford	77	2.8
Strathendrick	33	1.4
Teith	25	1.1
Torbrex	34	1.5
Town Centre	98	3.5
Trossachs	40	1.6
Wallace	64	2.4
Total	1,074	2.0

Source: Office for National Statistics.

Notes:

1. Data are numbers of peopleclaiming unemployment related benefits.

2. Proportions for wards arecalculated using the mid-2001 resident working age population.

Question reference: S2W-32466

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the local economic output of Stirling was in each of the last three years for which figures are available, also showing annual percentage changes.

The Scottish Executive does notestimate economic output for particular geographic areas. However, the Office forNational Statistics (ONS) publish regional Gross Value Added (GVA) figures, whichare the recognised method for measuring economic output, for all Nomenclature ofterritorial units for statistics level 3 (NUTS3) areas in the UK. Further informationis available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14650.

The following table shows thelatest available GVA figures for the NUTS3 area of Perth and Kinrossand Stirling for 2002 to 2004, including annual percentage changes.

Headline¹ GrossValue Added (GVA)² for Perth and Kinross and Stirling NUTS3 Area at CurrentBasic Prices, 2002 to 2004

GVA (£ Million)			% Change³
2002	2003	2004	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
2,798	2,986	3,168	6.1%	6.7%	6.1%

Notes:

1. The headline GVA series forthis publication have been calculated using a five-period moving average.

2. Estimates of workplace basedGVA allocate income to the region in which commuters work.

3. Estimates of annual percentagechange relate to current price GVA and are therefore not equivalent to basic priceeconomic growth measures such as quarterly GDP estimates.

GVA data are not produced belowNUTS 3 level.

Question reference: S2W-32489

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many general dental practitioners in NHS Forth Valley have (a) left and (b) joined the NHS in each of the last three years.

The informationrequested is provided in the following tables.

Number of General Dental Practitioners who left NHS Forth Valley^1,2,3;2004 to 2006

Year	2004	2005	2006
No. of dentists	4	14	12

Number of General Dental Practitioners who Joined NHS Forth Valley^4,5,6; 2004 to 2006

Year	2004	2005	2006
No. of dentists	8	13	23

Sources: MIDAS (Management Information & DentalAccounting System); MEDMAN (Medical and Dental ManpowerCensus).

Data extracted 20 March 2007.

Notes:

1. NHS general dental practitioners (salaried and non-salaried)who had an active list number in NHS Forth Valley at 30 September one year, andwho had no active list numbers in NHS Forth Valley at 30 September of the followingyear.

2. Some NHS general dental practitioners may have left NHS Forth Valley but still provide NHS general dental services elsewhere in Scotland.

3. NHS general dental practitioners may cease providing NHS serviceson a temporary basis, or may move into a different NHS dental sector (i.e. communityor hospital).

4. NHS general dental practitioners (salaried and non-salaried)who had an active list number in NHS Forth Valley at 30 September one year, andwho had no active list numbers in NHS Forth Valley at 30 September of the previousyear.

5. Some NHS general dental practitioners may have been providingNHS general dental services elsewhere in Scotland before they joined NHS Forth Valleyas a general dental practitioner.

6. Some NHS general dental practitioners may have been providingNHS services in a different NHS dental sector (i.e. community or hospital) beforethey joined NHS Forth Valley as a general dental practitioner.

Question reference: S2W-32492

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest available figures on life expectancy are in Stirling.

Question reference: S2W-32459

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 23 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were in employment in Stirling in each year since 1999.

Estimates of employment are takenfrom the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Table 1 shows estimates of the level of employmentof people ages 16 and over in Stirling.

The estimates are based on asample survey, and as such, are subject to some sampling error.

Table 1 – Employment Levels inStirling, 1999-2006

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Employment Level	38,000	33,000	36,000	35,000	37,000	44,000	38,000	35,000

Source: Labour Force Survey,spring quarter.

Note: 1. Estimates are roundedto the nearest thousand.

Question reference: S2W-32478

Asked by: Dr Sylvia Jackson, MSP for Stirling, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 March 2007
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 22 March 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been brought in Stirling under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005.

Since the introduction of theEmergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, a total of 11 charges under this act havebeen reported to the Procurator Fiscal at Stirling. In relation to nine of these charges, court proceedingswere initiated, one was dealt with by way of a warning and one is still under consideration.

Notes:

1. This information has beenextracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s case managementdatabase. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processingof reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies.If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency, the databasewill record details only of the amended charge.

2. The database is charge-based.The figures quoted therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the numberof individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.