- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to match both the cash-releasing and non-cash efficiency savings targets set for United Kingdom departments in the recent spending review.
Answer
I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Parliament was informed of the planned 2% efficiency savings over three years and whether this information first appeared in the media.
Answer
The Parliament was informed that the target for efficiency savings was £500 million per annum by 2007-08 on 24 June 2004 in a statement by Andy Kerr, Minister for Finance and Public Services. A target of £500 million savings by 2007-08 is 2.4% of the Scottish Executive 2004-05 Departmental ExpenditureLimit. The target for efficiency savings was published in the media on the following day. On 28 September 2004, the answer given to question S2W-10434 informed the Parliament that the Efficient Government plan, to be published shortly, will exceed this target and identifies planned efficiency savings of £650 million by 2007-08.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, if an (a) 2% per annum or (b) 2% over 3 years efficiency saving was applied to the budget in the current spending review, what sums each saving would yield.
Answer
If a 2% per annum efficiency saving was applied to the Scottish Total Departmental Expenditure Limit for each year of the spending review, as allocated in Stability, security and opportunity for all: investing for Britain's long-term future, this would yield a recurring saving of £1.45 billion by the end of the spending review. If a 2% over three years efficiency saving target was applied to the Scottish Executive Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2004-05, this would yield a recurring efficiency saving of £424 million by the end of the spending review.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet has yet agreed (a) an overall target or (b) department by department targets for public sector efficiency savings.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the target for savings of up to 2.5% a year by 2007-08 set out first in Her Majesty’s Government’s Budget 2004 - Prudence For A Purpose: A Britain of Stability and Strength will be observed (a) overall and (b) by each Executive department and whether any official statement has been made to this effect in the six months since the target was first outlined.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the source was for the statement that for the United Kingdom the percentage target for cash savings is 1.25% (Official Report col. 10046, 8 September 2004).
Answer
Budget 2004 – Prudence for a Purpose: A Britain of Stability and Strength sets a target for efficiency savings of 2.5% a year over the three years of the 2004 Spending Review period. In most chapters of Stability, security and opportunity for all: investing for Britain's long-term future, the proportion of savings described as cashable, cash-releasing or recyclable is “at least half”.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how a #500 million saving in its budget by 2007-08 exceeds planned UK cash savings arising from Sir Peter Gershon’s report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has never claimed that the £500 million saving in its budget by 2007-08 exceeds planned UK cash savings.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to exceed the targets set out by Sir Peter Gershon in his report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, for efficiency savings without incurring at least a comparable impact on jobs as that predicted in the Gershon report.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive in what respect planned efficiency savings in Scotland will exceed those in the United Kingdom.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Friday, 10 September 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will parallel the commitment in Sir Peter Gershon’s report, Releasing resources to the front line - Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency, that in order to ensure confidence and credibility of the measures, Her Majesty’s Government is inviting the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission to scrutinise departmental efficiency technical notes before publication.
Answer
I refer the member to the question S2W-10435 answered on 27 October 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
