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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-14242

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13433 by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005 in respect of a ferry service from Scotland to Norway, whether a waterborne freight grant would still apply to such a service and what impact the traffic of English road freight north to such a ferry service would have on a possible Freight Facility Grant.

A ferry service between Scotland and Norway will be eligible to apply for a Waterborne Freight Grant (WFG) if it removes lorry journeys from Scotland’s roads. It is not possible to assess the specific impact of road freight traffic from England on any possible award of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) or WFG in Scotland without having full details of the road routes currently used by this potential traffic.

One of the upper limits on the potential award of FFG or WFG is the environmental benefits which particular projects will generate by transferring freight from our roads. Equally these environmental benefits are reduced by the disbenefits of any additional lorry journeys which FFG and WFG funded projects might generate.

Question reference: S2W-14757

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been (a) created by supermarkets and (b) lost from high streets in each year since 1999.

The number of jobs created by supermarkets and the number of jobs lost from high streets is not held centrally. Table 1 shows the change in the level of employee jobs in the retail¹industry in each year since 1999.

Table 1 Annual Change in the Level of Retail^2,3 Industry Employee Jobs

	Change
1999-2000	3,300
2000-01	25,200
2001-02	2,000
2002-03	-4,100

Source: Annual Business Inquiry.

Notes:

1. Excluding the retail of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

2. Data from 1998-2002 are based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992 codes whereas data in 2003 is based on SIC 2003 codes. This may lead to a discontinuity in levels.

3. Industry is defined as SIC 92 codes 52.1 - 52.6.

4. The data is rounded to the nearest hundred.

Question reference: S2W-14795

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 8 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available on hourly rates of pay for (a) professional and (b) non-professional employees.

The preferred source for earnings estimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics.

ASHE 2004 estimates that the median gross hourly pay for full-time professional employee jobs is £16.10. For all “other occupations” the equivalent estimate is £9. However, “other occupations” includes jobs that are quite different in terms of pay and skill level. Therefore it is useful to look at different occupation groups.

The table gives the median gross hourly pay for full-time employee jobs by major occupation group. The major occupation group is a set of broad categories that bring together occupations which are similar in terms of qualifications, training, skills and experience.

Table 1: Hourly pay - Gross (£) - For Full-Time Employee Jobs¹: Scotland, 2004

Major Occupation Group²	Median³ Hourly Pay
Managers and Senior Officials	£14.69
Professional Occupations	£16.10
Associate Professional and Technical Occupations	£12.32
Administrative and Secretarial Occupations	£8.13
Skilled Trades Occupations	£9.13
Personal Service Occupations	£7.17
Sales and Customer Service Occupations	£6.20
Plant and Machinery Operatives	£7.69
Elementary Occupations	£6.59
All	£9.87

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Notes:

1. Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.

2. Major Occupation Group as defined by Standard Occupation Classification 2000 (SOC2000).

3. The median is the value below which 50 per cent of employee jobs fall. It is preferred over an arithmetic average for earnings data as it is influenced less by large or extreme values.

Question reference: S2W-14670

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 7 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding the Constructs programme received annually in each year since its inception.

To date, £67,000 has been spent specifically on the work to bring Constructs up to accreditation standards. A further £500,000 per annum has been set aside to extend the provision of the Constructs programme, once it is accredited.

Prior to this work, a number of local authorities, notably West Dunbartonshire which developed Constructs initially, have resourced the programme from within the funding allocation provided by the Scottish Executive for the delivery of criminal justice social work.

Question reference: S2W-14146

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 7 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11409 by Patricia Ferguson on 10 November 2004, what level of funding it has allocated to women's and girls' football in each year since 1999, broken down by year and detailing the funding sources.

Since 1999, women’s and girls’ football has benefited directly by the amounts set out in the following tables. As with other sports supported by the Executive through sportscotland, no allocations are made. Funding is awarded against set programmes and applications received. Funding under the National Coach Support programme was awarded to support the appointment of Vera Pauw, who relinquished her post in 2004. Women’s and girls’ football will also have benefited from many other facility awards and the significant investment in initiatives such as Active Schools.

Lottery Funding

Year	Junior Groups	National Coach Support	Awards for All	Talented Athlete Support
1999	0	0	26,372	66,000
2000	0	0	10,689	126,005
2001	0	0	9,122	90,978
2002	34,350	115,320	5,667	54,000
2003	25,000	0	18,299	92,809
2004	0	0	9,302	25,000
2005 to date	0	0	7,400	0

Exchequer Funding

Year	Development Grant Aid	Sportsmatch
1999	18,000	3,500
2000	18,000	0
2001	18,000	3,800
2002	18,000	5,957
2003	28,500	6,290.80
2004	0	1,800

Question reference: S2W-14688

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 4 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on loss of individual retailers from high streets and elsewhere in Scotland as a result of supermarket developments and what plans it has to develop high streets affected by such losses.

The Executive’s commitment to the protection and enhancement of town centres is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline NPPG) 8: Town Centres and Retailing. This requires Planning Authorities to take positive measures to sustain and enhance town centres.

Information on the impact of supermarket developments upon numbers of individual retailers is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Executive research report Future Patterns Of Retailing In Scotland indicates that, as part of the extensive structural changes in retailing, there has been a reduction in the total number of shops in Scotland, from approximately 30,000 in the 1980s to an estimated 22,500 in 2000.

Copies of NPPG8 and Future Patterns Of Retailing In Scotland have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 1081 and 35511 respectively).

Question reference: S2W-14696

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 4 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any proposals to regulate the location and size of supermarkets.

National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 8 : Town Centres and Retailing gives priority to locating new retail developments in town centres or other centres well served by public transport. However, it is for planning authorities to assess all applications for retail development against a wide range of factors and local circumstances.

A copy of NPPG8 is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 1081).

Question reference: S2W-14272

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 4 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the criteria and eligibility rules in respect of foreign footballers playing in the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League; what powers it has to restrict, limit or control players from (a) other EU and (b) non-EU states; what information it has in respect of the likelihood of players from non-EU nations seeking to come to Scotland through Lithuania and whether it will take any steps to address any issues arising, and how it will ensure that such steps are consistent with its desire to support youth development in football.

Freedom of movement within the EU means that footballers who are citizens of other member states are entitled to play for any football club in Scotland. Citizens of non-EU countries are subject to immigration legislation, which is a reserved matter. The Executive has no information on the likelihood of foreign footballers coming to Scotland whether through Lithuania or any other country.

Where the Action Plan for Youth Football is concerned, the football authorities in Scotland are fully committed to its implementation.

Question reference: S2W-14342

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 4 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on skill shortages in the city of Edinburgh; which trades and professions are affected by skill shortages, and what steps have been taken to address the issue.

Question reference: S2W-14695

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill, MSP for Lothians, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 4 March 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations and planning guidelines govern supermarkets and whether there are any plans to limit the size of floor space of future supermarket developments.

Relevant national planning policy is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 8: Town Centres and Retailing. This requires a “sequential approach” to selecting sites for all new retail developments,including supermarkets. Town centres should be the first choice, followed by edge-of-centre and then out-of-centre sites. NPPG8 also requires planning authorities to assess all retail planning applications against a wide range of factors. This includes consideration both of the potential impact on existing centres and the design, form and scale of the proposal.

There are no plans to limit the size of future supermarket developments.

A copy of NPPG8 is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 1081).