Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table gives details of the average total build cost of homes approved for construction through registered social landlords and other bodies by Communities Scotland, and its predecessor organisation, in each of the last 10 years.

Average Total Build Cost Of Houses Approved For Funding 1994-95 to 2003/04 (£ million)
1994-95	0.051
1995-96	0.054
1996-97	0.056
1997-98	0.056
1998-99	0.059
1999-2000	0.061
2000-01	0.066
2001-02	0.071
2002-03	0.074
2003-04	0.079

Note: these figures relate to the average total build cost and not the average grant provided.

In 2003, the number of visitors who came to Scotland from the Republic of Ireland totalled 48,000. These visitors represented 3.1% of the total number of tourists who visited Scotland last year from overseas.

The number of police stations closed as a percentage of the number of stations closed plus the current number of stations, for each police force area, is shown in the following table.

Force	Percentage
Central Scotland Police	0
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary	5
Fife Police	5
Grampian Police	20
Lothian and Borders Police	0
Northern Constabulary	10
Strathclyde Police	25
Tayside Police	15

Note: Percentages take no account of the size of stations closed. A significant number were single officer stations which were seldom used by the public.

Details are as follows:

NHS Board	1999-2000 Total Budget Increase (£000)	1999-2000 Total Budget Increase (%)	1999-2000 Per Capita Increase (£)	1999-2000 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	14,027	3.6	36	4.0
Ayrshire and Arran	15,378	4.7	43	4.9
Borders	4,494	4.6	41	4.5
Dumfries and Galloway	8,031	5.7	58	6.1
Fife	12,344	4.3	35	4.2
Forth Valley	11,657	5.0	37	4.3
Grampian	15,371	3.5	29	3.5
Greater Glasgow	42,415	4.9	52	5.5
Highland	2,686	1.4	12	1.2
Lanarkshire	22,118	4.9	37	4.6
Lothian	22,954	3.5	24	2.8
Orkney**	-846	-3.8	-46	-4.0
Shetland	766	3.2	42	4.0
Tayside	15,306	4.0	43	4.4
Western Isles	493	1.4	36	2.8
Total	187,194	4.1	37	4.1

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 4.25(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

** Adjustment to the method of funding the Scottish Ambulance Service and a reduction in the level of non-recurring bridging finance from 1998-99 to 1999-2000 distorts annual changes although this had no impact on the level of disposable income available to the board.

NHS Board	2000-01 Total Budget Increase (£000)	2000-01 Total Budget Increase (%)	2000-01 Per Capita Increase (£)	2000-01 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	29,208	7.3	74	7.8
Ayrshire and Arran	26,734	7.8	75	8.2
Borders	5,698	5.6	49	5.1
Dumfries and Galloway	5,777	3.9	47	4.6
Fife	22,189	7.4	60	7.1
Forth Valley	20,888	8.6	74	8.4
Grampian	32,505	7.1	65	7.5
Greater Glasgow	61,779	6.8	70	7.0
Highland	15,383	7.8	74	7.8
Lanarkshire	35,695	7.5	64	7.5
Lothian	48,377	7.1	56	6.4
Orkney	948	4.4	55	5.1
Shetland	1,854	7.5	97	8.9
Tayside	28,894	7.3	82	8.1
Western Isles	2,888	7.8	125	9.3
Total	338,817	7.2	67	7.3

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 5.1(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

 

NHS Board	2001-02 Total Budget Increase (£000)	2001-02 Total Budget Increase (%)	2001-02 Per Capita Increase (£)	2001-02 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	25,190	5.9	67	6.6
Ayrshire and Arran	19,198	5.2	66	6.7
Borders	4,443	4.2	41	4.1
Dumfries and Galloway	8,708	5.7	45	4.2
Fife	14,255	4.5	43	4.7
Forth Valley	11,762	4.4	38	4.0
Grampian	14,945	3.1	24	2.6
Greater Glasgow	62,294	6.4	117	10.8
Highland	17,837	8.4	84	8.2
Lanarkshire	40,983	8.0	89	9.7
Lothian	42,268	5.8	60	6.4
Orkney	2,123	9.5	126	11.0
Shetland	1,603	6.0	99	8.3
Tayside	33,524	7.9	77	7.0
Western Isles	4,078	10.2	195	13.3
Total	303,211	6.0	70	7.0

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 5.5(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

 

NHS Board	2002-03 Total Budget Increase (£000)	2002-03 Total Budget Increase (%)	2002-03 Per Capita Increase (£)	2002-03 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	22,421	4.9	59	5.4
Ayrshire and Arran	26,260	6.8	75	7.1
Borders	6,301	5.7	54	5.2
Dumfries and Galloway	10,762	6.6	77	7.0
Fife	19,501	5.8	53	5.6
Forth Valley	18,361	6.6	65	6.6
Grampian	36,112	7.2	74	7.7
Greater Glasgow	83,256	8.0	99	8.3
Highland	15,864	6.9	80	7.3
Lanarkshire	19,657	3.5	36	3.6
Lothian	3,135	0.4	4	0.4
Orkney	1,198	4.9	63	4.9
Shetland	2,735	9.7	126	9.8
Tayside	14,827	3.2	42	3.6
Western Isles	2,646	6.0	117	7.0
Total	283,036	5.3	58	5.5

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 6.8(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

 

NHS Board	2003-04 Total Budget Increase (£000)	2003-04 Total Budget Increase (%)	2003-04 Per Capita Increase (£)	2003-04 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	32,803	6.9	83	7.3
Ayrshire and Arran	33,080	8.0	90	8.0
Borders	9,381	8.0	78	7.1
Dumfries and Galloway	11,927	6.9	82	7.0
Fife	29,043	8.2	79	7.8
Forth Valley	18,037	6.1	63	6.0
Grampian	37,761	7.0	72	7.0
Greater Glasgow	57,965	5.2	66	5.1
Highland	19,794	8.0	89	7.5
Lanarkshire	50,008	8.7	89	8.6
Lothian	111,195	14.3	141	14.2
Orkney	1,337	5.2	62	4.7
Shetland	2,334	7.5	111	7.9
Tayside	22,156	4.7	60	4.9
Western Isles	3,750	8.1	150	8.5
Total	440,571	7.8	87	7.7

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 7.4(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

 

NHS Board	2004-05 Total Budget Increase (£000)	2004-05 Total Budget Increase (%)	2004-05 Per Capita Increase (£)	2004-05 Per Capita Increase (%)
Argyll and Clyde	55,048	10.8	132	10.8
Ayrshire and Arran	50,307	11.3	137	11.3
Borders	14,777	11.6	136	11.6
Dumfries and Galloway	21,849	11.8	148	11.8
Fife	44,750	11.7	127	11.7
Forth Valley	29,491	9.4	105	9.4
Grampian	32,459	5.6	62	5.6
Greater Glasgow	96,825	8.2	112	8.2
Highland	34,355	12.9	164	12.9
Lanarkshire	60,796	9.7	110	9.7
Lothian	34,168	3.9	44	3.9
Orkney	2,590	9.6	134	9.6
Shetland	854	2.6	39	2.6
Tayside	37,807	7.6	98	7.6
Western Isles	3,103	6.2	119	6.2
Total	519,179	8.5	103	8.5

Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 6.75(%) in initial unified budget. Total Budget Increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

The Scottish Executive has not received any notification from, or had any discussions with, Her Majesty’s Government regarding any likely reduction in civil service jobs based in Aberdeen. For those civil service posts that are the responsibility of UK ministers, it will be for them and their senior management teams to make decisions about structure, size, and organisation based on their assessment of business needs. However, the Scottish Executive would expect to be advised of any potential loss of jobs in Scotland.

According to data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 13 Scottish higher education institutions ran single and/or joint degree programmes in chemistry in each year between 1998-99 and 2002-03.

These institutions were University of Abertay Dundee, The Robert Gordon University, The University of Paisley, Glasgow Caledonian University, Napier University, The University of Edinburgh, The University of Glasgow, The University of Strathclyde, The University of Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt University, TheUniversity of Dundee, The University of St Andrews and The University of Stirling.In 2002-03 Bell College also ran a degree programme in chemistry.

For the session 2004-05, information from the UCAS and institutional websites indicates that chemistry is no longer offered as a single subject and/or part of a degree programme at the University of Stirling and Napier University.

This information comes from the International Passenger Survey, but statistics on the number of visitors to Scotland from the European Union’s accession states in each of the last two years is not available. From the latest information that is available from the Survey, the number of visitors from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 2002 totalled 4,369, 4,487 and 14,601 respectively. Visitors from the Czech Republic and Hungary both represented 0.3% of the total number of overseas tourists to Scotland in 2002, while visitors from Poland represented 0.9% of the total.

The tables below show the number of permanent full time equivalent staff employed in the environment sections of the Environment and Rural Affairs Department in each of the last three years, broken down by pay band and area of responsibility.

Table A

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2002

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	118.3	27.5	58.8	26.0	6.0
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	17.8	4.8	8.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	32.6	9.6	16.0	5.0	2.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	9.0	0.0	6.0	2.0	1.0
Environmental Protection Unit	28.6	5.6	15.0	7.0	1.0
Sustainable Development Directorate	7.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	0
Water Services Unit	21.3	4.5	11.8	4.0	1.0

 

Table B

Permanentstaff by band as at 1 April 2003

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	130.3	24.3	73.8	27.5	4.7
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	17.8	4.8	8.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	37.4	9.4	22.0	5.0	1.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	13.0	0	11.0	2.0	0.0
Environmental Protection Unit	31.8	3.6	19.0	7.5	1.7
Sustainable Development Directorate	8.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	0
Water Services Unit	20.3	3.5	10.8	5.0	1.0

 

Table C

Permanent Staff by Band as at 1 April 2004

	All Staff	Band A	Band B	Band C	Senior Civil Service
Total Environment Group	145.9	27.2	84.6	28.7	5.4
Head of Group and PS	2.0	1.0	0	0	1.0
Air, Climate and Engineering Division	18.8	3.8	10.0	5.0	0
Countryside and Natural Heritage	37.0	9.8	20.0	6.2	1.0
Ecological Advisers Unit	13.0	0.0	11.0	2.0	0.0
Environmental Protection Unit	40.1	5.1	26.8	6.5	1.7
Sustainable Development Directorate	13.7	3.0	6.0	4.0	0.7
Water Services Unit	21.3	4.5	10.8	5.0	1.0

 

 

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

The EU Constitutional Treaty Protocol on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality specifically provides for the involvement of regional parliaments with legislative powers in the operation of the subsidiarity mechanism. This involvement does not extend to non-legislative regions or local authorities.

In co-operation with the UK Government and through the First Minister’s presidency of the group of EU regions with legislative powers, the Scottish Executive has successfully argued for the retention in the Treaty of important references that enhance the role of the regions with legislative powers and reinforce the principle of subsidiarity in European decision-making.

In particular, the Treaty provides in the Protocol on subsidiarity, in the case of framework laws, for any legislative proposal from the European Commission to contain a statement of its implications for the rules to be put in place by member states, including, where necessary, the regional legislation.

Since I was appointed a minister in 1999 I have frequently met opposite numbers from the UK Government at both Cabinet and junior ministerial level to discuss issues of common interest. For example there have been regular meetings with UK Ministerial colleagues at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in advance of meetings of EU Council of Ministers to agree UK negotiating lines. It would be impractical to list the dates and subjects of all such meetings I have attended as a minister.