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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: S3W-08391

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by Linda Fabiani on 28 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to improve links between schools in Scotland and Shandong.

The Scottish Government has provided£346,000 over three years (2005-08) to the British Council Scotland to promote andadminister a Scotland-China Schools Links Programme, which includes Shandong Province,where up to 120 young Scots will learn Chinese and experience Chinese culture andway of life. The initiative provides funding for Scottish head teachers and teachersto travel to China, for one week visits to establish new school links. Fundingis also available for head teachers and teachers to visit their partner schoolsto ensure that links can be consolidated and developed.

In October 2007, a group of sixhead teachers from four primary and two secondary schools in Scotland visited ShandongProvince to establish new school links.

Question reference: S3O-01822

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 January 2008
Current Status: Answered by Linda Fabiani on 10 January 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been achieved in respect of the co-operation agreement between Scotland and Shandong Province, signed in August 2006.

Question reference: S3O-01543

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 December 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive what its approach will be to specialised trauma units.

Question reference: S3W-05969

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2007
Current Status: Answered by Jim Mather on 12 November 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-4017 and S3W-4527 by John Swinney and Jim Mather on 18 September and 5 October 2007 respectively, whether it can confirm that Willie Haughey OBE has never received remuneration nor claimed any expenses as a member of the board of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, the chair of the Scottish Enterprise Careers Scotland Advisory Board or as a member of the Smith Group.

Payment of any remunerationor expenses to Willie Haughey OBE in his capacity on the board of Scottish EnterpriseGlasgow or as chair of the Scottish Enterprise Careers Advisory Board, would bean operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I shall ask the Chief Executive ofScottish Enterprise to write to you in this regard.

No members of theSmith Group, including Willie Haughey OBE, are remunerated by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S3W-04337

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff positions will be cut from the Office of the First Minister as a result of voluntary measures to achieve its aims for smaller government.

Question reference: S3W-04335

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff it employs (a) directly and (b) indirectly.

Question reference: S3W-04334

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether each of its departments has a full complement of staff.

Question reference: S3W-04331

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to maintain current staffing levels to deliver smaller government.

The Scottish Governmentdoes not set staffing targets. The relationship within the Scottish Government betweenthe activities of the organisation and the number of staff employed in the deliveryof particular objectives and functions is kept under continuous review. There istherefore no static view of the right number of staff either in total or in specificparts of the organisation.

The number of staffin any public sector organisation should flow from the right financial decisionsabout the budget for that organisation and the right operational decisions aboutthe functions and organisational structure of each organisation. We are pursuingefficiency in the costs of all parts of the public sector. We have also begun ourprogramme of streamlining the structure and operations of the public sector, withinthe context of the government’s commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies.Within the Scottish Government, we have set an example by reducing the number ofCabinet Secretaries. There have been corresponding changes in the number of civilservice posts at Director-General level.

The following tablesets out the number of permanent staff currently employed in the Scottish Government,broken down by Cabinet Secretary portfolio.

Permanent Staff (Full-TimeEquivalent) at 1 September 2007

First Minister	1,171.3
Education and Lifelong Learning	367.7
Finance and Sustainable Growth	780.1
Health and Wellbeing	556.2
Justice and Communities	352.9
Rural Affairs and Environment	895.3
Total	4,123.50

The Scottish Governmentalso uses agency workers through its contracts with Pertemps (clerical and administrativestaff) and Hays (interim managers). The numbers of agency workers in core Directoratesat 1 August 2007 were 194 Pertemps staff and 35 Hays staffworking in core Directorates. Changes in these numbers over time will be determinedwithin the general principles set out above.

Where any change hasan impact on job roles the Scottish Government will meet its statutory and contractualrequirements and will consult as required with the Council of Scottish ExecutiveUnions and staff. Where there is no change in the job weight (grade) then therewill be no impact on the individual’s salary. Where job weight changes substantially,either upwards or downwards, the normal process would be to rematch the job to someonewithin the appropriate grade and to rematch the individual postholder to a job of the appropriate weight.

Question reference: S3W-04336

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed in the Office of the First Minister.

Question reference: S3W-04342

Asked by: Tom McCabe, MSP for Hamilton South, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 September 2007
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 October 2007

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed in its environment department.