Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Executive considered a range of dates and subsequently selected 26 March 2006 for the introduction of the relevant provisions of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19153 on 21 September 2005. 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.

The Scottish Executive will undertake a range of activities to help to build compliance in the run up to the introduction of the smoke-free legislation in March 2006. This will include an advertising campaign, a mail drop to every household in Scotland, and guidance to businesses and organisations on how to comply with the new law.

It is currently estimated that these activities will cost in the region of £1.5 million.

The level of funding is still under negotiation. The Minister of Health and Community Care is meeting the President of COSLA at the end of the month to discuss a range of implementation issues, including funding for enforcement.

The Executive did not consult on the specific issue of the date of implementation.

The Scottish Executive appointed Consolidated Communications from its roster of PR agencies to undertake a range of PR activities in support of the smoke-free legislation. The cost for the period April 2005 to March 2006 is £169,000 (net).

Scottish Executive officials and staff from Consolidated Communications, the company handling smoke-free PR for the Executive, attended the regular meetings of the Scotland CAN Communications Group. No financial support was provided.

The core work on the previous Northern Isles ferry tendering process (which culminated in an award of contract to NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Limited in December 2000) was carried out by a team based in the Transport Group of what is now the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department. However, inputs to the work were made by senior officials in Transport Group and by staff in a range of policy and professional divisions across the Scottish Office/Scottish Executive. It is not possible to quantify the staff costs incurred on this work by such officials as work on the tendering exercise represented only one element of their duties. On similar grounds, it is not possible to cost the ministerial involvement in the process. However, on the basis of the staff costs of the core team (without any allowance for general Scottish Office/Scottish Executive overheads relating, for example, to accommodation costs), it is estimated that a total of £100,000 (in outturn prices) was spent on the exercise broken down as follows:

Staffing - £86,000

Travel and Subsistence Expenses for Officials - £ 1,000

External Advice - £13,000.

The total administration costs that will be associated with the re-tendering of the contract cannot be estimated with any degree of precision at this stage of a complex procurement process.

The grant agreement of December 2000 between the Scottish Executive and NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd provided for basic grant payments, expressed in April 2000 prices, as follows:

October 2002 to September 2003 - £10.773 million

October 2003 to September 2004 - £9.662 million

October 2004 to September 2005 - £9.250 million

October 2005 to September 2006 - £8.139 million

October 2006 to September 2007 - £7.828 million.

However, the agreement provided for these figures to be uprated in line with inflation and also made provision for extra payments to be made to the company principally to cover cost factors which were unknown at the time of the contract award and to cover cost increases (egg in fuel prices) that were beyond the control of the operator.