Thursday 19 April 2012

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Governance and Communities John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities are committed to paying a living wage. (S4O-0887) : The current position in local authorities regarding implementation of the living wage is as follows: Five councils have confirmed that they already pay the current level of the living wage through their existing wage structures; Nine councils have introduced the living wage; Six councils have stated that they will implement a living wage during 2012-13, and Seven councils have indicated their intention to consider introducing a living wage.

Marco Biagi ( Central) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have applied for the flooding component of the General Capital Grant as per its letter of 5 December 2011; which projects it covered, and how much was sought in each case. (S4W-06436) Derek Mackay: As part of the 2011 Spending Review the and COSLA agreed to a new mechanism for funding major new flood protection schemes for the period 2012-15. The following table identifies the eligible bids considered by a joint Government – COSLA assessment panel. At this stage project costs are indicative, actual costs will be dependent on the outcome of work currently underway to secure tenders for these schemes. Grant will be provided for up to 80% of the actual project costs.

Council Scheme Estimated costs (£ million) Highland River Ness (tidal section) 22.002 Moray Forres (Findhorn and Pilmuir) 44.198 Scottish Borders Galashiels (Plumtree, Wilderhaugh and 3.627 Netherdale)

In addition, applications were made by Edinburgh and Renfrewshire Councils for additional support for flood prevention schemes which are already reflected in the distribution of General Capital Grant for 2008-14. Fife, North Ayrshire and Angus provided indications of projects which are likely to be brought forward under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. These were outside the scope agreed by COSLA and Ministers and were therefore not considered by the panel.

Health and Social Care Christina McKelvie (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the increase in VAT to 20% will be for the NHS in 2011-12, also broken down by NHS board. (S4W-06388) : I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33760 on 21 May 2010. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to promote referral to cardiac rehabilitation in light of NHS Information Services Division statistics showing that less than 50% of relevant patients in NHS Grampian and NHS Highland were referred. (S4W-06429) Michael Matheson: Improving access to cardiac rehabilitation is a priority action within the Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care Action Plan. A 2007 audit suggested that 45% of people who had suffered a heart attack, undergone a coronary artery bypass or percutanous coronary intervention had access to cardiac rehabilitation. The interim results of the latest audit published in 13 March 2012, show that NHSScotland has substantially increased access to cardiac rehabilitation services for people within the clinical priority group. The report suggests the level of provision has now risen to almost 70%. We accept however that there is more to do. The National Advisory Committee on Heart Disease will review the outcomes from the full audit, when it is published in May and agree with NHS boards’ cardiac managed clinical networks (MCNs), including those in NHS Grampian and NHS Highland, any action that needs to be taken to help ensure people who need access, can access cardiac rehabilitation services. We are also working with the British Heart Foundation and Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland on how we can further improve access to cardiac rehabilitation.

Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inpatient beds there have been for mental health patients in each of the last five years, broken down by health board area. (S4W-06454) Michael Matheson: Information on both quarterly and annual available staffed beds split by specialty and NHS board of treatment is published by Information Services Division (ISD) and is available at the link http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/. Annual data is available from 2001-02 to 2010-11. Information for 2011-12 will be published at the end of September 2012.

Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have died as a result of contracting influenza after being admitted to hospital in each of the last three years. (S4W-06528) Michael Matheson: This specific information is not available. Whilst central health records collect information on the clinical diagnosis of patients admitted to hospital, it cannot identify when those patients contracted an infectious disease, such as influenza.

Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current number of doctors trained and being trained in community sexual and reproductive health will be sufficient to deliver on its Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Outcome Framework 2011-2015. (S4W-06541) Jackson Carlaw (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Executive whether current NHS staffing levels, composition and geographic dispersion will be sufficient to deliver on its Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework 2011-2015 and beyond in all parts of Scotland. (S4W-06542) Michael Matheson: The Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is outcomes focussed. It does not seek to mandate how NHS boards and others should deliver outcomes, and does not set expectations on staffing levels within NHS boards. The framework encourages local needs- assessments to be undertaken to establish what resources are required to deliver on framework outcomes. Staffing levels are therefore entirely a matter for NHS boards. We are not aware of any staffing issues that will compromise delivery of the framework. The government undertakes annual local area visits to monitor progress of the framework outcomes. These visits will involve detailed discussion on issues of concern in each area and this will provide an opportunity for any staffing issues to be raised. These visits are commencing this month.

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of dentists is registering new NHS patients, broken down by NHS board. (S4W-06564) Michael Matheson: The information requested is not held centrally. The majority of dentists are independent contractors and are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS boards if they are registering new NHS patients. NHS boards will hold information on the percentage of their salaried dentists registering new NHS patients.

Learning and Justice

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged between 20 and 24 are unemployed. (S4O-0888) Angela Constance: Unemployment levels for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland are published by the Office for National Statistics on a monthly basis, covering rolling quarters. The latest monthly figures were published on 18 April covering the period December to February 2012. Estimates for 20 to 24 year olds are only available on a quarterly basis from the disaggregated Labour Force Survey (LFS) datasets. Based on the latest available quarterly LFS data covering October to December 2011, it is estimated that 56,000 people aged 20 to 24 were unemployed in Scotland.

Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the impact will be of the proposed changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme on victims of crime in Scotland. (S4W-06507) Kenny MacAskill: The proposals from the UK Government are currently subject to consultation and no final decisions have been made. The proposed changes are expected to result in a reduction of around £5 million per annum in the value of compensation to victims in Scotland.

Strategy and External Affairs David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what agreement it has reached with the UK Government regarding the provisions in the Scotland Bill for the future of the Crown Estate. (S4W-06386) Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4O-00855 on 29 March 2012. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the official report can be viewed at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=6941&mode=html#iob_6320 0.

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking with the UK Government to implement the findings of the Scottish Affairs Committee in relation to the devolution of the Crown Estate and what powers the Secretary of State for Scotland will have in this regard after the passage of the Scotland Bill. (S4W-06387) Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4O-00855 on 29 March 2012. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the official report can be viewed at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=6941&mode=html#iob_63200.

Transport Scotland Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it carried out an equality impact assessment before deciding to change the formula for the allocation of the Bus Service Operators Grant in favour of longer and more rural bus routes. (S4W-06407) Keith Brown: In conjunction with the Low Carbon Vehicles purchased through the support of the Scottish Green Bus Fund, the changes the Scottish Government is making to the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) scheme will encourage fuel efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and provide a degree of protection for our vulnerable rural communities. The fuel formula used in the previous BSOG grant calculation created an inappropriate environmental incentive to reward fuel-inefficient operations. Our changes will lead to a limited redistribution of funding away from such operations towards longer and more rural services. The Scottish Government modelled the impact of these adjustments on bus operators and bus users across Scotland. We concluded that the community and equality benefits to rural communities outweighed any marginal disbenefits in urban areas.

Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what work it carried out to measure the impact on communities in the bottom 15% of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation data zones of the decision to change the formula for the allocation of the Bus Service Operators Grant in favour of longer and more rural bus routes. (S4W-06408) Keith Brown: In conjunction with the low carbon vehicles purchased through the support of the Scottish Green Bus Fund, the changes the Scottish Government is making to the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) scheme will encourage fuel efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and provide a degree of protection for our vulnerable rural communities. The Scottish Government also continues to support the National Concessionary Travel Scheme which offers free bus travel for those people aged 60 and over, and/or who meets certain disability criteria. The fuel formula used in the previous BSOG grant calculation created an inappropriate environmental incentive to reward fuel-inefficient operations. Our changes will lead to a limited redistribution of funding away from such operations towards longer and more rural services. The Scottish Government modelled the impact of these adjustments on bus operators and bus users across Scotland. We concluded that the community and equality benefits to rural communities outweighed any marginal disbenefits in urban areas.

Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive which bus operators will benefit financially from the change to the distribution of the Bus Service Operators Grant from 1 April 2012. (S4W-06409) Keith Brown: Under the current Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) budget, we estimate that 226 operators will gain directly from the policy changes that are being made, three will experience no change, and 74 will receive reduced payments. To assist urban bus companies in adjusting to the BSOG changes, the Scottish Government has set up a £3 million transitional fund for 2012-13. The Scottish Government has also provided £6.2 million to bus operators in 2010-12 for procurement of Low Carbon Vehicles (LCVs). In line with this policy, such LCVs will receive twice the conventional rate of payment through the BSOG scheme.

Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations representing bus passengers the Minister for Housing and Transport (a) met and (b) consulted between 1 November 2011 and 22 March 2012 to discuss the impact of the change to the formula for allocation of the Bus Service Operators Grant from 1 April 2012. (S4W-06410) Keith Brown: The Scottish Government meets and liaises regularly with representatives of bus operators and bus passengers. The Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment and the Minister for Housing and Transport met the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) on 9 November 2011 to discuss a range of bus issues, including BSOG changes. Senior Transport Scotland officials subsequently held follow-up meetings on the BSOG detail with CPT on 13 and 21 December. They also discussed the proposed BSOG changes with Bus Users UK. In addition, the Minister for Housing and Transport has since hosted the first Bus Stakeholder Group meeting on 3 April 2012. This group includes key stakeholders, including Bus Users UK.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has consulted the European Commission to ensure that the proposed changes to the basis of payment of Bus Service Operators Grant will not invalidate the rights under which payments are not subject to review or potential revocation under EU state aid rules and, if so, what advice was given. (S4W-06431) Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has consulted the Department for Transport to ensure that the proposed changes to the basis of payment of Bus Service Operators Grant will not invalidate the rights under which payments are not subject to review or potential revocation under EU state aid rules and, if so, what advice was given. (S4W-06432) Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken legal advice to ensure that the proposed changes to the basis of payment of Bus Service Operators Grant will not invalidate the rights under which payments are not subject to review or potential revocation under EU state aid rules and, if so, what advice was given. (S4W-06433) Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has asked the Department for Transport to consult the European Commission to ensure that the proposed changes to the basis of payment of Bus Service Operators Grant will not invalidate the rights under which payments are not subject to review or potential revocation under EU state aid rules. (S4W-06434) Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether the proposed changes to the basis of payment of Bus Service Operators Grant will not invalidate the rights under which payments are not subject to review or potential revocation under EU state aid rules. (S4W-06435) Keith Brown: Having discussed with the Department for Transport but not the European Commission, our considered view is that the changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant do not alter the fundamental nature of the scheme and therefore do not affect its State Aid status.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what its target for transport emissions is for 2020 and how this compares with emissions in 1990. (S4W-06457) Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the transport sector to achieve a 42% emissions reduction by 2020. (S4W-06458) Keith Brown: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets long-term targets to reduce emissions in Scotland by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 from a 1990 base year figure of 72 MtCO2e and annual targets are set for the period 2010-2027. The latest available Scottish emissions figures from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (2009), once adjusted for EU emissions trading, are 52 MtCO2e, 28% lower than the baseline. There are no specific sectoral targets. Greenhouse gas emissions reductions are required across the Scottish economy as a whole and individual measures to achieve this are being supported and implemented according to all relevant factors, including emissions abatement potential, practicality and cost.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what policies it will introduce to reduce transport emissions in line with the requirements of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. (S4W-06459) Keith Brown: Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting the Emissions Reduction Targets 2010-2022 describes our transport proposals and policies for the period to 2022. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders on their means of delivery. A second report on proposals and policies for the period 2023 to 2027 planned for later this year will also report on progress on those measures outlined for the period to 2022.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce demand-side policy measures for the transport sector in line with advice from the UK Climate Change Committee. (S4W-06460) Keith Brown: We are already making significant investment in demand-side transport measures. In 2012-13 we will invest over £1 billion on public transport and other sustainable travel options to encourage more drivers out of their cars. Ministers are committed to complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050, with significant progress by 2030 through wholesale adoption of low and ultra-low carbon vehicles.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive in what areas vehicle journeys are predicted to increase the most in the next 10 years and what the reasons are for the increase in those areas. (S4W-06461) Keith Brown: Future economic and household growth is expected to result in all areas of the country seeing an increase in traffic. This is expected to be greatest in the Glasgow and Edinburgh city regions, as well as Stirling, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Ayrshire in the period 2012 to 2022. The primary drivers of travel and traffic growth, over and above population increases, are increasing prosperity, which drives up car ownership and availability, and an increase in the number of jobs.

Drew Smith (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what railway discount and season ticket schemes there are. (S4W-06468) Keith Brown: There are a range of rail discounts available including UK wide railcards funded by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), local authority rail concessionary schemes and, tickets combining train travel with other public transport options. ScotRail season tickets are also available on most of its routes for a week, a month or any period over a month up to a year.

Annabel Goldie (West Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure the retention of the Gourock-Kilcreggan-Helensburgh ferry service. (S4W-06519) Keith Brown: The Gourock-Kilcreggan-Helensburgh ferry service is the responsibility of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). I understand that SPT recently re-tendered this service to a new operator, Clydelink Ltd, after an analysis of passenger numbers and journey trends which demonstrated that the core users of the ferry service are between Gourock and Kilcreggan, with Helensburgh representing only 7% of total passenger traffic, with an average of 2.6 passengers per sailing. The new service, which became operational on 1 April 2012, now operates between Gourock and Kilcreggan only.

Graeme Dey (Angus South) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it expects average speed cameras to be deployed on the M90 north of the Forth Bridge. (S4W-06571) Keith Brown: The current average speed cameras north of the Forth will be in place until completion of the Fife ITS contract, which is expected in summer 2012.

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of comments from the Auditor General for Scotland that demand-side transport policies such as road- pricing schemes and workplace parking charges "that have not been attractive in the past might have to be considered", what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment has had on this matter and with whom. (S4W-06586) Keith Brown: The transport proposals and policies within Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting the Emissions Reduction Targets 2010-2022 were published in March 2011 following a series of workshop discussions with stakeholders in June and July 2010 on a long list of potential devolved policy measures, including demand-side regulatory measures. Ministers regularly meet stakeholders to discuss sustainable transport.

John Pentland (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff have been employed to work on the Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) and how many are (a) UK citizens and (b) resident in Scotland. (S4W-06640) Keith Brown: As of 10 February, the FRC project is directly employing 384 people on site of whom 286 (74%) have home addresses in Scotland. Information regarding citizenship is not held by Transport Scotland.

John Pentland (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether contracts awarded for the Forth Replacement Crossing specify that all applications for employment should receive a response and what processes are in place to ensure that all applicants receive information about available employment. (S4W-06641) Keith Brown: All Forth Replacement Crossing employment opportunities are required to be advertised in local job centres. Operation of the recruitment process is a matter for the contractors.

The following questions received holding answers: S4W-06403 S4W-06404 S4W-06405 S4W-06406