Parliamentary questions

Agriculture

14 November 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative financial support will be available to crofters in relation to the costs of hiring a bull when the Scotland Rural Development Programme ends.

Michael Russell : It is too early to say what the arrangements for EU support might be after 2013.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how crofters can make an application to obtain financial support to hire bulls from private bull hire enterprises.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by Michael Russell on 1 October 2008 (Official Report c. 11309), what proportion of bull hire costs will be met by the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether applications to the Scotland Rural Development Programme that relate to the transport costs of bulls in a private bull hire scheme are guaranteed to be approved.

Michael Russell : Future arrangements to mitigate transport costs of private hire, as noted in the Scottish Government''s response to the Shucksmith Inquiry, will be put to the European Commission in the first half of 2009. These arrangements will be designed to ensure that hiring in remote areas should be no more costly than on the mainland.

It is proposed that future support should be delivered through the Scotland Rural Development Programme. Consideration is being given to providing such support on a demand-led rather than competitive basis. No guarantee can be given that all applications for Scottish Government support will meet the relevant eligibility criteria and other conditions.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any animal welfare issues associated with the ending of the Bull Hire Scheme and, if so, what those issues are.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the special care requirements of bulls as opposed to other cattle.

Michael Russell : The ending of the Bull Hire Scheme does not raise any novel animal welfare issues. New owners and keepers of animals will have a responsibility to ensure their welfare in accordance with the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Welfare of Farm Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2000. There are also health and safety considerations in relation to the keeping of bulls and the Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Cattle contains advice on the keeping of bulls. Crofters Commission staff will be available over coming months to assist with the training of crofting groups who wish to take on a bull.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that bulls should be kept indoors in the winter.

Michael Russell : There is no specific requirement to keep bulls indoors in the winter. However, the Welfare of Farm Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2000 state that animals not kept in buildings must, where necessary and possible, be given protection from adverse weather conditions, predators and risks to their health and, at all times, have access to a well-drained lying area. This applies to all farmed animals. Groups planning to acquire a bull will need to consider these regulations before proceeding.

The building of wintering facilities is an eligible operation within the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme. Only crofters, and others of like economic status, are eligible for the scheme and, although part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme, the application process for the scheme is non-competitive. Grants will be made subject to eligibility and other conditions of the scheme.

Future arrangements for providing assistance to mitigate the transport costs of bulls to and from remote areas are expected to extend to the costs associated with the overwintering of crofter-owned bulls on the mainland.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Bull Hire Scheme has made a positive impact on the quality of cattle produced in the Highlands and Islands since its inception.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what calculations and assumptions lay behind the cost figures quoted in the statement by Michael Russell on 1 October 2008 (Official Report c. 11309) that referred to changes in the Bull Hire Scheme.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the giving away or selling of Crofters Commission bulls at below market rates raises any state aid implications.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it had with buyers of calves about the proposal to end the Bull Hire Scheme.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what veterinary advice it took on the implications of ending the Bull Hire Scheme prior to making the decision to end it.

Michael Russell : The Scottish Government considers that the scheme at one time made a positive impact in terms of the maintenance of cow numbers, environmental benefits and local economic activity. However, the Scottish Agricultural College 2003 report (Bib. number 32088) concluded that the Bull Hire Scheme did not represent value for money in terms of genetic improvement of crofters'' cattle.

In September 2007, the Scottish ministers invited the Crofters Commission to undertake a formal appraisal of the investment that would be required to bring the facilities at Inverness up to scratch for a modern service. The options appraisal carried out by independent consultants is available on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk . The independent investment appraisal sets out detailed cost assumptions including estimated costs per hire of £2,318 (at 124 bulls). However, with an estimated current annual hire rate of 110 bulls, the appraisal''s hire cost forecasts, under different investment scenarios, rise to approximately £2,500. Beneficiaries should pay at least 50% of costs in order properly to satisfy state aids (de minimis) conditions. This results in the forecast charge of £1,250 quoted by me on 1 October 2008 (Official Report c.11309), an increase of 150% on current hire rates. Experience has shown that increasing charges results in significantly lower use of the scheme. The Scottish Government did not consult formally on the future of the Bull Hire Scheme in advance of my statement, which responded to the Shucksmith Inquiry''s recommendations on its future. Veterinary issues were not seen as a major concern.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what obligation private bull hire enterprises will have to provide bulls for hire to crofters in the most remote communities.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that private bull hire enterprises have sufficient experience and expertise to transport bulls safely to all island communities.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that there is competition in the private bull hire market in the most remote communities.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with private bull hire enterprises about taking over the market for bull hire in the Highlands and Islands.

Michael Russell : The Scottish Government has had no discussions with private hire companies about the market opportunities which will become available to them in future as a result of the removal of subsidised state hire provision. No obligation can be placed on such companies either to provide bulls for hire in remote areas or to ensure competition. However, assistance to mitigate the transport costs of private hire should ensure that hiring in remote areas is no more costly than on the mainland and thus encourage greater competition. Private individuals or enterprises intending to offer bull hire services must comply with statutory requirements to provide appropriate care for livestock. The Scottish Government has no reason to consider that private commercial companies would be less than diligent in meeting such requirements.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how long the Bull Hire Scheme operated by the Crofters Commission has been in existence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what records it holds that show the original purpose of the Bull Hire Scheme.

Michael Russell : Cattle improvement measures have been available since the end of the 19th century, operated under powers provided by the Congested Districts (Scotland) Act 1897. Records from that time are not readily available, though information may be held in the public archives. The Crofters Commission took over management of the Bull Hire Scheme and stud farm at Inverness on 1 April 1996.

The purpose of the existing scheme has been defined as: Through support for livestock improvement measures, to retain livestock in these remote areas in order to maintain and enhance the environmental benefits associated with undertaking grazing by cattle on natural pastures as well as to promote collaborative working in crofting communities; thereby helping to maintain population in these remote areas.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has an estimate of the number of crofters who own a bull and what proportion of crofters that represents.

Michael Russell: The June 2007 Agricultural Census indicates that 470 registered crofts, or holdings containing crofts, had a total of 735 bulls on them. In the same year, the Crofters Commission provided a total of 121 hires. It is not known how many of the remaining bulls were owned by crofters. As at 13 November 2008, there are 17,885 crofts registered with the Crofters Commission.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the proportion of cattle in the crofting counties that were in calf to a Crofters Commission’s bull in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (ci)2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007.

Michael Russell : This information is not collected by the Scottish Government.

Michael Russell: The following islands received a bull or bulls in years 2006, 2007 and 2008

2006	2007	2008
North Uist	North Uist	North Uist
South Uist	South Uist	South Uist
Lewis	Lewis	Lewis
Harris	Harris	Harris
Skye	Skye	Skye
Tiree	Tiree	Tiree
Orkney	Orkney	Orkney
Shetland	Shetland	Shetland
Raasay	Raasay	Raasay
Jura	Jura	Jura
Barra	Barra	Barra
Mull	Mull	Mull
Isle of Ewe	Isle of Ewe	Isle of Ewe
Canna	Canna	Canna
Coll	Coll
Iona
Islay

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive which (a) crofters, (b) grazings committees and (c) crofting communities hired a bull in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many bulls for hire were sent to (a) crofters, (b) grazings committees and (c) crofting communities in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many bulls the Crofters Commission owns and administers for hire to crofters.

Michael Russell: In 2008, the Crofters Commission maintained a herd of 132 bulls to provide hire services to crofting groups. Details of hires in 2006, 2007, and 2008 are as set out in the table below. As hire groups are usually made up of a mixture of crofters, grazings committees and communities, more detailed breakdowns are not possible.

Disclosure of personal details would contravene data protection legislation.

2006	2007	2008
124 hires	121 hires	119 hires
Townships
Abernethy	Achachork	Achachork
Achachork	Ahmore	Ahmore
Acharacle	Aird	Aird
Ahmore	Airds Kirkton	Airds Kirkton
Aird	Ardheslaig	Ardheslaig
Airds Kirkton	Ardnamonie	Ardnamonie
Airor	Arinackaig	Arinackaig
Ardheslaig	Back of Keppoch	Back of Keppoch
Ardnamonie	Balantrushal	Balantrushal
Arinackaig	Balavullin	Balavullin
Back of Keppoch	Baleloch	Baleloch
Balantrushal	Balemore	Balemore
Balavullin	Balephetrish	Balephetrish
Baleloch	Balmaqueen	Balmaqueen
Balemore	Balranald	Balranald
Balephetrish	Barrapol Tiree	Balvraid
Balmaqueen	Birichen	Barrapol Tiree
Balranald	Borve Barra	Birichen
Barrapol Tiree	Borve Berneray	Borve Barra
Birichen	Breakish Moss	Borve Berneray
Borve Barra	Brogaig and Sartle	Breakish Moss
Borve Berneray	Caligarry	Brogaig and Sartle
Breakish Moss	Clachan Sands	Caligarry
Brogaig and Sartle	Clashmore	Clachan Sands
Caligarry	Corpach	Clashmore
Callanish	Cullivoe	Corpach
Clachan Sands	Diabaig	Cosaig
Clashmore	Doll Brora	Cullivoe
Corpach	Dorback and Dulnain	Diabaig
Cullivoe	Drimsdale	Doll Brora
Diabaig	Drumuie	Dorback and Dulnain
Doll Brora	Dunans	Drimsdale
Dorback and Dulnain	Earlish	Drumuie
Drimsdale	East Brora	Dunans
Drumuie	Elgol	Earlish
Dunans	Eoligarry	East Brora
Earlish	Erisort	Elgol
East Brora	Erisort	Eoligarry
Elgol	Feorlig/Roag	Erisort
Eoligarry	Fetlar	Erisort
Erisort	Gesto	Feorlig/Roag
Erisort	Glaick	Fetlar
Feorlig/Roag	Glenelg	Garynahine
Fetlar	Glenhinnisdale	Gesto
Gesto	Glenmoriston	Glaick
Glaick	Grean and Cleat	Glenelg
Glenelg	Grenitote	Glenhinnisdale
Glenhinnisdale	Halladale	Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston	Harroldswick	Grean and Cleat
Grean and Cleat	Heaste	Grenitote
Grenitote	Hosta	Harroldswick
Halladale	Hougharry	Heaste
Harroldswick	Illeray	Hilton Of Embo
Heaste	Isle Ewe	Hosta
Hosta	Keoldale	Hougharry
Hougharry	Kilkenneth	Illeray
Illeray	Kilphedar	Isle Ewe
Isle Ewe	Kingsburgh	Keoldale
Keoldale	Kinloid	Kilkenneth
Kilkenneth	Knockline	Kilphedar
Kilphedar	Knockrome	Kinloid
Kingsburgh	Knockvologen	Knockline
Kinloid	Laxay	Knockrome
Knockintorran	Lee Knockan	Knockvologen
Knockline	Linicro	Laxay
Knockrome	Lotts	Lee Knockan
Knockvologen	Marwick Orkney	Linicro
Laxay	Mellon Charles	Lower Barvas
Lee Knock	Migdale	Marwick Orkney
Linicro	Milton	Mellon Charles
Lotts	Monkstadt	Middleton and Sandaig
Marwick Orkney	North Boisdale	Migdale
Mellon Charles	North Harris Group	Milton
Middlequarter	North Raasay	Monkstadt
Middleton	Ness	North Boisdale
Migdale	Newtonferry	North Harris Group
Milton	North Roe	North Raasay
Monkstadt	Old Corry	Ness
North Boisdale	Park Grazings	Newtonferry
North Harris Group	South Unst	North Roe
North Raasay	Satran	Old Corry
Ness	Scaristaveg	Ormiclate
Newtonferry	Scullamus	Park Grazings
North Roe	Skerray	South Unst( Uyeasound)
Old Corry	Sollas	Sanday, Canna
Park Grazings	Sorrisdale	Satran
South Unst	South Boisdale	Scaristaveg
Satran	Stenscholl	Scullamus
Scaristaveg	Stoneybridge	Skerray
Scullamus	Strathascaig	Sollas
Skerray	Strone and Craggan	Sorrisdale
Sollas	Tigharry	South Boisdale
Sorrisdale	Tomich	Stenscholl
South Boisdale	Tomich	Stoneybridge
Stenscholl	Torrin	Strathascaig
Stoneybridge	Totescore	Strone and Craggan
Strathascaig	Ullinish and Balgown	Tigharry
Strone and Craggan	Unakillie	Tingwall
Stronmilichan	Upper Barvas	Tomich
Tigharry	Vatersay	Tomich
Tomich	West Gerinish	Torrin
Tomich	West Sandwick	Totescore
Torrin		Ullinish and Balgown
Totescore		Unakillie
Ullinish and Balgown		Upper Barvas
Unakillie		Vatersay
Upper Barvas		West Gerinish
Vatersay		West Sandwick
West Gerinish
West Sandwick
WestEnd Iona

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how much notice of a farm inspection should be given to a farmer.

Richard Lochhead : Provided that the purpose of the control is not jeopardised, on-the-spot checks may be announced. The announcement shall be strictly limited to the minimum time period necessary and shall not exceed 14 days.

However, for on-the-spot checks concerning livestock aid applications, the notice mentioned in the first subparagraph shall, except in duly justified cases, not exceed 48 hours. Furthermore, where the legislation applicable to the acts and standards relevant to cross-compliance requires the on-the-spot check to be unannounced, those rules shall also apply in the case of on-the-spot-checks related to cross-compliance.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a farm inspection would be suspended.

Richard Lochhead : EC regulations state that inspections shall in general be unannounced. There are provisions within these announcement rules that allow exceptionally up to 48 hours notice in instances where it is known, for example, to be difficult to gather stock or in remote island situations. Thereafter any request from a producer to postpone an inspection would be treated on a case-by-case basis. Postponement would be considered, for example, where there had been a sudden family bereavement, a serious disease outbreak or the producer was suddenly taken ill and no other responsible person was available.

Richard Lochhead : The requested information is given in the following table:

Number of Suckler Cows by Agricultural Region

	Suckler Cows
	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Agricultural Region	Number	Number	Number	Number	Number	Number
Shetland	2,022	2,001	2,111	2,038	1,934	1,960
Orkney	28,486	28,938	28,362	28,096	27,259	26,565
Eileanan an Iar	2,854	2,895	2,886	2,873	2,870	2,799
Highland	55,119	55,657	55,184	53,817	52,210	51,242
North East Scotland	95,399	95,854	96,260	95,352	94,471	92,626
Tayside	38,124	38,247	37,601	37,440	36,397	36,065
Fife	14,239	14,122	13,899	14,503	13,951	13,722
Lothian	13,476	13,711	13,721	13,622	13,436	13,696
Scottish Borders	48,853	49,137	50,290	49,331	46,789	45,371
East Central	13,561	13,679	13,643	13,475	13,152	12,976
Argyll and Bute	22,852	23,297	22,958	22,251	21,300	20,901
Clyde Valley	33,197	34,323	34,415	32,900	31,896	31,543
Ayrshire	30,589	30,804	31,017	31,222	29,993	30,168
Dumfries and Galloway	88,362	90,208	89,972	90,274	86,566	84,720
Scotland	487,133	492,873	492,319	487,194	472,224	464,354

Source: Scottish agricultural census. Data refers to first, non-Sunday, day in June each year.

The information for 2003 to 2007 is already available, through separate publications for each year, in the annual Scottish Agricultural Census Summary Sheets publication.

Livestock

14 November 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the result was of any consultation with the farming industry to assess the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of the vaccination, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme should the rest of the United Kingdom not undertake compulsory vaccination.

Richard Lochhead : A mass vaccination supported by compulsion was agreed by stakeholders to be the only effective way of protecting Scotland''s livestock from the risk of bluetongue virus becoming established in Scotland. The approach to vaccination elsewhere in Great Britain is not relevant to the costs of the Scottish industry. It is relevant to the risk level to Scotland. A number of bluetongue positive import cases in England and Wales, combined with a lower that preferred level of uptake of vaccination in these areas was considered to mean a high risk of bluetongue to Scotland.

The decision that vaccination was required in Scotland this year was taken at the Scottish Government industry bluetongue stakeholder meeting held on 16 September. This meeting had been called following the finding of 18 bluetongue positive animals in County Durham, the impact of which could have been to impose a Bluetongue Restriction Zone in Scotland.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was carried out with the farming industry to assess the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of the vaccination, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme should the rest of the United Kingdom not undertake compulsory vaccination.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the result was of any assessment of the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of the vaccination, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme should the rest of the United Kingdom not undertake compulsory vaccination.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was carried out with the farming industry to assess the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of reduced exports, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment was carried out of the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of the vaccination, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment was carried out of the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of reduced exports, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme should the rest of the United Kingdom not undertake compulsory vaccination.

Richard Lochhead : As part of the work of the work with stakeholder organisations to develop the Scottish bluetongue vaccination strategy the Scottish Government commissioned its Centre of Excellence in epidemiology (EPIC) to assess the impact of a number of potential bluetongue scenarios and associated disease control responses. The report can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/14092524/0.

The main findings of the report were that an outbreak of bluetongue would cost Scotland an estimated £100 million a year and that a mass vaccination campaign would have the most positive impact in avoiding such outbreak costs.

Industry stakeholders requested a compulsory approach to vaccination given the veterinary advice, and experiences with other serotypes of bluetongue elsewhere in Europe, that a mass vaccination campaign is the only effective way of eradicating bluetongue or preventing it from becoming established. At the 9 April 2008 meeting of the Scottish Government - industry bluetongue stakeholder group all representative organisations unanimously signed up to this approach.

The vaccination strategy was designed, and agreed, in conjunction with all these organisations and the results of the EPIC work were presented to the stakeholder group on 23 June. This meeting reaffirmed that vaccination should be compulsory in cattle and sheep (but strongly encouraged in other species).

The analysis was undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team of experts covering areas such as epidemiology, entomology and economics. As part of their work they considered a wide range of factors such of the costs to industry of movement restrictions associated with appropriate zones, the costs of vaccination, disease surveillance and the potential impacts on trade.

The analysis did not consider the approach to vaccination or uptake elsewhere in Great Britain as this is not pertinent to the costs of a vaccination campaign in Scotland. These factors are however very relevant to the risk to Scotland and the need to vaccinate. Given that to date there have been no domestic re-emergence of disease within Great Britain there had been some hope that vaccination against bluetongue virus 8 would not be required this year. However the eight separate incidents of bluetongue positive animals being imported into England and Wales, and their lower than hoped vaccine uptake illustrated a high level of risk to the Scottish livestock industry. Given this situation the Scottish Government industry stakeholder group agreed on 15 September that a vaccination campaign should be initiated this year to ensure that the Scottish livestock industry was protected before next summer''s high-risk period.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons are for undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme while the rest of the United Kingdom is not doing so.

Richard Lochhead : Veterinary advice and the analysis by EPIC is that mass vaccination campaign against bluetongue virus 8 would be in Scotland best interests. In the light of this advice and evidence of likely take up under voluntary initiatives industry stakeholders advocated a compulsory campaign to achieve the mass coverage required to prevent bluetongue virus 8 from becoming established in Scotland.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons are for undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme.

Richard Lochhead : Industry representatives requested a compulsory approach to bluetongue vaccination as the veterinary advice and experience with eradicating other strains of bluetongue elsewhere in Europe is that a mass vaccination is the only strategy likely to avoid bluetongue virus 8 from becoming established in Scotland.

The Scottish Government " industry discussions on the bluetongue 8 vaccination campaign have also drawn on European Commission guidance which has advocated compulsion as a mechanism for ensuring the necessary mass take up required.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment was carried out of the potential impact on Scottish farmers, in terms of cost of reduced exports, of undertaking a compulsory bluetongue vaccination scheme.

Richard Lochhead : The choice between a compulsory or voluntary vaccination scheme has no impact on export potential. The potential trade impact arises from being part of a bluetongue protection zone and vaccination and subsequent development of immunity will allow live animal movements to bluetongue 8 free areas. Animals are also allowed to move to slaughter in bluetongue 8 free areas at the discretion of the receiving country.

The potential loss of some live exports was fully discussed with stakeholders and trade of live animals was considered in the impact assessment work which concluded that a mass vaccination campaign was proportionate to the level of risk and potential impact of a bluetongue 8 outbreak in Scotland.

6 November 2008

Central Heating Programme

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people did not proceed with a central heating installation after being informed of their personal contribution under the new capped regime.

Stewart Maxwell: Since the cap was introduced by the previous administration in January 2007, the managing agent has indicated that around 133 householders did not proceed with their central heating application, after being informed of their contribution.

It is likely that those who cancelled could have had a system installed without making a personal contribution if they had accepted an alternative system of a different fuel choice.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive when grant payments will be available under the care and repair scheme to be in place from April 2009.

Stewart Maxwell: Each local authority will need to establish its criteria for giving assistance using powers in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 which are expected to come into force from early 2009. It will be for each authority to decide in what, if any, circumstances, grant will be available towards the cost of repairs and improvements. Statutory guidance will encourage local authorities to broaden the range of financial and non-financial assistance for those homeowners who need help to overcome barriers to meeting their responsibility to look after their property.

Subject to the approval of the Parliament, regulations setting out a simpler and fairer system of financial assistance for owners who need to make adaptations to their house to suit the needs of disabled occupants will come into force in April 2009.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive whether grant payments under the care and repair scheme to be in place from April 2009 will be capped.

Stewart Maxwell: When devising its criteria for giving assistance using powers in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, it will be for each local authority to decide whether it gives any grants for repairs and improvements and, if so, at what level. There will be no statutory minimum or maximum grant levels as with the current system. Statutory guidance will encourage local authorities to maximise the use of other options, such as suitable lending where this is appropriate.

Subject to the approval of the Parliament, regulations setting out a simpler and fairer system of financial assistance with house adaptations to suit the needs of a disabled person will come into force in April 2009. These regulations will prescribe a minimum grant level of 80% for essential adaptations, rising to 100% for people in receipt of specific income replacement.

5 November 2008

Blood Transfusion Service

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15488 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, whether the results of the recent consultation on the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service strategy for the next five years and beyond have been published.

Shona Robison: The response to the recent public consultation on the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service’s strategy for the next five years is now available on their website www.scotblood.co.uk. On 31 October 2008, printed copies were forwarded to each MSP and anyone wishing a printed copy should contact the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service directly.

3 November 2008

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to evidence to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment on 8 October 2008, what budget any additional funds for the new entrants scheme for farmers would come from should the allocated £10 million be spent.

Richard Lochhead: The new entrants measure is one of a wide range of measures within the Scotland Rural Development Programme and we have flexibility to re-profile expenditure under the programme as it is taken forward. Funding across all these measures will be closely monitored by the Scottish Government along with industry stakeholders. If the new entrants measure became oversubscribed, it would therefore be open to us to reallocate spending in line with demand for that measure.

Rhoda Grant To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of demand is for the new entrants scheme for farmers.

Richard Lochhead: To date, 17 applications which include new entrants elements have been submitted to the Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities scheme.

Three of these cases were approved at the first assessment round in August, sharing over £150,000 in funding.

The remaining 14 new entrants applications include bids for a total of almost £900,000 in funding and will be considered at the October assessment round. The results of the funding round will be announced by the Cabinet Secretary in November.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote the new entrants scheme for farmers.

Richard Lochhead: Support for new entrants into farming is available under the Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities element of the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

The new entrants measure, along with the rural priorities scheme as a whole, has been widely publicised by ministers and others, including industry bodies, and we will continue to take every suitable opportunity to ensure that the measure remains widely known.

21 October 2008

Wildlife

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16278 by Michael Russell on 25 September 2008, what consultation or investigation it carried out on the impact of withdrawing funding to fox destruction clubs in the Highlands and Islands prior to sending out the notification to the clubs in May 2008.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it asked for the views of fox destruction clubs in the Highlands and Islands when notifying these clubs in May 2008 that funding was to be withdrawn.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive who it consulted regarding the withdrawal of funding to fox destruction clubs in the Highlands and Islands.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has considered representations made in response to the letter issued to fox destruction clubs in May 2008.

I have already committed to continue funding for the scheme for the 2008-09 season and I will be examining the scope for continuing support for future years.

I expect to be able to make an announcement on this in due course.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive which fox destruction clubs in the Highlands and Islands it contacted to notify them that funding was to be withdrawn.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government wrote to the following fox destruction clubs in the Highlands and Islands:

Appin Fox Club	Argyll
Ardchattan Vermin Control Society	Argyll
Atholl and Breadalbane Fox Control Society	Argyll
Cowal Fox Control Association	Argyll
Craignish and District Fox Control Club	Argyll
South Lorn Fox Control Club	Argyll
Kintyre Fox Hunting Society	Campbeltown
Lochaber and Sunart Fox Society	Fort William
Brae Lochaber Fox Club	Inverness
Three Straths Fox Control Association	Inverness
Glen Fox Club	Isle of Skye
Minginish Fox Club	Isle of Skye
Trotternish Fox Club	Isle of Skye
Aultbea and District Fox Control Club	Ross
Gairloch & Inverasdale Fox Control Club	Ross
Glenelg and District Fox Control Club	Ross
Durness Fox Club	Sutherland
Tongue Fox Club	Sutherland
Lochbroom Fox Club	Wester Ross

I have already committed to continue funding for the scheme for the 2008-09 season and I will be examining the scope for continuing support for future years. I expect to be able to make an announcement on this in due course.

2^nd. October 2008

Alcohol

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to enforce existing provisions for controlling the sale of alcohol.

Kenny MacAskill: Enforcement is the responsibility of the local licensing boards and the relevant police forces under various powers in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

We are also implementing the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 to the timetable set out by the last administration, which will update the licensing regime and offers new tools for more effective enforcement.

One example we have already put in place is the roll-out of test purchasing across all Scottish police forces, and we are pleased to note that many local authorities have already appointed Licensing Standards Officers who will play an instrumental part in ensuring licence holders adhere to the conditions of their licence.

Young Carers

25 September 2008

Rhoda Grant : I recently watched a young carer being told that they could go to the festival and saw the look of excitement on their face. However, I knew that the care worker who supported that young person was to be removed from post as a result of a lack of funding, and that another care worker had already lost their job. The Government's giving £200,000 to the festival seemed a bit hollow to that group. I ask the minister to consider core funding that would keep such groups working. I know of three really good groups in my constituency. Every young carer should have the support of such a group, which should be funded properly.

Shona Robison: I have asked officials to find out why some young carers were not able to come to the festival and to establish whether that was because they did not have enough support in the home to enable them to do that. I have also asked officials to find out whether the more vulnerable young carers are in that situation.

The backdrop is that we have provided local authorities with record levels of funding and that we have an agreement with them to provide a higher level of respite care than ever before. We have also provided health boards with new funding to identify young carers. None of that work has been done before now. However, I acknowledge that there are gaps in the service, particularly in on-going support for young carers projects that provide vital continuing support to vulnerable young people. I want to address that as part of our work.

Ferry Services

23 September 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-12705 by Stewart Stevenson on 15 May 2008, what supplementary grant payments have been made to CalMac Ferries Ltd to cover increases in the cost of fuel.

Stewart Stevenson: Under the terms of the contract between Scottish ministers and CalMac Ferries Ltd which began on 1 October 2007, the Scottish Government has paid CalMac Ferries Ltd a total of £5.2 million in additional supplementary grant payments to cover the increases in fuel costs.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9536 by Stewart Stevenson on 5 March 2008 and the intervention made by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change during the debate on ferry services on 10 September 2008 (Official Report c. 10640), whether there remains scope in the budget for the proposed Lochboisdale to Mallaig ferry service.

Stewart Stevenson: On 5 March 2008 I indicated that there was scope within the budget to fund a ferry service from Castlebay and Lochboisdale to Mallaig. The current proposal from Storas Uibhist is not for a service from Castlebay and Lochboisdale to Mallaig, but for a dedicated additional Lochboisdale to Mallaig service. Discussions are continuing with a view to resolving a number of issues to deliver our shared aim of providing a viable and sustainable ferry service linking Lochboisdale and Mallaig.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer S3W-15433 by Stewart Stevenson on 3 September 2008, whether it remains its view that there is no domestic legal impediment or European Union regulation that would prevent a publicly subsidised ferry service being run by an operator other than CalMac Ferries Ltd between Lochboisdale and Mallaig and, if not, what the reasons are for the change in its position.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15433 on 3 September 2008. There has been no change in the Scottish Government’s position.

Hospital Car Parking Charges

23 September 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how the £1.4 million being made available to assist NHS boards that currently charge for car parking will be distributed.

Nicola Sturgeon: The funding will be distributed on the basis of the estimated income to be received by those NHS boards in 2008-09.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the £1.4 million being made available to assist NHS boards that currently charge for parking is adequate to cover the on-going costs of providing and managing hospital car parks.

Nicola Sturgeon: Funding is being made available to assist those NHS boards which have factored car parking income into their financial plans over the financial year 2008-09. This action will give those NHS boards time to put in place measures to manage the financial implications of the removal of car park charges from 1 April 2009 onwards.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what additional costs it estimates that NHS Highland will incur in running its car parking facilities after 31 March 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: The additional cost which NHS boards will be required to manage is the loss of income from car park charging. NHS Highland have estimated that income to be around £610,000 in 2009-10.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that front-line patient services will not be affected when NHS boards have to fully fund the costs of maintaining their own car parks after the transitional funding period ends on 31 March 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are required to meet the health care needs of their resident population from within the funding made available to them. Ending car park charges does not change that and brings those NHS boards which currently charge into line with the nine NHS boards which have not introduced car parking charges.

Oral Question on Wick High School

18 September 2008

Rhoda Grant : In my constituency, many schools such as Wick high school are in desperate need of replacement. When does the cabinet secretary expect the first school in the Highlands to be built through the Scottish Futures Trust?

Fiona Hyslop: It is up to Highland Council to determine and decide on its own school building priorities. Only last week, I responded to a question from Jamie Stone on the situation with Wick high school. The fact is that the issue must be considered in the light of the longer-term agenda for school estate management. That said, I understand the concerns that have been expressed by parents and pupils about the condition of many of the schools, and we—and, indeed, the Audit Scotland report on school estates—acknowledge that we are only halfway towards our aim of restoring school buildings and ensuring that they are fit for purpose.

I look forward to engaging this afternoon not only with Highland Council but with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on how we will take forward the school estates project and continue the school building programme. I am very pleased that under this Administration 250 schools will be either

Dentistry

15 July 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dental patients had their registration status withdrawn in each of the last two years in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Mid Highland, (c) North Highland and (d) South East Highland community health partnerships.

Shona Robison : The information requested is only available from March 2007. The table presents information for the quarters ending March, June, September and December 2007.

Community Health Partnership	Quarter Ending
	March 2007	June 2007	September 2007	December 2007
Argyll and Bute	105	67	2	1
Mid Highland	221	120	73	39
North Highland	2	34	27	1
South East Highland	30	91	25	143

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices began offering NHS general dental services in each of the last two years in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Mid Highland, (c) North Highland and (d) South East Highland community health partnerships.

Shona Robison : The information requested is provided in the following table:

Number of Practices that Started Providing NHS General Dental Services in the Years Ending 31 March

Community Health Partnerships	2007	2008
Argyll and Bute	-	1¹
Mid Highland	-	-
North Highland	1	-
South East Highland	-	-

Source: NHS Highland.

Note: 1. This practice closed and re-opened within the year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices stopped providing NHS general dental services in each of the last two years in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Mid Highland, (c) North Highland and (d) South East Highland community health partnerships.

Shona Robison : The information requested is provided in the following table.

Number of Practices that Stopped Providing NHS General Dental Servicesin the Years Ending 31 March

Community Health Partnerships	2007	2008
Argyll and Bute		1¹
Mid Highland		-
North Highland		-
South East Highland		2

Source: NHS Highland.

Note: 1. This practice re-opened within a year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have provided NHS general dental services in each of the last two years in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Mid Highland, (c) North Highland and (d) South East Highland community health partnerships, also expressed per 10,000 of population.

Shona Robison : The information is shown in the following table.

Number of Dentists¹ who have Provided NHS General Dental Services, and Rates² per 10,000 of Population; at 30 September

	2006		2007
Community Health Partnership	Head Count	Rate	Head Count	Rate
Argyll and Bute	50	5.5	49	5.4
Mid Highland	33	3.7	32	3.6
North Highland	19	5.0	17	4.5
South East Highland	64	7.3	77	8.8

Sources: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System) and GRO(S).

Notes:

1. The number (head count) of NHS non-salaried and salaried principals, assistants and vocational dental practitioners, based on the location of the dental practice.

2. Crude rates (all ages) for years 2006 and 2007 have been calculated per 10,000 persons, using 2006 mid-year population estimates from General Register Office for Scotland (GRO(S).

Housing

24 June 2008

Rhoda Grant ; To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated for affordable homes for rent in each year since 2003-04 in (a) Highland, (b) Orkney, (c) Shetland, (d) Western Isles, (e) Moray and (f) Argyll and Bute and how much will be allocated in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10, also expressed at constant prices, and how many homes (A) were and (B) will be approved for development in each such year.

Answered by Stewart Maxwell : The grant allocation at the beginning of each financial year is a single figure which includes provision for all relevant elements of the Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP). In addition to the provision of affordable housing for rent this includes an allocation for grant mechanisms providing low cost home ownership (LIFT) and Grants for the Physical and Social Environment. The allocation for affordable housing for rent is not recorded separately.

The grant allocation for the Affordable Housing Investment Programme for each year since 2003-04 for the local authorities requested is in table 1 below. This shows the allocation in constant terms. Table 2 provides details of the total homes approved for development over the same period for all tenures.

Planned expenditure for 2008-09 by local authority area is set out in the answer to question S3W-13606 on 30 May 2008. 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.

Over the period 2008-11 the government will be providing investment of over £1.5 billion for affordable housing across Scotland. £493 million in 2008-09, £566 million in 2009-10 and £591 million in 2010-11. Taking into account the local government settlement this is 19% more than planned by the previous administration for 2005-08. Over the period 2008-11 the government aims to deliver more than 21,500 new affordable homes nationally which is in line with levels of approvals achieved for 2005-08 despite increasing costs. These will be split 6,000 in 2008-09, 7,100 in 2009-10 and 8,400 in 2010-11.

Details of the programme split by local authority for 2009-10 will be available nearer the time.

Table 1, Investment

Local Authority	2003-04 Planned Total	2003-04 Planned Real Terms	2004-05 Planned Total	2004-05 Planned Real Terms	2005-06 Planned Total
Highland	11.220	12.868	12.037	13.435	25.615
Orkney	1.850	2.122	1.897	2.117	5.100
Shetland	0.905	1.038	0.948	1.058	2.255
Western Isles	2.380	2.730	2.826	3.154	4.030
Moray	1.755	2.013	1.667	1.861	3.600
Argyll and Bute	4.715	5.408	6.565	7.327	12.027

Local Authority	2005-06 Planned Real Terms	2006-07 Planned Total	2006-07 Planned Real Terms	2007-08 Planned Total	2007-08 Planned Real Terms
Highland	27.987	31.500	33.499	36.325	37.415
Orkney	5.572	5.500	5.849	6.000	6.180
Shetland	2.464	2.500	2.659	3.800	3.914
Western Isles	4.403	4.200	4.467	6.500	6.695
Moray	3.933	6.000	6.381	9.525	9.811
Argyll and Bute	13.141	15.550	16.537	17.675	18.205

Table 2

Unit Approvals	2003-04 Total	2004-05 Total	2005-06 Total	2006-07 Total	2007-08 Total	2008-09 Planned
Local Authority
Highland	268	267	682	552	536	352
Orkney	72	42	56	120	94	83
Shetland	38	59	18	94	45	30
Western Isles	60	48	56	80	35	38
Moray	92	159	222	90	250	146
Argyll and Bute	89	307	198	217	183	128

Health

20 June 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the mortality rates have been per 100,000 population for coronorary heart disease in people aged under 75 in the NHS Highland area in each year since 2000, also expressed as a percentage of the 2000 rate.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon : The number of deaths and the death rates per 100,000, both crude and age-sex standardised, from coronary heart disease for NHS Highland in people aged under 75 during the years 2000-06 are set out in the following table:

Year	Number of Deaths	Crude	Standardised	Crude as % 2000 Rate	Standardised as % 2000 Rate

2000	339	122.1	96.5	100.0	100.0
2001	289	104.3	81.2	85.4	84.1
2002	276	100.1	76.3	81.9	79.0
2003	253	91.5	67.4	74.9	69.8
2004	246	88.4	65.5	72.4	67.9
2005	207	74.0	53.4	60.6	55.3
2006	205	72.9	52.1	59.7	53.9

Source: GRO Scotland Death Registrations and Populations.

Smoking

19 June 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of what percentage of adults who smoke resided in the NHS Highland area and its constituent Community Health Partnership areas in each of the last two years.

Answered by Shona Robison: The official source of statistics on smoking prevalence amongst adults is the Scottish Household Survey. This survey is not designed to be representative at NHS board level, so smoking prevalence figures at this level of geography should be interpreted with caution. Based on the most recent two years of results available from this survey, adult smoking prevalence in the NHS Highland area was 21% in 2007 and 25% in 2006.

Estimates of smoking prevalence in the Community Health Partnership areas within NHS Highland are only available for the two year sample 2003-04. These figures, and other supporting information, are published in An Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland at:

http://www.scotpho.org.uk/home/Publications/scotphoreports/pub_tobaccoatlas.asp.

Central Heating Programme

12 June 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to Ministerial the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 22 May 2008 on fuel poverty, what criteria will be used to prioritise cases when considering future applications for new central heating systems.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 22 May 2008 on fuel poverty, what priority will be given to those who have chronic health illnesses, such as asthma and diabetes, and who have a partial or inefficient central heating system.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 22 May 2008 on fuel poverty, what priority will be given to those aged between 75 and 80 who have a partial or inefficient central heating system.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Ministerial statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 22 May 2008 on fuel poverty, what priority will be given to those aged between 75 and 80 who require a central heating system.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 22 May 2008 on fuel poverty, what priority will be given to those who suffer from chronic health illnesses, such as asthma and diabetes and require central heating systems.

Answered by Nicola Sturgeon (Friday, June 20, 2008): All householders who were eligible for the Central Heating Programme before my announcement of 22 May 2008 remain eligible. Amongst new applicants received after 22 May 2008, priority will be given to those most likely to be fuel poor. For this year, priority is being given to those without a central heating system, along with those who either receive the guarantee element of pension credit or are aged over 80 and have a central heating system that has broken down. Within these priority groups, the position on prioritising applicants on health or social grounds has not changed. Those applicants who do not fall into one of these priority groups can reapply next financial year, when the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum has reached its conclusions and the future shape of the programme is clear.

Ambulance Service

10 June 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement made to the Parliament by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 4 June 2008 on the Scottish Ambulance Service, whether the action plan will be extended to examine the recruitment and retention of volunteer drivers.

Answered by Shona Robison : While the actions outlined by the Cabinet Secretary on 4 June do not include examination of the recruitment and retention of volunteer car drivers, the Scottish Ambulance Service will be reviewing their Patient Transport Strategy over the coming months and this will include the Volunteer Car Service.

Answered by Shona Robison : The development of the action plan to eliminate the rostered single manning of traditional double crewed accident and emergency ambulances will include consideration of shift patterns and on-call periods.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty’s Government on changes to the tax-free rate to ensure that volunteer driver numbers are maintained, in light of the impact of rising fuel costs on such drivers.

Answered by Shona Robison : One of the first actions outlined in the Refreshed Strategy for Volunteering issued recently to the NHS in Scotland was to review the payment of out of pocket expenses for volunteers. This review is currently in hand and further guidance will be issued on this in due course to ensure a consistent approach across the NHS in Scotland. We are concerned about the impact of rising fuel costs on volunteer drivers, and plan to hold discussions with HM Revenue and Customs on the current tax-free rate, which is a reserved matter.

The Refreshed Strategy for Volunteering in the NHS in Scotland is available at:

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2008_10.pdf.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what factors will be taken into account when reviewing the mileage rates paid by the Scottish Ambulance Service to volunteer drivers.

Answered by Shona Robison: While this is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service, it has advised me that the factors that will be taken in to account will be the costs of fuel and the costs of maintaining vehicles.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what incentives can be offered to local groups, such as the Badenoch and Strathspey Community Transport Company volunteer car scheme, to recruit new volunteer drivers.

Answered by Shona Robison: The Scottish Executive does not provide direct support to local community based projects. However, local voluntary organisations can apply to the NHS board in their area for grant funding under section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. As funding is limited applications will be considered on their merit and against all of the applications received.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the use of taxis by the NHS to supplement the ambulance and volunteer service is an effective use of public money.

Answered by Shona Robison : This is a matter for NHS boards. It is understood, however, that taxis may be used under specific circumstances. For instance some areas co-ordinate the use of local taxis under contract arrangements to bring people in to the out-of-hours service if they are unable to travel by their own means and do not require ambulance transport. This ensures that patients can get to a treatment outwith the times covered by community or voluntary car schemes and avoids inappropriate use for emergency ambulances.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has in place to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of volunteer drivers.

Answered by Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10474 on 10 March 2008. 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.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the real-terms decrease in the mileage rate paid by the Scottish Ambulance Service to volunteer drivers is acceptable.

Answered by Shona Robison : While this is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service, they have assured me that the current rates, last reviewed in May, cover the costs. The Scottish Ambulance Service will now be reviewing the rates on a monthly basis to ensure this continues to be the case. However, given the continuing increases in fuel costs, I would expect to see the rates for volunteer ambulance drivers to increase in light of these reviews.

Mortality

3 June 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the standardised mortality rates were per 1,000 population in (a) NHS Highland (b) NHS Grampian (c) NHS Western Isles (d) NHS Orkney and (e) NHS Shetland in the most recent period for which figures are available, broken down by deprivation quintile, and how these figures compare with Scotland as a whole.

Answered by John Swinney (Tuesday, June 03, 2008): Standardised death rates per 1,000 population for individual NHS board areas can be found in Vital Events Reference Table 1.3, which is available from the GROS Website

The other information requested is given in the first table below. It should be noted that:

· some of the figures may not provide a reliable indication of the normal level of mortality (they could be subject to large percentage year-to-year fluctuations because they are based on small numbers of deaths, as shown in the second table below);

· “n-a” indicates “not applicable” - none of the parts of Scotland which fall within the specified quintile are included in that particular NHS board’s area.

Standardised Death Rates and Numbers of Deaths Registered in Scotland in 2006 - by NHS Board Area¹ and SIMD Quintile²

Standardised Death Rate per 1,000 Population³
SIMD Quintile	Highland⁴	Grampian	Western Isles	Orkney	Shetland	Scotland
1	13.8	14.5	n-a	n-a	n-a	14.2
2	11.5	12.0	11.1	8.5	12.9	11.8
3	9.9	10.4	9.3	11.8	9.2	10.6
4	9.2	9.9	7.7	10.3	8.6	9.5
5	8.1	8.4	n-a	6.6	5.7	8.0

Number of Deaths^5,6
SIMD Quintile	Highland	Grampian	Western Isles	Orkney	Shetland	Scotland
1	313	431	n-a	n-a	n-a	13,349
2	684	817	241	9	22	12,440
3	1,326	1,386	92	107	120	11,304
4	867	1,424	7	103	59	10,104

Domestic Abuse

12th. May 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Highland Council in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Moray Council in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Orkney Islands Council in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Shetland Islands Council in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Argyll and Bute Council in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are outlined in the draft single outcome agreement with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in relation to services for women who are victims of domestic violence.

Stewart Maxwell: We are currently in the process of agreeing single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2008-09 with all 32 councils. We aim to complete this process by 30 June 2008 and, subject to agreement with councils, all finalised agreements will be made publicly available shortly thereafter. It would not be appropriate at this stage of the process to comment on specific areas of focus within individual agreements, but we expect SOAs to reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and to include the relevant supporting indicators and targets.

Carers

9th. May 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Highland Council specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Moray Council specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Orkney Islands Council specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Shetland Islands Council specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Argyll and Bute Council specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the draft single outcome agreement with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar specifies how and when the council will offer kinship care allowances to a wider range of recipients and, if so, what the details are in the agreement.

Adam Ingram: Providing a weekly allowance for approved kinship carers of looked after children is one of the commitments contained in the concordat signed with COSLA in November 2007. Progress against each of the commitments in the concordat will be reported annually by COSLA at the end of each financial year, separately from the single outcome agreement process.

It is up to local authorities to determine how to prioritise and allocate funds to meet their commitments locally.

Voluntary Sector

15 April 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it plans to offer voluntary organisations such as Depression Alliance Scotland whose Inverness group faces possible closure at the end of March 2008 due to a lack of available funding.

Answered by John Swinney : The Scottish Government strongly supports the work of the third sector. We are making £93 million available to the third sector over three years, a 37% increase on the last spending review.

Supporting the voluntary sector is an important part of the spectrum of attention given to addressing the mental health priority in Scotland.

Local level support is a matter for the local authority and other public bodies - who will make decisions based on local needs and priorities.

NHS Finance

6 March 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue allocation to NHS Orkney (a) has been in each year since 2004 and (b) will be until 2009, shown also in real terms.

Nicola Sturgeon : The revenue allocations to NHS Orkney from 2004-05 have been:

Year	Initial Allocation £000	In Year Allocation £000	Total £000	Total in Real Terms (2006-07) £000
2004-05	22,386	8,635	31,021	32,585
2005-06	25,050	10,087	35,137	36,145
2006-07	26,852	7,415	34,267	34,267
2007-08*	28,683	7,605	36,288	35,146
2008-09**	29,660	0	29,660	27,958

Note:

*The 2007-08 figure has not yet been finalised and further in year allocations are likely.

**The 2008-09 total is the initial basic allocation and does not yet include the in year allocations that will be made throughout the year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue allocation to NHS Shetland (a) has been in each year since 2004 and (b) will be until 2009, shown also in real terms.

Nicola Sturgeon: The revenue allocations to NHS Shetland from 2004-05 have been:

Year	Initial Allocation £000	In Year Allocation £000	Total £000	Total in Real Terms (2006-07) £000
2004-05	26,745	9,329	36,074	37,893
2005-06	29,779	8,250	38,029	39,120
2006-07	31,812	7,749	39,561	39,561
2007-08*	33,892	7,320	41,212	39,915
2008-09**	34,928	0	34,928	32,923

Notes:

*The 2007-08 figure has not yet been finalised and further in year allocations are likely.

**The 2008-09 total is the initial basic allocation and does not yet include the in year allocations that will be made throughout the year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue allocation to NHS Western Isles (a) has been in each year since 2004 and (b) will be until 2009, shown also in real terms.

Nicola Sturgeon: The revenue allocations to NHS Western Isles from 2004-05 have been:

Year	Initial Allocation £000s	In Year Allocation £000	Total £000	Total in Real Terms (2006-07) £000
2004-05	42,168	11,873	54,041	56,766
2005-06	47,100	10,231	57,331	58,976
2006-07	50,307	7,916	58,223	58,223
2007-08*	53,584	5,792	59,376	57,507
2008-09**	55,189	0	55,189	52,021

Notes:

*The 2007-08 figure has not yet been finalised and further in year allocations are likely.

**The 2008-09 total is the initial basic allocation and does not yet include the in year allocations that will be made throughout the year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue allocation to NHS Highland (a) has been in each year since 2004 and (b) will be until 2009, shown also in real terms.

Nicola Sturgeon : The revenue allocations to NHS Highland from 2004-05 have been:

Year	Initial Allocation £000	In Year Allocations £000	Total £000	Total in real terms (2006-07) £000
2004-05	239,241	63,577	302,818	318,086
2005-06	272,090	58,657	330,747	340,236
2006-07	419,558	73,140	492,698	492,698
2007-08*	445,848	72,432	518,280	501,966
2008-09**	459,614	0	459,614	433,234

Notes:

*The 2007-08 figure has not yet been finalised and further in year allocations are likely.

**The 2008-09 total is the initial basic allocation and does not yet include the in year allocations that will be made throughout the year.

Young Offenders

5 March 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many secure units are available for children aged under 16 on remand and where such units are located.

Fergus Ewing: All seven secure units in Scotland are available for children aged 16 and under on remand:

Kibble, Paisley

St Philip’s, Airdrie

Good Shepherd, Bishopton, Renfrewshire

Rossie, Montrose, Angus

St Mary’s, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow

Edinburgh

The Elms, Dundee.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many new secure units are planned for detaining children aged under 16 on remand.

Fergus Ewing: Children under the age of 16 on remand are currently placed in secure accommodation in most cases. Children appearing on a charge before a criminal court can be remanded in prison custody under an "unruly certificate". The Scottish Government has announced plans to abolish "unruly certificates", which, if approved by Parliament would see all children remanded in existing secure units. There are no new secure units planned for this purpose.

Dentistry

5 March 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend in the next financial year on publicity to make people aware that they may be entitled to dental treatment that is free or at a reduced cost.

Shona Robison: It is estimated that approximately £5,000 will be spent on the following public information leaflets: HCS1 Help with Health Costs (web only) and HCS2 A Quick Guide to Help with Health Costs (booklet). Both include information on eligibility to the costs of dental treatment.

4 March 2008

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive what new initiatives it will introduce in 2008-09 to offer increased access to NHS dental services in Orkney and what financial resources will be allocated to each initiative.

Shona Robison: There are no current plans to introduce new initiatives in 2008-09 to increase access to NHS dental services specifically in Orkney.

NHS Orkney are planning to increase their dental premises but this will take some time to put in place as this is being taken forward as part of the board’s property strategy.

The board is also considering whether dental surgeries should be included as part of the refurbishment of the Balfour hospital at the first phase of this project. This proposal is currently with the Scottish Government Health Directorates for approval.

29 February 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of Orkney residents aged 18 and over have visited an NHS dentist in the most recent period for which figures are available and what the comparative figures are for Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not collected centrally. However, figures on the number and percentage of people aged 18 and over in Orkney and in Scotland who are registered with dentists under NHS general dental services arrangements are available and are published at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4680.html.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the net expenditure was on NHS dental care per head in Orkney in the most recent year for which figures are available and how this compared with the net expenditure per head in Scotland.

Shona Robison: In the financial year 2006-07, net expenditure on NHS dental care per head in Orkney was £104^1,2 and in Scotland was £73^1,2.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists there are in Orkney per head of population and how this compares with the number of dentists per head of population in Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: At 30 September 2007, there were 6.6 NHS dentists¹ per 10,000 population in Orkney and 5.7 NHS dentists^1. per 10,000 population in Scotland as a whole.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the percentage of people in Orkney who visit a private dentist and what the comparative percentage is for Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: Information on the percentage of people who visit a private dentist is not available centrally.

26 February 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list its initiatives in place in 2007-08 to offer increased access to NHS dental services in Orkney and the financial resources allocated to each initiative.

Shona Robison: A number of grants and allowances have been introduced over the years to recruit and retain dentists within general dental services in Scotland, including Orkney. These are:

commitment payments

grants for new and existing vocational training practices

remote areas allowance

recruitment and retention allowance

practice allowances

reimbursement of practice expenses

deprived areas allowance.

In addition, the Scottish Dental Access Initiative, which was first introduced in 1997, provides grants for those dentists wishing to establish new or expand existing NHS dental practices. This scheme was revised in 2007 to provide for the purchase or relocation of current NHS dental practices and to include specialist orthodontic practices. The financial assistance available under this scheme has also been revised.

NHS boards are also able to appoint directly salaried dentists to fill gaps in provision.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its initiatives in place in 2007-08 to offer increased access to NHS dental services in Orkney will continue in 2008-09 and what financial resources will be allocated to each initiative.

Shona Robison: All of the initiatives in place to recruit and retain dentists to general dental services in Scotland, including Orkney, will remain in place in 2008-09.

Life Expectancy

20 February 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the life expectancy was for (a) men and (b) women in (i) Orkney and (ii) Scotland in the last year for which figures are available.

John Swinney: Life expectancy figures are normally calculated for a three-year period, to provide large enough numbers to ensure accuracy.

The latest life expectancy estimates are as follows:

(i) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Orkney between 2004-06 was 76 years and for females it was 81 years.

(ii) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Scotland between 2004-06 was 74.6 years and for females it was 79.6 years.

These figures, along with life expectancy information for all council and NHS board areas, are available from the General Register Office for Scotland website through the following link:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/life-expectancy/life-expectancy-for-administrative-areas-2004-2006/index.html.

Fisheries

29 January 2008

Rhoda Grant :To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to reverse the decline in west coast sea trout numbers.

Answered by Richard Lochhead : The Scottish Government has for some time recognised the concerns about declining sea trout catches on the west coast. Through our agency, Fisheries Research Services, the Shieldaig Sea Trout Project was set up in 1998 to address these issues. The project operates in partnership with the Loch Torridon Area Management Group, part of the Scottish Government’s Tripartite Working Group, to identify the causes of the decline in sea trout numbers on the west coast. The causes are likely to be complex and multi-factorial. The project is currently developing and testing restoration techniques. Improvements in marine survival have continued, and results from the Shieldaig Sea Trout Project for 2006-07 saw increased numbers of mature fish returning to spawn.

Rhoda Grant :To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to open up access to all inland waters in Scotland.

Answered by Richard Lochhead : Fishing rights are held as private heritable titles and access is, therefore, controlled by the fishery owner. A draft Strategic Framework for Scottish Freshwater Fisheries was published for consultation in September 2007, with a closing date for responses of 4 January 2008. Among the priorities for action contained within the proposals are examination of access and protection issues, promotion of angling in Scotland and broadening social inclusion in the sport.

Rhoda Grant ; : To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any criminal prosecutions as a result of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 and, if so, how many.

Answered by Kenny MacAskill : The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force on 1 April 2005. Three persons were proceeded against in Scottish courts for offences under this act in 2005-06, the latest year for which data are available.

Inverness Sheriff Court

25 January 2008

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers Inverness Sheriff Court to be fit for purpose.

Fergus Ewing: Inverness Sheriff Court has been progressively modernised over the years and continues to be fit for purpose. Following Court Unification the Scottish Court Service will acquire part of the North Tower adjacent to Inverness Sheriff Court and will programme refurbishment work to ensure our courts continue to be fit for purpose.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases in each of the last three years have been postponed or moved to other premises due to a lack of facilities at Inverness Sheriff Court.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs were for the use of other premises to stage cases that should have proceeded at Inverness Sheriff Court in each of the last three years.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether any cases due to be held in Inverness Sheriff Court but held elsewhere have caused other cases to be delayed and, if so, how many.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what technical or administrative problems have led to cases due to be dealt with at Inverness Sheriff Court being held elsewhere.

Fergus Ewing: During the last three years one case due to be held in Inverness Sheriff Court has been held elsewhere. This was a Fatal Accident Inquiry on 9 January 2008, which was held in Dingwall Sheriff Court as a result of a heating system fault in the North Tower at Inverness Sheriff Court. No additional costs were incurred for the use of other premises as the case was moved to Dingwall Sheriff Court. There was no business planned in Dingwall Sheriff Court that day and therefore no cases were delayed as a result.

Crofting

24 January 2008

Rhoda Grant : The minister is aware that there is a lack of affordable housing in the crofting counties and that the croft house grant scheme is a vehicle for providing affordable housing.

Will he spend some time on considering the barriers to applying to that scheme and other financial assistance to back up the grant?

Crofters are often not well paid, and it is difficult for them to borrow commercially to make up the balance that is needed to build a house.

Michael Russell: Of course I recognise the barriers that exist and the fact that there are regulatory issues.

I do not wish to sound repetitive, but the committee of inquiry has a remit to consider the whole range of crofting issues, and I know that it has considered in great detail the issue that has been raised.

The issues of how crofting will develop, and access to land and housing, have been central to its concerns.

I hope that Rhoda Grant awaits its report with as much anticipation as I do, and that she will take part in the vigorous debate that will surely follow.

Domestic Abuse

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to children and young people living with domestic violence.

Stewart Maxwell (17 January 2008): The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of children and young people affected by domestic abuse. In November 2007, we announced the continuation of the National Children’s Services Women’s Aid Fund for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The Children’s Services Women’s Aid Fund supports the delivery of dedicated services for children and young people affected by domestic abuse, including the provision of support for children in refuge, or following on from their stay in refuge. The fund also supports the delivery of community-based outreach services for children affected by domestic abuse who have not lived in refuge.

In addition, the government continues to support the work of the National Domestic Abuse Delivery Group. The Delivery Group was established last year to develop a three-year Delivery Plan which will present an integrated package of measures to improve outcomes for all children and young people in Scotland affected by domestic abuse. The group also oversees the implementation of the Getting it right Domestic Abuse Pathfinder which is testing new ways to improve agencies’ response to children and young people affected by domestic abuse.

Council Tax

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the council tax freeze will benefit all household income deciles.

John Swinney (20 December 2007): Yes. On average households in Scotland across all income deciles and council tax bands will be better off with a council tax freeze.

Housing

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address housing shortages in rural areas.

Stewart Maxwell (14 December 2007): The Scottish Government recognises that in recent years there has been an undersupply of housing across Scotland, in many rural areas as well as pressured urban settlements, and is committed to increasing housing supply significantly.

Our consultation Firm Foundations: The Future of Housing in Scotland can be accessed online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/10/30153156/0 or in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43970). It invites comments on a proposed aim of increasing house building to 35,000 new homes each year by the middle of the next decade across rural and urban areas.

We are also taking action now to try to overcome the obstacles, such as land supply and planning issues, which stand in the way of new development in rural areas, through the work of the Housing Supply Task Force. The task force has identified rural housing supply as an early priority and met to discuss rural housing supply on 27 November. Further information about the task force can be found online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Housing/Housing/housing-supply-task-force.

Domestic Abuse

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has put in place to ensure that women’s aid services are safeguarded in the current spending review period and beyond.

Stewart Maxwell (13 December 2007): The Scottish Government has shown its on-going commitment to the work to tackle violence against women, including domestic abuse through the allocation of more than £40 million over the next three years to this agenda. For example, both the Violence Against Women Fund and the Children’s Services Women’s Aid Fund will continue, as well as continued funding for Scottish Women’s Aid. We are also providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding over the period covered by the spending review 2008-11.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities taking into account its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and national outcomes.

Council Tax 20th. December 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether the council tax freeze will benefit all household income deciles.

John Swinney: Yes. On average households in Scotland across all income deciles and council tax bands will be better off with a council tax freeze.

Housing 12th. December 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address housing shortages in rural areas.

Stewart Maxwell : The Scottish Government recognises that in recent years there has been an undersupply of housing across Scotland, in many rural areas as well as pressured urban settlements, and is committed to increasing housing supply significantly.

Domestic Violence 12^th. December 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that those guilty of committing acts of domestic violence are properly punished.

Kenny MacAskill: As part of a wide-ranging strategy to combat domestic abuse, the Scottish Government is promoting effective handling of criminal cases, through the development of options for a Domestic Abuse Court in Glasgow and the production of a toolkit to encourage innovation across courts in Scotland. This is underpinned by a protocol on the handling of domestic criminal incidents, agreed between the police and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Domestic Violence 10^th. December 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to address the increase in reported domestic abuse incidents in light of the recently published statistics which show a 7% increase from 45,812 in 2005-06 to 48,801 in 2006-07.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is continually looking to see how it can improve what is done to address domestic abuse in Scotland. We recognise that there is under-reporting of incidents of domestic abuse. The increase in reported incidents of domestic abuse may be attributed to more people recognising that all forms of domestic abuse are wrong and reporting such incidents to the police.

The rise in the number of reported incidents may also be attributed to the highly successful publicity campaign, which runs annually from 26 December until the end of January, evaluation of which has shown that over 78% of the population have seen or heard of the campaign. The campaign will run again this year.

The Scottish Government’s strategic approach to domestic abuse focuses around the themes of protection, prevention and provision. All three themes contribute not only to stopping abuse occurring but also to tackling repeat incidents. We will continue with this approach in the coming period.

More than £40 million has been committed over the next three years to support organisations working with women and children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse or other aspects of violence against women.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to run the "Domestic Abuse: There is no excuse" campaign over the Christmas and New Year period to raise awareness of domestic violence and its consequences.

Stewart Maxwell: Yes. The campaign will run again this year from 26 December 2007 until the end of January 2008.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to encourage more victims of domestic violence to report incidents.

Stewart Maxwell: It is widely acknowledged that many incidents of domestic abuse go unreported to the police. There are a number of reasons for this, for example, victims experience fear and shame as common effects of domestic abuse. In addition, under reporting may also be caused by a perpetrator physically preventing a victim reporting the domestic abuse. A priority for the Scottish Government is to ensure the interests and needs of victims are central to the way the criminal justice system responds to crime.

There has been a rise in the number of incidents being reported to the police, and this may be attributed to the highly successful publicity campaign, which runs annually from 26 December until the end of January, evaluation of which has shown that over 78% of the population have seen or heard of the campaign. The campaign will run again this year.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 is effective in dealing with incidents of domestic violence involving an ex-spouse or ex-partner, in light of the increase in the number of domestic abuse incidents since 1999-2000 from 29% to 34%.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse and ensuring that those affected by it are given the support they need and those perpetrating it are dealt with effectively. It will continue to look at how it can improve what it does to address domestic abuse.

The increase in the number of domestic abuse incidents involving an ex-spouse or ex-partner mirror the overall increase in reporting. This increase may be attributed to more people recognising that all forms of domestic abuse are wrong and reporting such incidents to the police.

When an initial evaluation of the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 was carried out in 2003, it was found that the act had been successful in increasing access to powers of arrest. In 2005 the then Executive wrote to over 180 organisations to remind them of the various legal provisions in Scotland designed to protect against abuse. In addition to this, during the engagement with key stakeholders during the passage of the Family Law (Scotland) Bill it was identified that solicitors were familiar with the 2001 Act. The Law Society of Scotland said in its written evidence to the Justice 1 Committee that the 2001 Act "is the principal piece of legislation containing powers of arrest and is most widely used".

Affordable housing 10^th. December 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to address the affordable housing shortage, in light of it no longer ring fencing local authority funding specifically for this purpose.

Stewart Maxwell: It is incorrect to say that funding for affordable housing is no longer ring-fenced. Table 21.03 of the Scottish Budget document published on 14 November 2007 shows the affordable housing budget for the years 2008-11. In addition, there is a further £119.1 million a year for affordable housing which is ring-fenced in the local government budget.

In total, the spending plans for affordable housing over the period 2008-11 are 19% higher than the spending plans for the period 2005-08. With the additional funding provided as a result of the Spending Review, we expect to approve over the period 2008-11 more new affordable houses than will be approved over the period 2005-08. Precisely how many more will depend on how the social housing sector responds to the proposals in our discussion document, Firm Foundations: the future of housing in Scotland, for achieving better value from available public expenditure.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to build 30,000 affordable homes over the next three years, as set out in the SNP manifesto, in light of the reduction in the affordable housing budget by 6% in real terms next year.

Stewart Maxwell: The SNP manifesto made no commitment to build 30,000 affordable homes over the next three years. In total, the spending plans for affordable housing over the period 2008-11 are 19% higher than the spending plans for the period 2005-08. With the additional funding provided as a result of the Spending Review, we expect to approve over the period 2008-11 more new affordable houses than will be approved over the period 2005-08. Precisely how many more will depend on how the social housing sector responds to the proposals in our discussion document, Firm Foundations: the future of housing in Scotland, for achieving better value from available public expenditure.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from (a) Shetland Islands Council, (b) Orkney Islands Council, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) Highland Council and (e) Argyll and Bute Council regarding air ambulance services.

Answered by Shona Robison (3 December 2007): The new air ambulance contract began on 1 April 2006. Since then, Orkney Islands Council have written to and met with the previous Minister for Health and Community Care to discuss air ambulance services. The Convenor of Orkney Islands Council has also written to the Scottish Government about this and has discussed the issue with me when I was in Kirkwall for the NHS Orkney annual review in September. There have been no representations from the other Councils about air ambulance services.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to review the air ambulance service.

Answered by Shona Robison (3 December 2007): The Scottish Ambulance Service and its constituent operating divisions, which includes the air ambulance service, are the subject of continuous performance management by the Scottish Government.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what emergency plans are in place in the event of the air ambulance service being unable to attend an incident due to adverse weather conditions.

Answered by Shona Robison (3 December 2007): The Ambulance Service will use the services of the Ministry of Defence or HM Coastguard for incidents where the weather is below the minimum safe operating limits, as governed by the Civil Aviation Authority, and the patient’s condition has the potential to be life or limb threatening.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many air ambulance flights have been subject to delay due to adverse weather conditions in each of the last three years.

Answered by Shona Robison (3 December 2007): This information is not collected. However, where there is likely to be a delay due to weather conditions, the Scottish Ambulance Service will discuss this with the clinician who is requesting transport. In circumstances where the clinician decides that the patient’s condition is life or limb threatening then the Ambulance Service will follow its contingency which is to task the Ministry of Defence (MOD) or HM Coastguard to carry out the mission. In 2005-06, MOD/Coastguard were used on 115 occasions, in 2006-07, they were used 118 times and in the seven months to the end of October 2007 this has occurred on 51 occasions.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many air ambulance flights have been subject to delay as a result of shift changes in each of the last three years.

Answered by Shona Robison (3 December 2007): This information is not collected. The vast majority of missions carried out by the Scottish Ambulance Service’s air ambulance service are planned missions and are not time critical. For such missions, shift changes can be worked into the schedule of journeys to be undertaken within the timeframe for the response agreed with the clinician making the request.

The duty hours of flight crew are regulated in law by the Civil Aviation Authority. The Scottish Ambulance Service has to ensure that its crews strictly adhere to the regulations in the interests of safety - of the patient, the aircraft and the crew. Some leeway does however exist where the condition of the patient is assessed by a clinician as "life or limb threatening". In such circumstances the duty hours of the flight crew may be extended where that is required for the mission to be carried out within the timeframe requested by the clinician.

Child Care

29 November 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what allowances will be paid to kinship carers who are legal guardians of children.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive what allowances will be paid to kinship carers who have taken on the care of a child prior to local authority involvement.

Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive what allowances will be paid to kinship carers of children who have been orphaned and have not come under local authority care

Adam Ingram: Local authorities have discretionary powers to make payments to kinship carers of children who are not looked after. These are:

1. Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995

2. Section 50 of the Children Act 1975.

In addition, when a child becomes orphaned, the kinship carer of the child can apply for a Guardian’s Allowance paid for by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Mental Health

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether Mental Health Specific Grant funding will be increased in the next financial year.

Answered by Shona Robison (12 November 2007): Provision for Mental Health Specific Grant is being considered, with all other government expenditure, as part of Spending Review 2007.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide Mental Health Specific Grant funding.

Answered by Shona Robison (12 November 2007): Provision of the Mental Health Specific Grant is being considered, with all other government expenditure, as part of Spending Review 2007.

Scottish Government Property

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what land holdings it has in Moray.

Answered by John Swinney (5 November 2007): There is no full central record of land holdings for the constituent bodies of the Scottish Government. Information on significant holdings is shown in the 2007 National Asset Register which is published on the Treasury website.

The main Scottish Government land holdings in Moray are those required for the trunk road network. Centrally held records show also one freehold building - Elgin Sheriff Court with 0.3 acres of land - and 11 leasehold buildings.

Housing

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what support it recommends should be in place for people staying in houses of multiple occupation and whether it believes that such accommodation is the most appropriate means of housing people with complex needs.

Answered by Stewart Maxwell (1 November 2007): It is for local authorities to assess the housing needs of individuals and provide suitable accommodation according to their needs. Any housing support service accommodation receiving Supporting People funding must be registered with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and meet the care standards required by the commission.

Other houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) must be licensed with the appropriate local authority. Before granting an HMO licence, the local authority will inspect the property to ensure that it is safe and that the accommodation is appropriate for the proposed number of tenants. The local authority will also ensure that the landlord is following appropriate management standards.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to review current legislation on the requirements to be met by developers of large-scale houses of multiple occupation, such as bedsits and hostels.

Answered by Stewart Maxwell (1 November 2007): Revised legislation applying to all Houses in Multiple Occupation was passed by the Scottish Parliament under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The Scottish Government expects to consult stakeholders during 2008 on whether secondary legislation will be required before bringing this new legislation into force.

Homelessness

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance for local authorities is in place on the use of houses of multiple occupation to tackle homelessness.

Answered by Stewart Maxwell (1 November 2007): The Scottish Government has produced a Code of Guidance on Homelessness to which all local authorities must have regard when carrying out their duties. The code is available on the government’s website at h ttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/housing/homeless/guidance.

Local authorities have flexibilities in how they discharge the duty to provide temporary and permanent accommodation for homeless people but, in respect of temporary accommodation, they must adhere to the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2004. This order sets out standards which temporary accommodation for homeless households with children and pregnant women must meet.

Such accommodation must provide adequate bedrooms and adequate toilet and personal washing facilities for the exclusive use of the household. Adequate cooking facilities must also be provided. The code indicates that these facilities must meet the local authority’s houses of multiple occupation standards.

This requirement relates to any accommodation used for this purpose – not just houses of multiple occupation.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was provided to Highland Council to tackle homelessness in each of the last two financial years.

Answered by Stewart Maxwell (1 November 2007): 1. Allocations to Highland Council to tackle homelessness over each of the last two financial years includes specific grant funding from the Scottish Government in the form of the amalgamated Tackling and Preventing Homelessness Fund from 2007-08 (previously the Homelessness Task Force and Furnished Tenancies Grant) and the allocations were as follows:

Specific Grant Funding, Tackling and Preventing Homelessness

Year	Funding
2006-2007	£607,697
2007-08	£613,606

2. The progress report and local outcome agreement received by the Scottish Government Homelessness Division from Highland Council for 2006-07 indicates a number of partnerships with a variety of local agencies in delivering local homelessness services and that a number of different funding streams are sourced in implementing these services in addition to the Tackling and Preventing Homelessness Grant.

3. Highland Council also receives general funding allocated through the core local government finance settlement. It should be noted however that the general provision does not represent actual funding but is used as a means of distributing the core local government finance settlement. The general provision in the core settlement includes Tackling and Preventing Homelessness (formerly Rough Sleepers Initiative) and General Homelessness. The allocations for the past two years were as follows:

Tackling and Preventing Homelessness	2006-07	2007-08
Former Rough Sleepers Initiative	161,000	163,000
General Homelessness	195,000	197,000

Crofting

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what financial incentives will be available to establish new crofts in Moray.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial incentives to extend crofting to Moray will be additional to existing resources.

Answered by Michael Russell (31 October 2007): There are no financial incentives currently available for the establishment of new crofts in Moray.

As announced previously, the proposed designation of Moray will not affect the arrangements for offering grant assistance to crofters within the crofting counties, as defined in the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. Future arrangements for financial support for crofting will be determined in the light of the report of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting.

Land Managers in Moray – whether or not they are crofters - will be eligible to apply for financial support under a number of measures in the new Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that new crofts will be created in Moray.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its available landholdings in Moray will be used to create new crofts as outlined in the proposal to create new crofting areas.

Answered by Michael Russell (31 October 2007): The Scottish Government will be consulting later in 2007 on proposals to designate new areas, including in Moray, where crofts may be created. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4768 on 1 October 2007. 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.

If the consultation demonstrates support for these new crofting areas the power to extend crofting tenure beyond the crofting counties rests in section 3 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended by the Crofting Reform etc. (Scotland) Act 2007.

Land in Moray belonging to the Scottish ministers will be parts of the National Forest estate currently managed by Forestry Commission, Scotland who are actively working to facilitate the creation of woodland crofts on National Forest land, whether in Moray or in other areas where crofting tenure applies. Other public land use bodies will be encouraged to consider whether land they manage is suitable for crofting.

The Scottish Government cannot force anyone to change land to crofting tenure. Land owners will be able to apply to the Crofters Commission for the creation of new crofts within any areas designated by Ministers. In addition, tenants under the Small Landholders Acts 1886-1931 may also apply for the conversion of their smallholding to crofting tenure.

Justice

29 October 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of "equivalent" in respect of its pledge to create "the equivalent of 1,000 additional police officers", as set out in Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive with reference to Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland, whether it considers there to be a difference between an "equivalent" police officer and a police officer and, if so, how the level of service provided by a police officer compares with that of an equivalent.

Mr Kenny MacAskill:

The Scottish Government’s commitment is not about headline figures or counting heads – that, in itself, will not make our communities safer; it’s about getting the best out of the police service. Our aim is to ensure a more visible policing presence in Scotland’s communities.

Barra Runway

14 October 2007

Rhoda Grant To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide Barra with a purpose-built airport runway

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson): I expect advice before the end of the year on the future of air services to Barra, including the potential for a hard runway.

Rhoda Grant: When the minister considers Barra airport's future, I urge him to ensure that air services continue. They are incredibly important to the people of Barra for social reasons. People who are going to hospital in Glasgow need to access those services, which are also important for the island's economic growth. I urge the minister to ensure that air services continue by providing a purpose-built runway with a cross-runway on which aircraft can land.

Rhoda Grant: Will the minister assure me that he will fight for that important service in that small community?

Stewart Stevenson: I assure the member that I am absolutely aware of the need to continue the air service to Barra. However, the basis for providing a hard runway, rather than continuing to use the three runways that are available at Tràigh Mhòr, is not yet clear and I await further advice.

A hard runway would be aligned in one fixed direction, so it is likely that there would be more diversions from Barra than there are with the current provision of three runways on the beach.

Another issue is that the aircraft that operate the service are reaching the end of their lives, but the good news is that that aircraft type is entering remanufacture. An alternative option may be to acquire two further aircraft.

National Health Service

12 October 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have been held between it and officials from NHS Highland about improving access to health care in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon : The Chief Executive of NHS Highland is Chair of the National Remote and Rural Group which is developing future recommendations designed to sustain and develop health services in remote and rural areas of Scotland. This group has reported progress to Scottish Government Officials on a regular basis and its work was discussed during the Annual Review of NHS Highland chaired by the Minister for Public Health on 21 August 2007.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of health services in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon : The Remote and Rural Steering Group established following the publication of Building a Health Service Fit for the Future is developing recommendations to ensure high quality, safe and sustainable services across remote and rural areas. In addition, the process of annual review for each NHS board allows Ministers to discuss progress on both key national targets and particular local issues.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the challenges of health service provision in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon : We are currently awaiting the final report of the Remote and Rural Steering Group, established following the publication of Building a Health Service Fit for the Future. The group has been considering which services, diagnostics and treatments can be provided appropriately in remote and rural areas and how those services can be sustained over the long-term. The recommendations of the group will inform our new action plan for health and wellbeing due to published by the end of 2007.

Prisons

20^th. September 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to expand prisoner capacity at HM Prison Inverness.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond.

His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service has no plans to expand prisoner capacity at HM Prison Inverness.

Cancer Waiting Times (Highlands)

19th. September 2007

Rhoda Grant : What improvements have taken place as a result of the extra measures to tackle cancer waiting times in the NHS Highland area that were announced in August?

What impact have waiting times had on patient outcomes in the area?

Is the cabinet secretary aware of concerns that staff training and development can interrupt a patient's treatment, because NHS Highland has a small specialist team?

Will she consider placing a duty on other health boards to provide back-up and assistance in such circumstances?

I ask for clarification on answers that the cabinet secretary gave to members who asked about bureaucracy.

Under the new appointments system, every patient who is offered an appointment in the health service—not just patients who want to change their appointments—must phone the hospital.

Those phone calls need to be answered, so more administrators are needed.

Can the cabinet secretary assure us that resources will not come out of front-line patient care?

Nicola Sturgeon: Yes, I can give that assurance.

With the Presiding Officer's permission, I will take a little time to answer Rhoda Grant's questions about cancer waiting times, because I think that she raised three issues.

First, on improvements in NHS Highland, the board has continued to work in collaboration with the cancer performance support team, to integrate patient pathways across all hospitals in the board's area and support faster diagnosis and treatment for people with cancer.

We anticipate that the success of the measures will begin to show in the next quarterly performance figures, which are being collated and analysed.

We are focusing on ensuring continued, sustainable improvements during the coming months.

On how shorter cancer waiting times feed into better outcomes for patients, survival analysis is normally performed at five-yearly intervals.

I expect updated Scotland-wide survival data to be available towards the end of this year.

In addition, clinicians in the five regional cancer networks are beginning to consider outcomes as well as performance against the national clinical standards.

The work is in its early days and the first of the specialist networks to undertake such an analysis will do so on breast cancer services.

That work will be reported later this year.

On oncology staffing and support in NHS Highland, I acknowledge the points that Rhoda Grant made.

The aim of the "Cancer in Scotland: Radiotherapy Activity Planning 2011-15", which is being implemented, is for the development of a single radiotherapy service for Scotland that sees services delivered out from the five cancer centres.

In support of that, and particularly in support of the Inverness cancer centre, the Scottish radiography advisory group agreed formally at a recent meeting to draw up a forward contingency plan to ensure that centres would make available additional support for patient needs over the next 18 to 24 months.

I hope that that substantial response answers Rhoda Grant's question.

If she requires more detail on any of the important points that she raised, I will be happy to provide it in writing.

Income 19 July 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the number of people earning the national minimum wage or below in the (a) Orkney Islands, (b) Shetland Islands, (c) Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, (d) Ross, Skye and Inverness West, (e) Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, (f) Argyll and Bute, (g) Western Isles and (h) Moray parliamentary constituencies.

John Swinney : 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.

The following table shows the estimated number of employees earning the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or below in the Orkney and Shetland Islands; Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Ross, Skye and Inverness West; Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber; Argyll and Bute; Western Isles, and Moray parliamentary constituencies in 2006 (latest data).

It is not possible to provide individual estimates for the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands using ASHE data.

Table 1: Number of people earning the minimum wage or below in selected parliamentary constituencies, 2006

	2006
Orkney and Shetland Islands	400
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	1,800
Ross, Skye and Inverness West	2,500
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber	2,900
Argyll and Bute	1,100
Western Isles	800
Moray	2,200

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

Notes:

1. The estimates are based on the hourly pay excluding overtime and shift premium payments.

2. The estimates are based on a sample survey, and as such, are subject to sampling error.

3. The estimates are based on place of residence.

4. Parliamentary constituencies based on 2005 revision.

Justice 17 July 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been convicted of carrying knives or possessing an offensive weapon in Moray in each of the last five years.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been convicted of carrying knives or possessing an offensive weapon in the Northern Constabulary area in each of the last five years, broken down by local area command. (link to answer >>>)

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been convicted of carrying knives or possessing an offensive weapon in Argyll and Bute in each of the last five years.(link to answer >>>)

Housing 18 June 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to address the shortage of affordable homes in areas where a significant proportion of homes are classed as second or holiday homes.

Stewart Maxwell : The Scottish Government is currently assessing a broad range of housing issues across the country and is aware of the pressures on affordable housing in some areas. Scotland is characterised both by areas of demand for housing and by areas which have a surplus of housing, so it is the responsibility of local authorities to assess housing need in their areas, taking account of all pressures on the housing stock, in their Local Housing Strategies.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support a restricted occupancy policy, similar to that adopted by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, or a two-tier housing market structure, as is operated in Guernsey, to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing for local people.

Stewart Maxwell : The Scottish Government is currently assessing a broad range of housing issues across the country and is aware of the pressures on affordable housing in some areas. It is for local planning authorities to determine whether they wish to employ specific planning measures in order to intervene in local housing markets.

Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 15 June 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address the issue of temporary accommodation, in light of its responsibilities under the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.

Stewart Maxwell : Powers under section 9 of the Homelessness etc. Scotland Act 2003 were exercised in 2004 to bring into force the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2004.

As a consequence of this Order, local authorities placing homeless households with children or pregnant women into temporary accommodation must ensure that such accommodation complies with the standards set out in the Order unless exceptional circumstances (also defined in the Order) apply.

Six-monthly official statistics bulletins on homelessness are published by the Executive, and the latest bulletin can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/12095510/0.

Information on local authorities’ offers, and homeless households’ take-up, of temporary accommodation as well as monitoring of local authorities’ compliance with the order is reported in the bulletins.

Housing 15 June 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to reduce housing waiting lists.

Stewart Maxwell : The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the importance of meeting Scotland’s wide range of housing needs, and is currently taking stock of the action required to ensure that sufficient housing is available for those on housing waiting lists who are in need.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to support the Homestake shared ownership housing grant scheme.

Stewart Maxwell : The Scottish Government is currently considering how best to support those who aspire to home ownership, but who are unable to become owner-occupiers with their own resources, and will look at the Homestake shared equity scheme in that context.

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder.

Stewart Maxwell : We are acutely aware of the importance of meeting Scotland’s wide range of housing needs. We are looking carefully at potential action to help first time buyers. One of our key aims is improving measures to help more individuals and families who are currently excluded from the housing market by unaffordable prices. We are considering a range of measures to do this, including grants and a Scottish Housing Support Fund for shared equity provision.

Rhoda Grant :To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it will commit to the provision of affordable homes in the forthcoming spending review.

Stewart Maxwell : Decisions on affordable housing investment beyond 2008 will depend on the outcome of the spending review later this year.

Rural Development 14 June 2007

Rhoda Grant : To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish the report on the evaluation of the Rural Voices programme which funded action research projects in rural communities and whether it will consider reviving Rural Voices as part of the new Scottish Rural Development Programme.

Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme will open up new opportunities for rural communities. We are looking for ways to encourage capacity building within those communities to ensure they can take full advantage of these opportunities.

Ministers have not yet been able to consider the evaluation of the Rural Voices pilot programme. The evaluation report will be published as soon as they have done so.

Oral question on Foster Carers (Remuneration) 7 June 2007

Rhoda Grant: Because people who foster their grandchildren, often in difficult circumstances, are classed as kinship carers, rather than foster carers, many of them receive little or no support, which leads to hardship. What steps will the Executive take to ensure that local authorities provide grandparents with the same level of support that they provide to other foster carers?

Adam Ingram: We fully intend that the national fostering and kinship strategy will live up to its name in a meaningful way. I am examining ways of developing support for kinship carers, including grandparents. There are two fundamental problems that we need to address in the fostering strategy. First, as more and more children come into the system for care and protection, demand is running ahead of supply. We need to attack that problem both by increasing the number of carers and by developing early interventions to reduce the number of children entering the system. Secondly, we must improve the quality of provision for looked-after children, whose outcomes remain poor: we can and must do better. Training for carers will be a key aspect of the strategy.

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