Chamber and committees

Information on small businesses in the format requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk) for the local authority area in which the parliamentary constituency is situated. This information is shown as follows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to  £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total  up to £15,000
The Highland Council	12,284	625	894	13,803

Notes:

(i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in all of the Highland Council area.

(iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

- the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

- whether or not each property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

- the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

Information on small businesses in the format requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk) for the local authority area in which the parliamentary constituency is situated. This information is shown as follows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total up to £15,000
The Highland Council	12,284	625	894	13,803

Notes:

(i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in all of the Highland Council area.

(iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

- the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

- whether or not each property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

- the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

Information on small businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk) for the local authority area in which the parliamentary constituency is situated. This information is shown as follows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to  £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total  up to £15,000
The Highland Council	12,284	625	894	13,803

Notes:

(i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in all of the Highland Council area.

(iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

- the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

- whether or not each property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

- the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

Information on small businesses in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk) for the local authority area in which the parliamentary constituency is situated. This information is shown as follows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to  £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total  up to £15,000
The Moray Council	3,055	192	288	3,535

Notes:

(i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in all of the Moray Council area.

(iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

- the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

- whether or not each property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

- the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

Information on small businesses in the format requested is not held centrally. However, information on the number and rateable value of non-domestic properties which may be eligible for relief under the Small Business Bonus scheme is available on the Scottish Assessors Portal (www.saa.gov.uk) for the local authority area in which the parliamentary constituency is situated. This information is shown as follows:

Number of Properties by Local Authority Area

	Rateable Value of Property
	Up to  £8,000	£8,001-£10,000	£10,001-£15,000	Total  up to £15,000
Argyll and Bute	5,858	236	338	6,432

Notes:

(i) The rateable value ranges shown in the table correspond to those on page 12 of the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007.

(ii) The table shows the number of non-domestic properties, except zero-rated properties, with rateable values of up to £15,000 in the Argyll and Bute Parliamentary Constituency, which is coterminous with the Argyll and Bute local authority area.

(iii) The number of eligible businesses will be lower than the number of non-domestic properties in each area, because some businesses have more than one property. This may affect eligibility for relief under the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will depend on:

- the combined rateable value of all properties in Scotland of which the business is in rateable occupation or (if vacant) which the business is entitled to occupy;

- whether or not each property is eligible for one of the existing rates relief schemes, and

- the level of other public sector assistance received by the business.

 

I anticipate thata Policy and Financial Management Review (PFMR) of HIAL will start in May 2008.

The PFMR process willensure that HIAL is subject to challenging review, taking full account of the viewsof all stakeholders, to ensure that the right structures are in place to deliverthe Scottish Government’s agenda effectively, efficiently and in a joined-up way.

To enable a detailedand objective review of whether HIAL continues to meet the expectations and objectivesof ministers, we are now seeking to appoint a suitably qualified and independentindividual or organisation to conduct a PFMR in the following areas:

The best future deliverymodel for the functions currently carried out by HIAL;

Company performancesince 1999;

The internal structuresof HIAL;

The government/HIALworking relationship, and

Working relationswith other stakeholders.

A project steeringgroup will be established to guide the review to final report stage and this willinclude representation from the Scottish Government, HIAL and the independent reviewer.The review will take account of the simplification announcement by the First Ministeron 30 January 2008.

I have asked MikeEwart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

Some 77% of thosecurrently in prison have previously been held in prison for an offencecommitted at some stage. This figure compares with that in the “Return toCustody” statistical series which shows that around 50% of prisoners releasedfrom custody return within two years of release.

The information requestedis not centrally available.

The following linkgives access to a report entitled Understanding Alcohol Misuse in Scotland.It looks at the number and nature of assault presentations to emergency departmentsin Scotland, and also looks to identify the degree towhich alcohol is a contributing factor. The report includes a table showing thetype of weapon used in assaults, including glass, regardless of whether or not alcoholhas been implicated. The report was commissioned by Quality Improvement Scotlandand produced by the Scottish Trauma Audit Group who surveyed 16 emergency departmentsduring March to April 2006.

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/ui-links.jsp?pContentID=4439&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.

Information obtainedfrom accident and emergency (A&E) provides detail on the number of attendancesat A&E departments, however information on the cause of injury is not collected.The total number of new attendances at A&E is approximately 1.4 million peryear. Information can be found within the following web pages:

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Annual_trends_in_outpatient_activity_hbtnum_May2007.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.