Can any one tell me how to check if a permanent redirect is a 301 (which i understand is better) or a if it is down as a temporary (302) redirect
thanks

Try

http://www.internetofficer.com/redirect-check.html

Good luck

thanks for that, I have 1x 301 and 1x 302, is it worth getting the 302 changed to a 301, afterall these are permanent redirects

If being friendly with the search engines is important to you then every redirect should be a 301.