Pam Duncan-Glancy

29 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) were made in 2017, 2021 and 2022.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: In 2017, 44 disabled people were supported by the Fund. 39 became official candidates either as an independent or through their political party. In 2021, 30 disabled people received Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) (AEOFS) awards to run for party sel…

29 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) following the evaluation in 2017.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: An evaluation report was written in 2017 which reviewed the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) (AEOFS) programme and made recommendations for the future of such a scheme. Thereafter, operational funding was maintained for the Fund until October 20…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) can and (b) will introduce compulsory training for the Scottish judiciary in relation to disability.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Lord President of the Court of Session is responsible for making and maintaining appropriate arrangements for the training and guidance of Scotland’s judicial office holders as set out in the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, the Tribunals (Scotla…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to improve the accessibility of train stations following ScotRail moving into public ownership.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Transport Scotland look to improve accessibility as part of wider rail enhancement and decarbonisation programme; which is why the 2 new stations on the new Levenmouth Railway, the new Inverness Airport station and the new Hairmyres Station on the East Kilbri…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the availability of high-quality BSL and English interpreters in courts and police stations.

Answer · Clare Haughey: As part of the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 – 2023 , we have a commitment to work with partners to deliver and evaluate two training programmes aimed at supporting BSL/English interpreters to work within the Justice sector, with a view to informin…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding reimbursing disabled people for care that they paid for but did not receive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Government has provided funding to Integration Authorities for reasonable additional costs due to Covid-19 through Local Mobilisation Plans. This included any loss of income due to social care charges. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CO…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to publishing all future consultations on issues that affect disabled people in an accessible format.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Scottish Government consultations and supporting documents are published to gov.scot and our consultation hub at consult.gov.scot. We are continuously working to make those websites as accessible and usable as possible for all users. Past consultations on is…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to reversing any plans for more unstaffed train stations following ScotRail moving into public ownership.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: ScotRail’s three-week public consultation provided passengers with the opportunity to have their say on the proposals for ticket office opening hours. The aim of this review, the first of its kind in over 30 years, is to make changes that will ensure the mode…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the provision of BSL interpreters in care homes.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government has a commitment in the British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan 2017 – 2023 to work with local authorities, providers, and service users to improve the way that adult social care is delivered for BSL users. Work is underway to explor…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it is taking to mitigate the impact of energy price rises on disabled people, in light of reports of disabled people being disproportionately impacted by the rises.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We estimate that Child Winter Heating Assistance will provide assistance to over 19,000 children and young people who are in receipt of disability assistance in Scotland in 2021-22 at a cost of around £4 million. This type of assistance is not available anywh…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding improving the accessibility of toilets in public places.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Under the Equality Act 2010, individual public authorities are responsible for ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of people with protected characteristics including disabled people. Responsibility for complying with the requireme…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish guidance for public bodies on requirements to produce information in a BSL format.

Answer · Clare Haughey: In setting our Public Sector Equality Duty Equality Outcomes for the 2021-2025 reporting period, we committed to improving and embedding inclusive communication within Government and across the wider public sector. We are working in partnership with public bo…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the portability of care and care packages that allow disabled people to move to different local authorities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the portability of care and care packages if people move from one local authority area to another. To support this, a new Self-directed Support Framework of Standards was published in March 2021. This inclu…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out with disabled people and their organisations in relation to the promotion of active travel.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish government’s principle engagement mechanism with disabled people and the organisations which represent them is through regular meetings with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS), an independent advisory non-departmental public bo…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the accessibility of the prison estate.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The Scottish Government and SPS are committed to continuing work on modernising and improving the prison estate which includes the con…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it will meet its target of halving the disability employment gap by 2038.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has made a commitment to reduce the disability employment gap – the difference between the employment rates of disabled people and non-disabled people - by at least half, by 2038. We set out this ambition as part of our wider disabilit…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to issue guidance on unspent Self-directed Support payments.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Guidance on Self-Directed Support during the Pandemic (updated and published on 11 March 2022) addresses the underspend of allocated budgets. The guidance states "Where Local Authorities or Health and Social Care Partnerships have concerns about underspend of…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out with disabled people and their supporting organisations in relation to Spaces for People schemes.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Transport Scotland and Sustrans have worked with a number of organisations who represent disabled people. These include, the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS), The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), and Guide Dogs for the Blind. Th…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has carried out with disabled people and their supporting organisations in relation to Low Emission Zones.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Low Emission Zones regulations provide an exemption for Blue Badge holders, which includes both individual and organisational badges. Throughout the development of Scotland’s Low Emission Zones Transport Scotland have engaged with both the Mobility and Access…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its analysis is of the reasons for BAME children reportedly being more likely to have missing or incomplete information in their development review.

Answer · Maree Todd: All children in Scotland are offered child health reviews at 13-15 months, 27-30 months and 4-5 years. These reviews are typically carried out by a Health Visitor. They allow monitoring and promotion of a child’s health and collect data on child development. …

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce new national guidance on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is clear that physical intervention should only ever be used appropriately, as a last resort, to prevent harm and when in the best interests of the child or young person. The Scottish Government is working with partners, including the…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the collection of data on intersectional discrimination.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government currently publishes a range of intersectional equality data, for example Scottish Household Survey data can produce a variety of intersectional breakdowns where sample sizes allow. However, there remain many costs and challenges to col…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has provided record-breaking levels of investment, including our £120 million Mental Health Recovery & Renewal Fund. As part of that work, we have made an additional £40 million available to improve Child and Adolescent Mental Health S…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it is taking to help disabled children to catch up on schooling that they missed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people get the support that they need to reach their full learning potential. Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 local authorities have duties to identify, provid…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making to meet the commitments it has made to support families, carers and children to learn BSL.

Answer · Clare Haughey: As part of the British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan 2017 – 2023, the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach is being embedded, with a D/deaf or Deafblind child and their family offered the right information and support at the right time to en…

25 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to collect school bullying data at a national level.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government takes bullying very seriously. Bullying of any kind is completely unacceptable and must be addressed. In November 2017, the Scottish Government published updated anti-bullying guidance ‘Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-b…

23 Mar 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to tackle the reported staffing shortages within the NHS.

14 Mar 2022 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government anticipates meeting the interim targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

11 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) repeat applications have been made for Child Disability Payment and (b) have been rejected on this basis.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: From the 26 July to the 31 December 2021, there were 25 instances where a client submitted more than one application, accounting for 50 applications in total. Of these 50 applications, 20 have been withdrawn and five have been denied.

11 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Child Disability Payment applicants have (a) already been in receipt of disability living allowance and (b) had their application rejected on this basis.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Social Security Scotland conducts an eligibility check with the submission of part 1 of the application, which checks if the child is already in receipt of a Disability Living Allowance for children award. At present, this information is not stored in a way t…