Parliamentary questions

Cathy Jamieson

1,344 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what capital investment it will provide to South Ayrshire Council to increase classroom provision to deliver class sizes of 18 in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Maureen Watt: In July the Scottish Government allocated an additional £40 million of Schools Fund grantfor the current financial year, linked specifically to the capital implicationsof reducing class sizes in P1 to P3. South Ayrshire Council’s share of thatfunding was £593…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what capital investment it will provide to East Ayrshire Council to increase classroom provision to deliver class sizes of 18 in primary 1 to primary 3.

Answer · Maureen Watt: In July the Scottish Government allocated an additional £40 million of Schools Fund grantfor the current financial year, linked specifically to the capital implicationsof reducing class sizes in P1 to P3. East Ayrshire Council’s share of thatfunding was £979,…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will allocate for the provision of diversionary activities for young people.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The government iscommitted to ensuring that all young people have access to a range of activitieswhich support positive outcomes. The level of future funding for the provision ofdiversionary activities for young people is currently being considered.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding to expand community warden schemes.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4431 on 26 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.s…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding to maintain community warden schemes.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Executivefunding to tackle antisocial behaviour is supporting community wardens in everylocal authority area in Scotland. It is for each local authority to decidehow best to allocate funding across all their antisocial behaviour services, includingco…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide local authorities with additional funding for improvements to and the maintenance of rural roads.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Governmentsupports local authorities’ net revenue expenditure on road maintenance throughthe core local government finance settlement. All local authorities receive theirneeds-based share of the road maintenance grant aided expenditure (GAE) allo…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that all children from families in receipt of working families tax credit receive free school meals.

Answer · Adam Ingram: We would like toextend entitlement for free school meals to families in receipt of maximumchild tax credit and maximum working tax credit, although this will depend onforthcoming discussions with COSLA about outcome agreements.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to introduce technology that will more accurately measure usage of the national concessionary fares scheme.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: There are currentlytwo successful pilot schemes in operation which utilise the new ticketing machinetechnology. This technology is now in the process of being rolled out across Scotland

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that the number of journeys made under the national concessionary fares scheme is properly audited.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: A range of measuresare in place to ensure the validity of the number of journeys that participatingbus operator’s claim under the Scotland Wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and DisabledPeople. These measures include analytical review of the claims received for e…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what finance has been allocated to procure the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We expect thefranchisee to lease additional rolling stock allowing trains to be cascadedacross the First ScotRail franchise and a half hourly rail service betweenGlasgow and Kilmarnock to be provided. We will not therefore go through aprocurement process and …

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to purchase the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We have no plansto purchase the rolling stock required for a half hourly rail service betweenGlasgow and Kilmarnock and have not therefore considered the cost of doing so. Aswith other rolling stock required to operate the ScotRail franchise, it isexpected th…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will purchase or lease the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: We expect the franchiseeto lease additional rolling stock allowing trains to be cascaded across theFirst ScotRail franchise and a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock to be provided.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional rolling stock will be required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Two additionaltrains will be required to provide a half-hourly service.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock will be in place by spring 2009.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Subject to marketavailability, we expect that rolling stock to provide the service will be inplace by spring 2009.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to ensure that carers receive necessary training in handling and moving people.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Governmentrecognises the invaluable contribution that unpaid carers make to Scottish societyand the importance of training in helping carers to cope with their caring role.That is why we have said we will initially focus our efforts on carer trai…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that carers receive necessary training.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4421 on 26 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on children living with parental drug or alcohol misuse.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The ScottishGovernment is committed to tackling the complex issue of children affected byparental substance misuse. The major programme of activity on this agenda iscurrently under review, with a view to strengthening the focus on preventionand early interven…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which of its ministers is responsible for policy relating to children living with parental drug or alcohol misuse.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Minister forChildren and Early Years has the lead responsibility for policy relating tochildren living with parental drug or alcohol misuse, working closely with ministerialcolleagues to address cross-cutting issues.

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to assess the number of children living with parental drug or alcohol misuse.

Answer · Adam Ingram: It is for localauthorities to gather and record data on the number of children in their areain need of child protection services, including those living with parental drugand alcohol misuse. The Scottish Government is currentlyassessing how to strengthen exis…

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are living with parental drug or alcohol misuse.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The most recentprevalence estimate for Scotland is that up to 60,000 children under 16have a parent with a drug problem. Of these, it is estimated that between10,000 and 20,000 live with a parent with drug problems. We do not have anequivalent figure for the …

18 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will create a statutory obligation on public agencies that deal with young people living with parental drug and alcohol misuse to share information.

Answer · Adam Ingram: In the lastsession, the Scottish Parliament voted to withdraw what was then Part 3 of theProtecting Vulnerable Groups Bill, which had outlined a statutory requirementto share information when there are concerns about a child, including youngpeople living with…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to provide further financial support and assistance to the veterans organisation, Combat Stress.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Governmentis currently discussing the future funding arrangements for Combat Stress with theUK Government.We are committed to ensuring the standards of servicesprovided to veterans are of a high quality that meet the specific individual ne…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance and support it has provided to the veterans organisation, Combat Stress.

Answer · Shona Robison: Funding for HollybushHouse (Combat Stress’ Scottish treatment centre) services is provided by NHS Scotlandthrough an arrangement with NHS Ayrshire and Arran.Recent costs have been:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width=71 val…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specialised support is available for former armed forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Answer · Shona Robison: We continue our discussionswith the Ministry of Defence and NHS boards on improving structured care and support for former servicepersonnel whose mental health is assessed to have suffered as a result of theiroperational deployment.Inpatient care is pr…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it will provide to projects which promote health and education in Malawi.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: The InternationalDevelopment Fund and policy are presently being reviewed to determine how best todevelop Scotland’s investment in international development. Future funding allocationswill be based on the decisions arising from the review.

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it will introduce to support the coal industry, including opencast mining.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-4234 on 11 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at:<ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will offer to the coal mining industry.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish coalmining industry makes a significant contribution to energy supplies, currentlysupplying around 25% of UK coal production. Our policy opposing newnuclear power stations in Scotland, the installation of flue gasdesulpherisation equipment at Lon…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will provide to help individual households to harness and utilise solar energy.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Governmentsupports the use of solar energy devices by householders, as well as other small-scalerenewable technologies, through the Scottish Community and Householder RenewablesInitiative.The government iscommitted to increasing the use of…

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specific action it will take to encourage the economic regeneration of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Governmentis committed to taking targeted action to encourage the regeneration of our mostdisadvantaged areas and to tackle poverty and deprivation. We will make fundingannouncements shortly after the conclusion of the Spending Review.

11 Sep 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change the way in which planning applications for renewable energy developments are administered.

Answer · Jim Mather: The government believesthat Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)6 – Renewable Energy provides a soundnational policy context for addressing renewable energy development. We want tosee the SPP’s provisions taken forward urgently, with local authorities engagi…