Parliamentary questions
Cathy Jamieson
1,344 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with Communities Scotland about how credit unions will be assisted to expand the services they offer.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-717 on 19 June 2007. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website,the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.sear…
7 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has held with Communities Scotland to discuss the future funding of credit unions.
Answer · John Swinney: Credit unions fallwithin the remit of the Minister for Communities and Sport. The minister has receivedbriefing from officials in the Scottish Executive on the support provided to creditunions by Communities Scotland and others. We are committed to continuing…
7 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £10 million allocated for new entrants to farming will be provided to support such entrants in Ayrshire.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Funding under the New Entrantsmeasure will be allocated through Rural Development Contracts. It will be availablethroughout Scotland and the amount committed in any particular region orarea will be a matter for the Regional Project Assessment Committees and d…
7 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the availability of free school meals to families receiving working families tax credit in (a) East Ayrshire and (b) South Ayrshire.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: We are committed toextending free school meals eligibility. We are currently considering how best totake this forward and will announce detailed plans in due course.</p>
7 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to increase the uptake of free school meals in (a) East Ayrshire and (b) South Ayrshire.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Governmentsupports Education Authorities to promote uptake of school meals by making fundsavailable through the National Priorities Action Fund and sharing good practicethrough the Scottish Health Promoting Schools Unit. The Schools (Health Promo…
13 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the aims and remit of the child protection review are and what plans for consultation there are.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The aims and remit of the child protection review are:<U><P>Aims</U><P>To promote the reduction of abuse or neglect of children, and to improve the services for children who experience abuse or neglect.<U><P>Remit</U><P>To review, throughout Scotland, the pra…
31 Oct 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it plans to take to improve animal welfare.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive attaches a high priority to animal welfare and seeks to ensure in various ways that the welfare of farm animals is protected. Proposals to implement EU Directives on the welfare of laying hens and also of pigs are currently under consid…
24 Oct 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways European funding contributes towards achieving social justice.
Answer · Angus MacKay: European structural funds, worth around £1 billion to 2006, complement a range of Scottish Executive policies aimed at meeting the social justice agenda. The funds are designed to improve the social and economic cohesion of member states, through economic and…
24 Aug 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances are given to GPs who are considering Personal Medical Services employment regarding their superannuation benefits.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Guidance has been issued to Primary Care Trusts advising that existing superannuation benefits for GPs (both independent contractors and salaried) providing Personal Medical Services (PMS) under a pilot scheme remain unchanged for the period of the pilot. <P …
28 May 2001 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Executive is making in ensuring that fewer people in Scotland are excluded from the financial and banking systems.
Answer · Henry McLeish: We are progressing a far-reaching package of measures to tackle financial exclusion - 13% of Scots currently have no financial products. We launched an Action Plan for the credit union movement in March, backed by £1.5 million and announced a pilot telephone …
23 May 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage more families to consider adoption given the slight fall in the number of adoption applications identified in Adoption Applications in Scotland 2000.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The reduction in adoption applications has been a statistical trend now for around 10 years. To tackle this and other concerns, I established an Adoption Policy Review earlier this year and it started work earlier this month. It will aim to modernise the syst…
17 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will report on the outcome of the Agriculture Council which took place in Luxembourg on 24 April 2001.
Answer · Ross Finnie: I, together with Nick Brown, MAFF Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, represented the UK at this meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers.<P>We informed the Council of the actions taken to combat foot-and-mouth disease and explained that these measures a…
10 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources were made available to assist local authorities to provide accommodation for homeless families with children under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year since the Act's introduction.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, sets out the powers and duties of local authorities in dealing with applications from people, including families with children, seeking help on the grounds that they are homeless or threatened with homelessness.<P>In addition …
10 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homeless families with children were deemed intentionally homeless by local authorities and not accommodated in permanent accommodation in each year from 1996-97 to 2000-01.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: The available information is for applications made during financial years up to and including 1998-99. The table gives the number of applications from households with children which were made during the years 1996-97 to 1998-99, which were assessed as intenti…
10 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homeless families with children were accommodated in permanent accommodation under (a) section 31 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, (b) section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and (c) section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year from 1996-97 to 2000-01.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: The table below gives the number of homeless applications from households with children which were made during the years 1996-97 to 1998-99 under section 31 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and which resulted in the household being secured permanent accommo…
10 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many families with children presented themselves as homeless to local authorities in each year from 1996-97 to 2000-01.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: The available information is for applications made during financial years up to and including 1998-99. The table gives the number of applications from households with children which were made to local authorities in each of the years from 1996-97 to 1998-99.<…
1 May 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the Annual Report of the Chief Social Work Inspector on services across Scotland.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The Chief Inspector's report is being published today and copies will be made available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
23 Apr 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to provide information, advice and financial support to workers who have experienced a reduction in earnings as a result of the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: There is additional support being made available to those businesses and individuals facing financial difficulties as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Initial advice is being made available to those affected through the Small Business Gateway'…
23 Apr 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to provide information, advice and financial support to workers laid off as a result of the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Wendy Alexander: Initial advice is being made available to any individual or business affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak through the Small Business Gateway's helplines. Training for Work eligibility has been relaxed, ensuring that all individuals made redundant a…
23 Apr 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assess how many workers have experienced a reduction in earnings as a result of the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The answer to question S1W-15222 noted that the Executive has established an FMD Impact Assessment Group to study the economic impact of FMD across areas and sectors of Scotland. The group, through their existing information networks, has also received some a…
23 Apr 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to assess how many workers have been laid off as a result of the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive has established an Impact Assessment Group to identify the effect FMD is having across areas and sectors. The Employment Service is a member of the group and is providing regular information on employment issues arising as a consequence of FMD. …
23 Apr 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many abattoir workers have been laid off as a result of the recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Abattoir employment tends to fluctuate in normal circumstances. I do not have figures of lay-off since the outbreak but my officials have asked the Scottish Meat Wholesalers Association for the information.
18 Apr 2001 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in real terms on education, including schools, universities and colleges in 1992 and 1997 and is projected to be spent in 2002.
Answer · Angus MacKay: Spending on education, at 2001-02 prices, was, and is projected to be, as follows:</FONT><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=330><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=3><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=4><P ALIGN="CENTER">£ million</FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="34…
21 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the status is of its consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) and whether it will publish the responses received.
Answer · Allan Wilson: The ROS consultation closed last month, and we received over 150 responses. I am very grateful to all those who took the time to give us their views, and we will be carefully considering the issues raised before final decisions on the structure of the obligat…
8 Mar 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the development of the credit union movement in Scotland.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: I have published today an Action Plan for the development of the credit union movement in Scotland <I>Unlocking the Potential: An Action Plan for the</I> <I>credit union movement in Scotland</I>. Copies are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.<P>To…
16 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its Land Reform Bill and how long the consultation process will be.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I am pleased to announce that the Scottish Executive's "Draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill: Consultation Paper" is published today. Copies of the consultation paper and the accompanying "Draft Scottish Outdoor Access Code" will be sent to t…
14 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recruit new staff to the Scottish Prison Service.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Mr Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>The need for recruitment to the SPS is kept under constant review and takes place according to business needs.
14 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees left the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last two years due to (a) finding another job, (b) sickness or other health reasons and (c) retirement.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. The information available is as follows:<P>1999<OL TYPE="a"><LI>various reasons or unspecified: 64</LI><LI>sickness or other health reasons: 22</LI><LI>retirement: 76</LI></…
14 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take in light of the recommendations contained in the report of the Dog Identification Group.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Following careful consideration of the recommendations made by the Dog Identification Group we have decided to publish its report in Scotland so that anyone with an interest in dog issues has the opportunity to comment. The report will be published today and …
8 Feb 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in domestic settings.
Answer · Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all dwellings. However, such detectors are being considered for possible inclusion in the package of measures to be available under the Executive's cent…