Elaine Smith

9 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many communities have applied for funds through the Action on Plastic Zero Waste Towns initiative.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: To date, 92 groups including 71 local community groups/not-for-profit organisations, 2 schools, 2 universities, 1 college, 3 local authorities and 13 individuals have registered their interest in the Plastic Zero Waste Towns Initiative with Zero Waste Scotlan…

9 May 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £500,000 fund for the Action on Plastic Zero Waste Towns initiative has been allocated to date.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23086 on 22 May 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…

8 May 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on local decision making in planning matters.

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of people using food banks it estimates are unaware of their possible eligibility for a crisis grant through the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: It is not possible to estimate this. The Scottish Government undertakes a range of activity to promote the availability of income maximisation advice and financial assistance, including grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund, to organisations supporting people…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of recipients of Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grants in 2017-18 were in employment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not collect information on whether recipients of payments from the Scottish Welfare Fund are in employment or not. The Fund aims to provide financial assistance to people on low incomes regardless of whether that income is from…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of recipients of Scottish Welfare Fund community care grants in 2017-18 were in employment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22739 on 2 May 2019 . All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much income has been lost in each local authority area in each year since 2013-14 because of unclaimed Scottish Welfare Fund entitlements, also broken down by how this has impacted on each area's economy.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Payments from the Scottish Welfare Fund are discretionary awards rather than entitlements. Unspent budget allocations may be carried forward by individual local authorities to provide grants from the Fund in the next financial year.

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason funding for the Scottish Welfare Fund has remained at the same level since 2013-14, and whether it plans to increase this.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government made a significant additional investment of £9.2 million when the Scottish Welfare Fund was introduced in 2013. Based on the latest published statistics, programme spend on the Fund, in the financial year 2017-18, across Scotland as a …

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it offers to local authorities that record (a) high levels of underspend on payments from and (b) lower than average levels of approved applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Local authorities are responsible for managing their budgets and are best placed to do so taking account of local circumstances. The Scottish Government’s statutory guidance to local authorities includes advice on how to manage Scottish Welfare Fund budgets t…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the take up has been of the Scottish Welfare Fund, broken down by (a) gender, (b) race and (c) disability, and how this informs policy decisions.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The breakdown of applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund based on data from April 2013 to September 2018 is as follows (these figures include Family Reunion Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants for 18-21 year olds affected by the change to the entitlemen…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Scottish Welfare Fund has had on the percentage of people who use food banks.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not gather data on whether people who receive Scottish Welfare Fund grants also use foodbanks.

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase awareness among people who might be entitled to apply for funding from the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government continues to take a range of actions to raise awareness of the Scottish Welfare Fund among potential applicants. This includes providing local authorities and third sector organisations with posters and leaflets, distributing informati…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2018-19 were subject to a revised assessment, and what action it is taking to minimise the need for revisions.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: This information is not yet available. Statistical data for 2018-19 will be published in July 2019. The Scottish Government has provided funding to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, to hold training workshops with local authorities to improve consistenc…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve efficiency in reaching final decisions on applications to Scottish Welfare Fund.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The latest published statistics (1 October to 31 December 2018) show that 96% of Crisis Grant applications and 93% of Community Care Grant applications were processed within the timescales required by the Statutory Guidance. The Scottish Government facilitate…

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there was an underspend on Scottish Welfare Fund payments in 2018-19 and, if so, (a) for what reason, (b) whether this is being carried forward and (c) what action it is taking to maximise spend in 2019-20.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: This information is not yet available. Statistical data for 2018-19 will be published in July 2019. Any unspent budget allocations may be carried forward by individual local authorities to provide grants from the Fund in the next financial year.

18 Apr 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on relaxing the eligibility criteria requirements under the Scottish Welfare Fund that are needed to qualify for an emergency or disaster grant.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Welfare Fund allows for Crisis Grants to be made to help people cope with unexpected expenses arising out of an emergency or a disaster. The eligibility criteria for these and other payments from the Fund are set out in the Welfare Funds (Scotlan…

15 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is given to breastfeeding mothers when attending court.

25 Mar 2019 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will consider bringing forward the introduction of an income supplement, in light of two recent reports predicting an increase in child poverty.

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-21774 and S5W-21775 by Jamie Hepburn on 8 March and 5 March 2019 respectively, and, in light of there being no monitoring yet in place, whether it will publish the agreement that confirms service levels can be maintained on reduced funding.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The expectations on the agreed service levels and arrangements for monitoring performance will be set out in the grant offer letter.

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W -21773 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 March 2019, how the number of carers in Scotland is calculated for the costings associated with the carers allowance supplement.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Carer’s Allowance Supplement forecast in the Scottish Government budget is produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC). Table 4.11 of the SFC’s December 2018 publication shows the number of individuals in Scotland expected to receive Carer’s Allowanc…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21773 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 March 2019, how many households are currently in receipt of carers' benefits.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: National Statistics on Carer’s Allowance are published as part of DWP’s benefits statistics collection: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistical-summaries . Scottish recipients of Carer’s Allowance may also be eligible to receive Carer’s Al…

27 Feb 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent comments by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, what action it is taking to tackle gender inequality in the practice of medicine.

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to monitor usage of the Citizens Advice Direct service with regard to (a) caseload and topics and (b) monitoring unmet need, before and after the reduction in funding of the service.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government will put in place a quarterly reporting system to monitor progress on, caseload and topics and unmet need. From the 1st of April, Citizens Advice Direct plan to introduce real time monitoring system and Scottish Government will be give…

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the detailed equality impact assessment of the proposal to reduce funding to the Citizens Advice Direct service.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government recognises the work Citizens Advice Direct plays in the offering of advice and information to people across the country through the provision of telephone and online services. No equality impact assessment was undertaken as the agreeme…

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what additional resources are being sought by each local authority to support mixed age couples register for the pensioner credit to which they are entitled.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is not aware of any additional resources being sought by local authorities or COSLA to support mixed aged couples to register for pension credit.

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the income lost within each local authority area as a result of unclaimed benefits, broken down by benefit.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Measuring take-up accurately is not straightforward as it requires us to estimate the number of people who have not applied but may be eligible. DWP produces estimates of the take-up of benefits at GB level for a range of means-tested benefits based on the F…

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to raise awareness of the changes to pensioner credit for mixed age couples that are effective from May 2019.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People wrote to Guy Opperman MP, Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion on 19 February to outline the Scottish Government’s opposition to this policy change. We have asked that the Department for Work…

22 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resource is being provided to encourage eligible citizens to claim pensioner credit, in light of reports that at least one third of those eligible are not in receipt of their entitlement.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government launched a new Financial Health Check in November 2018 backed by £3.3 million investment over two years. The service is delivered through the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland and offers personalised advice on 17 different elements t…

20 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it gives to local authorities for the provision of community services.

13 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for a hip operation.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Data for waiting times is collected at speciality level, not procedure. Latest published data shows that for the quarter ending September 2018 the median waiting time for an Orthopaedic inpatient or day case appointment was 98 days. The Health Board are taki…