Fiona McLeod

23 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are available to the Forestry Commission Scotland for the support of social enterprises.

3 May 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place for funeral directors to attain and retain their accreditation.

29 Apr 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on jobs and communities, what input it has into consultations on Post Office closures.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of post offices to Scottish communities and local economies. However, any changes to the Post Office network are the responsibility of the UK Government.

18 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for Book Week Scotland 2013, following the successful launch of Book Week Scotland in 2012.

11 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scotland route of the Queen's Baton Relay will be announced.

28 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support will be available for people who want to volunteer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Answer · Shona Robison: The games offer a fantastic opportunity for people from all over Scotland to volunteer. To encourage a wide range of people to apply for this opportunity, we have taken a number of practical steps to provide support for people who wish to volunteer. The org…

21 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidelines Education Scotland provides for local authorities regarding informal consultations on school closures.

Answer · Michael Russell: Education Scotland does not provide guidelines or advice to local authorities regarding informal consultations on school closures. Informal consultation on school closure proposals is not required by law and is undertaken by local authorities at their own di…

14 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what transport options are available for care home patients who are discharged from accident and emergency departments at night and what guidance is given to NHS boards regarding this.

12 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities regarding the provision of affordable housing as part of new specialist housing developments for older people.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a statutory requirement on local authorities to prepare a local housing strategy (LHS) supported by a housing need and demand assessment (HNDA). The Scottish Government provides both HNDA and LHS guidance which makes cle…

12 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the housebuilding sector on how to increase the supply of private sector housing for older people.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The housebuilding industry body Homes for Scotland is represented on the working group established to support development of Age, Home and Community: A Strategy for Housing for Scotland's Older People: 2012 - 2021, published in December 2011, and its subseque…

12 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for start-up training providers.

Answer · Angela Constance: Business Gateway is the key delivery channel offering a first point of contact for all publicly funded advice to potential start-up, early stage and established businesses in Scotland. Responsibility for its delivery was transferred to local authorities as pa…

4 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the transfer of a child to a more expensive nursery can be facilitated by a parental top-up.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Local government has a duty to secure free pre-school provision for all eligible children in their area. Decisions on individual nursery placements are taken locally and are a matter for local authorities.

5 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what rehabilitation treatment is available for people with facial palsy.

Answer · Alex Neil: For people who present with un-resolving facial palsy, referral into Allied Health Professional (AHP) services can be offered. The most common intervention is physiotherapy, in some cases speech and language therapy may be appropriate. Some patients do not r…

5 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people there are in Scotland with facial palsy.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not centrally available. There are many different causes of facial palsy including, for example, a stroke. Routine national data returns tend to record the cause rather than the facial palsy.

19 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many colleges in Glasgow offer courses in hard landscaping.

Answer · Michael Russell: Colleges continually adjust their programmes of courses to keep pace with employer and student demand. While the Scottish Government does not hold centrally details of all college courses being run at any given moment in time, I am aware that courses in the …

19 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) public and (b) school libraries provide wi-fi access for users.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Information provided on the Scotland’s Information website shows that 28 local authorities provide wi-fi in approximately 185 public libraries in Scotland. Locations of wi-fi enabled library services can be checked on www.scotlandsinformation.com. Provision …

3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will use the budget to address the reductions in the block grant from the UK Government.

22 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to redefine affordable housing to include adapted housing for older people.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Accessible housing for older people and other groups with particular needs is funded through the Affordable Housing programme. Funding decisions are based on the priorities of local authorities as identified in their Housing Need and Demand Assessments, Loca…

22 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage private sector development of specialist housing for older people.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Age, Home and Community: A Strategy for Housing for Scotland’s Older People: 2012 – 2021, published in December 2011, sets the policy direction for housing and housing-related support for older people in Scotland, to enable them to live independently in their…

23 May 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what start-up support is available for tourism-related social enterprises.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There is a range of support available for tourism related social enterprises. In particular the £3 million Just Enterprise programme, launched by John Swinney in July 2011, is providing direct business support to enterprising third sector organisations.

9 May 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether licensing laws include provisions to ensure that the licensee is a fit and proper person.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Applications for licences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 are subject to a “fit and proper test”. Applications for alcohol licences are considered by the licensing board. The police can make representations to the board about relevant criminal…

2 May 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it promotes better transport links to public facilities.

11 Apr 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support the Student Awards Agency for Scotland offers to formerly looked-after young people entering a higher education course with a further education qualification that does not admit them into the second year.

14 Mar 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the withdrawal of attendance allowance for residents in care homes in Scotland who are supported by free personal and nursing care contributions.

8 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have Dupuytren’s contracture and how many are awaiting an operation for this.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Information is however available on the number of in-patient or day cases treated in hospital for Dupuytren’s Contracture. The latest figures for the year ending December 2010 shows that the numbe…

8 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the drug, Xiapex, for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture is available to the NHS.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraised collagenase clostridium histolyticum injection (Xiapex®) for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture in adult patients with a palpable cord and published “not recommended” advice in August 2011. NHS boards a…

25 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans for the new Low Moss prison, such as prisoners working a 35-hour week and commercial projects and courses aimed at addressing their offending, will be used as a blueprint for other prisons across the country.

21 Dec 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to people from Scotland who have volunteered to help at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Answer · Shona Robison: Support for London 2012 volunteers is the responsibility of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS), are working to ensure that volunteers from Scotland have a guaranteed and min…

26 Oct 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason a disabled student in receipt of Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance has to undertake a further assessment for the Disabled Student Allowance from the Students Awards Agency Scotland.

20 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is for a needs' assessment for a Disabled Student Allowance applicant.

Answer · Michael Russell: The average cost of a needs assessment for a Disabled Student Allowance applicant in academic year 2010-11 was £381.