Jackie Baillie

28 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evaluated the impact of the £328,000 allocated to tackling rough sleeping and, if so, when it will publish its findings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: An independent review of the impact of the winter initiative has been commissioned by Simon Community Scotland, Edinburgh Streetwork and Aberdeen Cyrenians and is due to report later in July. The Scottish Government will review this along with other reports f…

28 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent of the £328,000 allocated to tackling rough sleeping.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Of the £328,000 additionally allocated to rough sleeping initiatives in winter 2017-18, £262,000 was provided by the Scottish Government and £66,000 was provided by other members of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group. Allocations were made to lo…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposal by Scottish Enterprise to sell its land ownership at West Riverside in Balloch to Iconic Leisure Ltd.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As laid out in its Business Plan, Scottish Enterprise works in partnership with other bodies to promote the full extent of Scotland's assets. The disposal of Scottish Enterprise assets is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider a community buyout of the land at West Riverside in Balloch to enable the community to have greater control of development, jobs and the economy in the area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to my answer to the question S5W-17493 on 19 July 2018. 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/parliamentarybusin…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the process for the Scottish Ministers calling in planning applications.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Ministers have a general power to intervene in the determination of any planning application, but exercise that power very sparingly, only where it appears there may be some matter of genuine national interest at stake. A total of 29 applications hav…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the proposal by Iconic Leisure Ltd at West Riverside in Balloch is in keeping with its priorities for (a) the economy, (b) tourism and (c) national parks.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Derek Mackay : I refer the member to my answer to the question S5W-17493 on? 19 July 2018. 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/parl…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) in-kind support it has provided to the proposed development by Iconic Leisure Ltd at West Riverside in Balloch.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to my answer to the question S5W-17493 on ?19 July 2018. 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/parliamentarybusine…

19 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reconvene the stakeholder working group on appropriate hospice and respite provision for young disabled adults.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This is not a working group that the Scottish Government has chaired in the past. In response to Petition PE1499, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) worked with relevant stakeholders, including the Scottish Government, to address concerns around the …

19 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the new assessment and approval pathway for ultra-orphan medicines will be (a) operational and (b) launched.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: On 18 June we announced the introduction of a new assessment and approval pathway for 'ultra-orphan medicines'. These changes to the ?ultra-orphan process will come into effect from 1 October 2018.

18 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17093 by Jeane Freeman on 18 June 2018, whether Social Security Scotland's policy on Special Customer Records will be operational when the first payments of the carer’s allowance supplement are made.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland's policy on Special Customer Records will be operational by the time the first payments of the Carer’s Allowance Supplement are made.

18 Jun 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve out-of-hours provision at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

14 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what trips over summer recess 2018 (a) to the rest of the UK and (b) overseas are scheduled for (i) the First Minister and (ii) each cabinet secretary and minister.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Ministerial engagements, overseas visits and travel are proactively published on the Scottish Government website. The information requested will be published in line with the Ministerial code.

12 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) which companies that have been selected to provide public services (i) have and (ii) do not have collective bargaining arrangements.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government does not routinely collate this level of information from procurement exercises and therefore this information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

12 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce transitional protections for procurement contracts that began before the full implementation of the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 applies to all ?EU-regulated procurement processes which commenced on or after 18 April 2016. Procurement processes which commenced or were awarded prior to this date should have been awarded within the scope o…

12 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements have been put in place throughout the lifetime of the procurement process to ensure that investment into public sector infrastructure delivers on the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations in support of workplace matters, including the provision of relevant collec…

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has put in place a number of arrangements to address Fair Work practices throughout the public procurement process. Statutory Guidance published in October 2015 requires public bodies to consider, before they undertake a procurement p…

12 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the implementation of the Public Contracts (Scotland) 2015 regulations is being used to support the delivery of fair work, collective bargaining and effective voice across the engineering construction sector.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament, the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, provides for Scottish Ministers to publish Statutory Guidance on Addressing Fair Work Practices, including the Living Wage, in Procurement. This Guidance published in O…

6 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many posts in its social security (a) directorate and (b) agency it has (i) advertised and (ii) re-advertised.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As of 8 June 2018 the number of posts advertised in its Social Security (a) directorate was 632 which includes (b) 241 posts in the Social Security Agency Implementation Division, this data is from July 2016 when the Social Security Directorate was establishe…

6 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether the DWP and HMRC are satisfied that Social Security Scotland has sufficient procedures in place to handle the Special Customer Records of people in Scotland, with particular regard to (a) victims of domestic violence, (b) people who are transsexual or t…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The handling of Special Customer Records in the devolved Social Security arrangements will be a matter for Social Security Scotland. In developing our processes for this, we are in discussion with DWP and HMRC to learn from their approach.

6 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Social Security Scotland’s policy is for handling the Special Customer Records of (a) victims of domestic violence, (b) people who are transsexual or transgender and (c) other high-risk individuals, and whether this differs from the DWP's policy.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Public protection is paramount. Social Security Scotland's policy on Special Customer Records is currently under development and Officials have been working with DWP to understand their policy and processes. At all times, the approach will align with the Soci…

6 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the DWP and HMRC regarding the transfer of Special Customer Records, including for (a) victims of domestic violence, (b) people who are transsexual or transgender and (c) other high-risk individuals, for the purposes of devolved taxes and social security,…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As part of the work to establish arrangements for wave 1 benefits, and specifically the delivery of Carers Allowance Supplement, officials from Social Security Directorate have engaged in discussion with DWP about their approach to handling Special Customer R…

6 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on Special Customer Records and whether this applies to all of its directorates and agencies and also (a) victims of domestic violence, (b) people who are transsexual or transgender and (c) other high-risk individuals.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The handling of all Scottish Government data is in line with GDPR legislation with citizen data protected under the law. Special Customer Records are managed locally and is an operational policy matter for the area concerned.

5 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that educational campuses have appropriate and adequate levels of accessibility for disabled students.

29 May 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will call an independence referendum before the end of the current parliamentary session, in light of the report by the Sustainable Growth Commission.

24 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it expects the diversion of funds from tourism projects, such as Love Loch Lomond, to digital and data projects will have on the visitor economy.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Enterprise Destination Development funding for Love Loch Lomond comes to an end in October 2018. This is the end of an agreed funding award rather than a diversion of funds into other activity. Customer expectations and demands, and ultimately t…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase employment opportunities in well paid and highly skilled jobs for black and minority ethnic people.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: In addition to the activity detailed in answer to question S5W-16744 on 31 May 2018, through our Race Equality Action Plan published in December 2017, the Scottish Government has committed to engaging with a wide range of public sector employers in discussion…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase transparency regarding the salaries of black and minority ethnic people in (a) the civil service and (b) other employment.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of increasing employment rates and tackling workplace inequalities for specific groups who are disadvantaged in the labour market. We are committed to doing all we can to address the barriers that prevent peop…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to close the employment gap that has been identified by the Equality and Human Rights Commission between white and black and minority ethnic people.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the employment rate gap between the white and black and minority ethnic population. We recognise that the gap needs to be tackled to achieve inclusive economic growth and ensure every person, regardless of back…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to close the employment gap that has been identified by the Equality and Human Rights Commission between white and black and minority graduates.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: In addition to the activity detailed in answer to question ?S5W-16744 on 31 May 2018, Universities, supported by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), are committed to delivering the best employment outcomes for their graduates. This is demonstrated through act…

15 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium suggesting that town centre vacancy rates have reached a seven-year high.

3 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants there are in the Police Division of its Justice Directorate.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As at 1 May 2018 there were 34 civil servants in the Justice Directorate Police Division of the Scottish Government.