Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has carried out on the benefits of children being placed with kinship carers rather than being placed in care
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government fully recognises the value of keeping children within the family unit, minimising disruption in their lives and reinforcing the child’s sense of identity and self-esteem. Published research as well as on-going engagement with kinship c…
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its average annual expenditure will be for (a) formal and (b) informal kinship care placements if kinship care orders are introduced and what information it has on what the cost will be for local authorities.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not pay for care placements directly but supports local authorities through block grant funding. Table 28 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill Financial Memorandum sets out what the Scottish Government estimates that …
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost has been of keeping a child in (a) residential, (b) foster and (c) kinship care in each of the last three years and what research it has carried out on the cost differentials.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information on what the average cost has been of keeping a child in (a) residential, (b) foster and (c) kinship care in each of the last three years is not centrally held and no research has been carried out on cost differentials. The data that we collect fr…
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children with (a) formal, (b) informal and (c) other kinship care arrangements have been placed on the child protection register in each of the last three years.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on (b) informal or (c) other kinship care arrangements. Individual-level child protection data is only held centrally as at 31 July 2012, so data for (a) formal care is not available over time. On 31 July …
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many carers with (a) formal and (b) informal care arrangements receive financial support packages from their local authority.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: At 31 July 2012 there were 4,076 children living in formal kinship care arrangements in Scotland. All carers of children in formal kinship care arrangements are entitled to receive financial support from their local authority. Information on the number of ca…
24 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the so-called Munby judgement (R v Manchester Council, ex parte L and others, and ex parte R and others), has had on its approach on differences between how foster and kinship carers are treated.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Munby judgment is an English case relating to a particular local authority’s policy on the payment of foster carers and the interpretation of English legislation and so therefore it does not have any direct impact in Scotland.
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum have taken place in the last year and whether these were attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum is an independent Ministerial advisory body which Ministers attend when invited. In the last 12 months, the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum has met six times, on the following dates: 9 October 2012 12 December 2012 12 March 2013…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities last met the major energy companies to discuss fuel poverty and when the next meeting is planned.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17294 on 7 October 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentary…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16532 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, what action energy companies have taken to protect vulnerable customers as a result of the meeting with the cabinet secretary.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I met with each of the major energy suppliers individually over the autumn/winter of last year to raise concerns about energy price rises and to press the individual energy suppliers to support vulnerable consumers and will be looking to arrange further meeti…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what budget will be allocated for Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland in the (a) 2014-15 draft budget and (b) 2015-16 budget plans and whether this will be sufficient to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government spending plans of 11 September announced funding allocations of £79 million to tackle fuel poverty for each of the next two years ,2014-15 and 2015-16. The Scottish Government is committed to eradicating fuel poverty and is doing ever…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will use such measures as the number of (a) households assisted and (b) measures delivered to assess the effectiveness of the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We are currently considering a number of options for assessing the effectiveness of the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland. As part of this we will closely monitor the number of households assisted and the number of measures delivered.
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is monitoring whether the £120 million in investment through the Energy Company Obligation will be achieved in 2013.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We are working closely with Ofgem to ensure the monitoring information they publish on ECO investment covers all of Scotland and provides sufficient level of detail to enable us to monitor the effectiveness of our programmes. And we will collect monitoring in…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the assertion in the Scottish House Condition Survey of 2009 that for every 5% rise in fuel prices an estimated 46,000 more households would go into fuel poverty and whether fuel poverty is now affecting around 900,000 households.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The 46,000 increase per 5% fuel cost rise was calculated based on the SHCS data from 2009. It takes no account of changes to the energy efficiency of the stock or the income of householders since then. The SHCS Key Findings 2011 report illustrated that fuel …
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the level of fuel poverty is according to the Scottish House Condition Survey: Key Findings 2011, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The SHCS shows that fuel poverty for Scotland in October 2011, following a steep fuel price increase, was nearly 29% (approximately 684,000 households). Local authority levels of fuel poverty are published on the internet and are publicly available on the Sc…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16531 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, for what reason the £60 million for area based schemes has not been fully taken up.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In June offers of grant totalling £46 million were issued for the first round of HEEPS area based schemes. A second funding round is currently being assessed and allocations will be announced shortly. However, delays in the publication of the ECO guidance, …
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16531 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, which local authorities have received funding from the £60 million for area based schemes; how much has been allocated to each local authority, and how much has been bid for.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All of Scotland’s local authorities have been offered funding from the current budget of £55 million for this financial year for area based schemes. It should be noted an unallocated amount of £5 million has been reallocated from the original budget of £60 m…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16531 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, how much of the £60 million for area based local authority schemes has been spent on tackling fuel poverty.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) area based local authority schemes have a current budget of £55 million for this financial year and it is the Scottish Government’s intention that this is all spent on tackling fuel poverty and improv…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16531 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, how much of the (a) £79 million and (b) £120 million from major energy companies has been spent on tackling fuel poverty.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) have a current budget of £74 million for this financial year and it is the Scottish Government’s intention that this is all spent on tackling fuel poverty and improving energy efficiency. It should b…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16534 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2013, whether it is on target to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has a statutory duty, “to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that people are not living in fuel poverty in Scotland by November 2016”. The Scottish Government is committed to eradicating fuel poverty and is doing everything wit…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the circumstances and nature of people using foodbanks.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17281 on 27 September 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliament…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the location of foodbanks.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15751 on 27 June 2013. The member may wish to note that the Scottish Government recently commissioned a study exploring the provision of emergency food-aid in Scotland. All answers to written parliamentary ques…
18 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to foodbanks.
Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to the question S4T-00422 on 3 September 2013 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/OfficialReport.aspx.
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether levels of poverty and deprivation are greater in black and minority ethnic communities and, if so, what action it is taking to address them.
Answer · Shona Robison: People from minority ethnic (non-white) groups are more likely to be in relative poverty (before housing costs) compared to those from the “White” groups (28% and 15% respectively). Table 1 - Percentage of people in relative poverty (before housing costs) by…
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides for work on race equality.
Answer · Shona Robison: We are committed to promoting equality across Scotland and working with others to do so. To help achieve that aim, we are providing significant funding (nearly £21 million) during 2012-15 to core organisations to help tackle inequality and discrimination. £5.…
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken since 2007 to increase the employment of people from black and minority ethnic communities.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of increasing employment rates for specific groups who are disadvantaged in the labour market, including people from some ethnic minority backgrounds. Working for Growth, the refreshed Employability Framework …
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken since 2007 to improve access to health and social care for black and minority ethnic communities.
Answer · Shona Robison: Under the Equality Act 2010, NHS boards and local authorities are required to achieve equality for people including those from black and minority ethnic communities. This is primarily done through Equality Impact Assessments, an approach which NHSScotland has…
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has decided to issue a race equality statement rather than a race equality strategy.
Answer · Shona Robison: The 2008-11 Race Equality Statement is still largely relevant and continues to inform the work we do today. The updated statement will be a refresh providing more detail on how we intend to take forward our plans in practice. The Scottish Government does not …
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-15294 by Shona Robinson on 11 June 2013, when work was undertaken with stakeholders to consider a refreshed race equality statement; who these stakeholders were, and when it will issue the statement for consultation.
Answer · Shona Robison: In April, we published our current thinking on how race equality should develop over the next three years. We will shortly begin work to develop the Scottish Government approach to race equality with communities and stakeholders with a view to publishing the …
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legal actions are available to tackle revenge porn and whether such actions are monitored.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are a number of offences which may, depending on the facts and circumstances of each specific case, be used to prosecute a person who publishes, or threatens to publish, pornographic images of another person without their consent. These include the comm…
12 Sep 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle revenge porn.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are a range of laws that may be applicable in dealing with the issue of revenge porn, including both criminal laws and civil laws, depending on the specific circumstance of each incident. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service officials met w…