Linda Fabiani

10 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions have taken place in the last five years for breach of the conditions of a licence to operate a puppy farm.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: In the last five financial years for which information is available from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database (2008-09 to 2012-13), one person was prosecuted in 2010-11 where the main charge was under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973. It should be…

10 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities on the (a) licensing and (b) inspection of puppy farms.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: No guidance is provided by the Scottish Government to local authorities on the matter of licencing or inspection of dog breeders and their establishments. All requirements on these matters are clearly laid out in the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973, as amended by t…

10 Jun 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many licensed puppy farms there are in Scotland and how many breeding dogs they are licensed to hold.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government does not hold information on licenced dog breeders or their licence conditions. Licences for breeding dogs are issued by local authorities under the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973, as amended by the Breeding of Dogs Act 1991 and the Breedi…

12 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role early intervention has in tackling the long-term unemployment of women.

17 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how progress by NHS Lanarkshire in implementing Healthcare Improvement Scotland's recommendations on patient safety and quality of care is being monitored.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Chief Executive of NHSScotland has chaired a specially convened Oversight Group throughout this process, which also comprises senior Government officials, which will continue to monitor progress at key intervals this year. Further meetings with NHS Lanar…

14 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how complaints made by serving police personnel against their police forces prior to the formation of Police Scotland are being dealt with.

28 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18425 by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 December 2013, whether it will provide the information broken down by people who have sought protection using the criminal courts.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The number of people who have sought protection under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 using the criminal courts is not held by the Scottish Government. The available information held by the Scottish Court Service is given in the following table: Fin…

16 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the document, Management of Patients on NHS Waiting Lists, will next be revised and whether it will ensure that the revised document makes specific reference to the management of cancer.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has recently amended the regulations in relation to the treatment time guarantee contained in the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011. To take account of these changes we will be revising the current waiting time guidance which will cov…

10 Mar 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether South Lanarkshire Council has asked it for assistance in dealing with vacant commercial and industrial sites in East Kilbride.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Ministers and officials regularly meet local authorities across Scotland to discuss a range of issues, including local economic development, as do our enterprise agencies. Officials from Scottish Enterprise and South Lanarkshire Council have held a number o…

3 Mar 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to encourage more women to start their own businesses.

24 Feb 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its review of the guidance on the administration of the Educational Maintenance Allowance.

17 Feb 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how junior doctors’ hours are regulated.

30 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18819 by Roseanna Cunningham on 9 January 2014, what target date it has set for all court reporters on child welfare issues to be assessed in accordance with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Court Service (SCS) and I have asked the SCS to write to the member. However, reporters already appointed and/or engaged by the court prior to 28 February 2011 to undertake reporting work with children will have …

20 Jan 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the 101 non-emergency police telephone number.

7 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people on average per month reported sleeping rough the night before making a homelessness application in each year since 2006-07.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The following table shows the average number of homeless applications per month where any member of the household slept rough on the night immediately preceding the date of application: Year 2006- 2007 2007- 2008 2008- 2009 2009- 2010 2010- 2011 …

6 Jan 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the economic benefits to Scotland are of the revenues from North Sea oil.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to revise arrangements for ensuring that the interests of children affected by matrimonial law cases are identified and are treated as paramount by the court.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, on court orders relating to parental responsibilities etc., already provides that in considering whether or not to make an order and what order to make the court shall regard the welfare of the child as its para…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what improvements it has made to the representation of children’s interests in matrimonial cases in courts since the UK Government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and how it ensures that these arrangements comply with clause 9.2 of the convention.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 makes provision on court orders relating to parental responsibilities etc. Section 11(7) provides that in considering whether or not to make an order the court shall regard the welfare of the child as its paramou…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the people appointed (a) to the Safeguarders Panel under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and (b) as reporters under the Matrimonial Proceedings (Children) Act 1958  have been trained in eliciting the views of children as part of the appointment process.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: (a) All safeguarders are trained in seeking the views of the child as part of the safeguarder pre-appointment training. (b) Information is not available centrally on how many persons appointed as reporters in cases involving children in the Court of Session…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been appointed to the Safeguarders Panel under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, and how many are practising solicitors.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: 182 Safeguarders have been appointed to the Safeguarders Panel under the terms of the 2011 Act. Of those, 76 (42%) are practising solicitors.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all of the people appointed as (a) reporters under the Matrimonial Proceedings (Children) Act 1958 and (b) safeguarders under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 are required to hold Disclosure Scotland certificates.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Court Service are currently carrying out work to ensure that reporters providing advice to the Court of Session or the sheriff court on the welfare of children are members of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. All safeguarders appo…

17 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the effectiveness of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and whether it plans to review the legislation.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18428 on 29 November 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/parliamenta…

17 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is effective and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 provides measures available to people who require protection from other people who are harassing them. The legislation enables any person to apply to a court for a Non-Harassment Order (NHO), which is a civil order whic…

17 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have sought protection each year under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender, and what proportion of cases have led to the court (i) awarding damages, (ii) granting an interdict or interim interdict and (iii) issuing a non-harassme…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The available information is given in the following table. Cases initiated and disposed for Non-harassment Orders - Protection from Harassment Act 1997 s8. Financial Year Initiated Disposed Granted 2011-12 13 4 2 2010-11 3 1 0 2009-10 4 3 3 …

4 Nov 2013 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that local authorities are owed more than £3 million in rent as a result of the so-called bedroom tax.

30 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects in the South Lanarkshire Council area have received funding from the CashBack for Communities scheme, broken down by (a) amount granted and (b) location.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Financial information showing investment in the CashBack for Communities Programme, including expenditure at local authority level, is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/17141/cashback/CashBack-Finance An overview of CashB…

28 Oct 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of South Lanarkshire College and what issues were discussed.

30 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met South Lanarkshire Council to discuss economic development.

30 Sep 2013 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what progress the Expert Working Group on Welfare and Constitutional Reform is making.

17 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to reassure staff at NHS Lanarkshire who are concerned at proposed changes to the board's boundaries.

Answer · Alex Neil: To ensure a smooth transition during the implementation of the changes, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire have established a project board, with a shared project manager, to manage the transition.