Parliamentary questions

Mary Scanlon

4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any prison staff have intimated any legal claims against it for being subjected to degrading working conditions subsequent to Lord Bonomy's judgement in the Napier case.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No such claims have been received to date.

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have absconded from (a) HM Prison Castle Huntly and (b) HM Prison Noranside in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:Information on prisoner absconds is published in SPS Annual Reports, copies of which are available in Scottish Parliaments Inf…

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have breached non-parole licences in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The National Objectives and Standards for Social Work Services require supervising officers to investigate and take appropriate action in respect of any apparent failure on the part of a released prisoner to comply with licence conditions. Information about i…

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what risk analysis has been carried out on which to base any decision in relation to increasing places in open prisons.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:All prisoners transferred to open prison have been classified through our sentence management system as being low supervision and low…

9 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to increase the number of places in the open prison estate.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:We intend to increase the number of places in the open prison estate as part of a wider reform programme designed to make better use of the…

9 Jun 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Scottish Premier League regarding the decision to prevent Scottish First Division champions, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, from gaining promotion into the premier league next season.

Answer · Frank McAveety: No such discussions have been held.

9 Jun 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the UHI Millennium Institute will gain full university status.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In the partnership agreement we made it clear that we will support the aspiration of the UHI Millennium Institute for university status.The first stage of this process will be an application for powers to award its own degrees for teaching. As yet, the…

8 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the Remote and Rural Areas Resource Initiative's report on the provision of a pilot televisiting service for psychiatric in-patients in Aberdeen who originate from remote areas and whether it will support expansion of the scheme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome any initiative that improves services for patients. We have consistently emphasised the role that up-to-date technology and telemedicine techniques can play in securing improvements for patients in rural areas.The White Paper Our National …

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the impact of the measures to regulate the private rented housing market contained in the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill will be on that market as the main source of accommodation for students, young professionals and public sector workers.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The registration scheme is intended to protect tenants of all types in the private rented sector by ensuring that their landlords are fit and proper people to let housing. It is also the essential starting point for local authorities and the Scottish Executiv…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the resource implications of the national registration scheme will be for private landlords and how it will be funded.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Our view from experience with the regulation of other activities is that the unit cost of operating the registration scheme will be modest, as it does not involve the inspection of premises. We intend that the running costs of the scheme will be met from regi…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a regulatory impact assessment will be made of the effect of regulation on the supply of housing in the private rented market, in order to identify the implementation issues for the enforcement bodies, particularly local authorities and the police, and also Disclosure Scotland and…

Answer · Margaret Curran: We intend to undertake a regulatory impact assessment as part of the development of the detailed implementation of the registration scheme within the framework provided by the bill. The assessment will inform the use of powers in the bill for ministers to mak…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will raise awareness of the national registration scheme for private landlords in order to increase the opportunity for discussion of the proposals among regulators, local authorities, regulated private landlords, letting agents and investors in the market.

Answer · Margaret Curran: We have already involved a range of key stakeholders in discussions on the scheme since stage 2 of the Bill process. We will discuss with the Landlord Sub-Group of the Implementation Advisory Group for the bill how best to involve relevant stakeholders in the…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources will be allocated to local authorities to administer the national registration scheme for private landlords.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The bill gives ministers powers to provide funding to local authorities in connection with the administration of the registration scheme. I intend to use those powers as necessary to ensure that the resources are in place to support the initial costs of esta…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that relevant local authority resources do not become mainly focused on policing non-compliance with the national registration scheme for private landlords rather than on addressing antisocial behaviour caused by private sector tenants.

Answer · Margaret Curran: Although the registration scheme will provide a means of dealing with landlords who fail to adopt acceptable management approaches to antisocial behaviour it also serves a broader function. It assists local authorities to engage effectively with the private r…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for the implementation of the national registration scheme for private landlords in order to allow local authorities sufficient time to assess costs, ensure that resources are in place, prepare administrative and IT systems and publicise the scheme.

Answer · Margaret Curran: We have not set a fixed timescale for implementation because we wish to consider these among other issues in consultation with key stakeholders on the detailed mechanics of implementing the registration scheme within the framework in the bill.

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be introduced to ensure that tenants are protected against harassment or illegal eviction by landlords who are refused registration or are removed by a local authority from the proposed national registration scheme for private landlords.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The refusal or removal of a landlord’s registration does not affect the tenant’s rights under the lease, the common law or housing law. The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 makes unlawful eviction and harassment a criminal offence, and behaviour such as harassment an…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the national registration scheme for private landlords will be on the payment of housing benefits to tenants.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The registration scheme allows for a rent sanction to be applied if a landlord who ought to be registered is not registered or has not applied to be registered. The sanction is that rent is not payable. In those circumstances the tenant is not liable to pay r…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the national registration scheme for private landlords as agreed at stage 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill will relate to licensing of houses in multiple occupation and the introduction of pilot voluntary accreditation schemes.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The registration scheme contained in the bill will ensure that private landlords are fit and proper people to be letting houses and will establish a list of the houses that they let. Licensing of houses in multiple occupation controls detailed physical and ma…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance will be provided for local authorities on how to administer the national registration scheme for private landlords as agreed at stage 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Margaret Curran: As we indicated during the course of the stage 2 debate the Executive will issue guidance on a variety of matters to ensure the effective implementation of the registration scheme within the framework provided by the bill. The content of that guidance will be…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment of the financial cost or practical implementation issues for local authorities or the private rented sector of setting up the national registration scheme for private landlords, and its ongoing administration, has been carried out in relation to the Antisocial Behaviour et…

Answer · Margaret Curran: We have carried out a broad assessment of the likely cost of registration by discussion with a sample of local authority officials and have covered a range of implementation issues in consultations carried out with representatives of local authorities, privat…

3 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who was consulted regarding the inclusion in the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill of a national registration scheme for private landlords as agreed at stage 2 of the bill.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive did not engage in formal consultations on the inclusion of proposals for a national registration scheme in the bill since those proposals were inserted in the bill by non-Executive amendments.

27 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why self-funding patients of care homes have to pay higher amounts for the same quality of care than patients funded by local authorities.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Most so called “self funding”care home residents benefit from personal and/or nursing care payments. The remainingfee is normally a private matter between the resident and the care home.Residents who qualify for additionallocal authority support as a r…