Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why 54,704 of the 68,380 cases referred to the Children's Hearing system from 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 were withdrawn, as referred to in The Annual Report of the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals.
Answer · Euan Robson: The 54,704 cases to whichthe member refers were not actually withdrawn. In these cases the children’sreporter decided that compulsory measures were not needed either becausevoluntary measures were in place or the child was on supervision, or the childwas refe…
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why annual check-ups for over-75s have been postponed pending consultation on the new GP contract.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Annual check-ups forover-75s have not been postponed pending consultation on the new GP contract.</p><p>Currently, The terms ofservice for general practitioners require them each year to invite each oftheir patients aged 75 or over to participate in a consult…
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to address low uptake of direct payments in local authority areas.
Answer · Tom McCabe: On 1 June local authoritieswere given a new duty to provide direct payments to eligible people who wantthem. Executive guidance to local authorities states that all eligible peopleshould be made aware that direct payments are an option and should be givenacce…
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to encourage all local authorities to provide assistance for direct payments support organisations in their areas.
Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3875. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_w…
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GPs have opted out of providing out of hours health services in all NHS board areas in the Highlands and Islands.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Under existing arrangements general practitioners cannot opt-out of providing out of hours health services.GPs currently have responsibility for their patients 24 hours a day, seven daysper week.</p><p>Under the terms of the newgeneral medical services contra…
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who will be consulted on the inclusion of annual check ups for over-75s in the new GP contract.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Decisions concerning annualcheck-ups for over-75s will be taken forward on a UK basis as partof on-going discussions between the NHS Confederation and the UK GeneralPractitioners Committee. There are no plans at this stage for a widerconsultation to take plac…
31 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to expand the concessionary fares scheme.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: As outlined in <i>APartnership for a Better Scotland</i> the Executive is committed to extendingconcessionary fares schemes on public transport, including a national freeoff-peak bus scheme for older people and people with disabilities;progressively introduci…
31 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how its policies to reduce poverty take account of differential impacts of poverty on women, children, ethnic minorities, older people and people with disabilities.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has a number of policies that tackle aspects of poverty. Efforts aremade in all of these to meet the particular needs and circumstances ofvulnerable groups.</p><p>For example, lone parents,who are predominantly women, are now able to ac…
29 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the ruling of 23 October 2003 at the High Court in England, which overruled a decision to give approval for a mobile phone mast on health grounds, will have any effect on the way Scottish local authorities are required to assess planning applications for mobile phone masts and, if…
Answer · Mary Mulligan: It would be for individualplanning authorities to consider the effect of any court decision relating toplanning matters on their consideration of a planning application. TheExecutive’s policy on this matter remains as stated in National Planning Policy Guidel…
24 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2550 by Allan Wilson on 25 September 2003, how much was paid to each local authority for flood prevention and flood alleviation measures in each of the last five years.
Answer · Allan Wilson: Over the last five years,requests from local authorities to fund confirmed flood prevention schemes haveresulted in capital allocations as follows</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>Year 2003-04</p> </td> <td> <p>East Dunbartons…
24 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether assistance and compensation to farmers and crofters in south Shetland will be sought through Article 33 of EU Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 which states that support shall be granted for “restoring agricultural production potential damaged by natural disasters and intr…
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish RuralDevelopment Plan, which sets out the uses of the available EC rural developmentmoney, does not provide funding for Article 33 measures. However, the farmersand crofters affected are likely to be able to get grant assistance towardsmaking goo…
24 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance will be given to farmers and crofters in south Shetland who are seeking to restore their businesses following the recent flood damage in the area.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is providing assistance in a number of ways, in particular throughgrants under the crofting counties agricultural grants scheme. The amount ofassistance given will depend on the nature and extent of the expenditureincurred in rectifying…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice and support is being given to occupiers of land in order to deal with the spread of ragwort as an injurious weed, as referred to in the Weeds Act 1959.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Weeds Act 1959 placesresponsibility for control of certain weeds, including ragwort, on the occupierof the land. The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Departmentinvestigates all written complaints received about the presence of injuriouswee…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in Scotland to comply with the Weeds Act 1959 regarding the spreading of injurious weeds, specifically with regard to ragwort.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Weeds Act 1959 placesresponsibility for control of certain weeds, including ragwort, on the occupierof the land. The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Departmentinvestigates all written complaints received about the presence of injuriouswee…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how registered social landlords can be made aware of a prospective tenant's record of anti-social behaviour prior to entering into a tenancy agreement.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Ms Angiolina Foster, Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>A Registered Social Landlord(RSL) may ask for a reference from a prospective tenant’s landlord beforehousing them, but this requires…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies exist in social work children's services and what proportion this represents of all social work vacancies in each local authority.
Answer · Euan Robson: Latest figures show 842vacancies in local authority social work children’s services across Scotland in2003. This represents a vacancy rate of 12.9%. A breakdown of children’sservices vacancies by local authority is not available at present. Furtherinformation…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how unmet need is measured in relation to (a) child poverty, (b) social inclusion and (c) closing the opportunity gap.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The Executive measuresprogress in tackling child poverty, promoting social inclusion and closing theopportunity gap through the 29 social justice milestones, and the objectivesand targets set out as part of the budget process.</p><p>Resources are allocated to…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how (a) social inclusion, (b) closing the opportunity gap, (c) poverty, and (d) the eradication of poverty is measured.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The <i>Social Justice AnnualReport 2002</i> reported on the 29 Social Justice Milestones, which measure progresstowards tackling social exclusion and poverty. The milestones cover a range ofmeasures including low income, education and health.</p><p>The techni…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to provide further training and support for social workers, particularly in the use of risk assessment, as referred to in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive hasintroduced National Standards for Scotland’s Youth Justice<i> </i>Services. These<i> </i>set out standards, to be achieved by 2006, that everyyoung person referred to a hearing on offence grounds will have a comprehensiveassessment d…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to increase resources to community-based services aimed at tackling offending behaviour as part of the youth justice system, as referred to in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Funding for local authorityyouth justice services has increased from £5 million to £10 million in 2003-04and will rise to £15 million by 2005-06. This will support the work of localyouth justice teams and enable them to improve the range and quality ofcommuni…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to address staff shortages and social work vacancies in relation to the Children's Hearing System, as referred to in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Euan Robson: The Care in ScotlandRecruitment and Awareness Campaign is concentrating on the areas of most need;these include criminal justice and children and families work. The Executive isworking with local authorities, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration,the ch…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to address the issues relating to the delivery of assessment reports on children in the Children's Hearing System, as referred to in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive’sresponse to Audit Scotland’s report <i>Dealing with Offending Among YoungPeople</i> is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29848).Since last year, ministers have agreed national standards in partnership withagen…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to improve the average waiting time for a court decision on a young person, given the findings contained in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Action to improve theaverage waiting time for court decisions on young people has been taken on anumber of fronts. The Youth Court pilot is operating a fast-track process whereyoung offenders appear in court no more than 14 days from the point of charge.For t…
17 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements have been made to the average waiting time for a child to reach a Children's Hearing, given the findings contained in Audit Scotland's report Dealing with Offending by Young People.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Statistics relating to theChildren’s Hearings System are the operational responsibility of the ScottishChildren’s Reporter Administration (SCRA). They are published annually inSCRA’s Annual Reports, which are available from the Parliament’s ReferenceCentre.</…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how additional funding allocated under the Arbuthnott formula in respect of child poverty and improving the health of poor children is targeted in each NHS board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: No specific funding isallocated under the Arbuthnott formula in respect of child poverty andimproving the health of poor children. The Arbuthnott formula determines eachNHS board’s share of the overall level of funds available. It is for each boardto decide l…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it takes if a local authority does not allocate and prioritise its expenditure in line with Executive objectives and targets.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3491 on 17 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to monitor whether local authority expenditure priorities are in line with Executive objectives and targets.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Local authorities are ingeneral free to set their own expenditure priorities. In many cases these willbe set in order to pursue statutory obligations, national standards or policiesand priorities agreed with the Executive. Where Executive objectives andtarget…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which funding streams target child poverty.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Work is the best route outof poverty for families, and the Executive supports individuals into employmentthrough education, training and skills development. For instance, the trainingfor work programme aims to improve the skills and employability of joblessad…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the additional #10 million awarded to Communities Scotland will be allocated to achieve more affordable housing for people living in the highlands.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Herresponse is as follows:</p><p>This extra funding will beused specifically in rural areas and will be aimed at addressing the mostsevere supply problems. Communities …
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2549 by Ms Margaret Curran on 24 September 2003, which local authorities are currently participating in the neighbourhood compact scheme.
Answer · Margaret Curran: Neighbourhood compacts are afeature of the “Building strong, safe and attractive<b> </b>communities”funding programme. All local authorities receiving funding under this schemewill be required to develop a neighbourhood compact in the areas where they aretarg…