Parliamentary questions
Pauline McNeill
2,364 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to convene a further meeting of energy suppliers and consumer organisations to discuss support for vulnerable consumers.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26472 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Consumers and Markets Taskforce has had with Citizens Advice Scotland regarding options for a unified priority services register across public authorities, agencies and utilities.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Consumers and Markets Taskforce was created to provide Scottish Ministers with strategic advice on priorities and actions relating to consumer and market issues in Scotland. As its remit evolved, its focus moved to supporting the practical development of …
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions and commitments were agreed at the energy suppliers roundtable, which it hosted on 19 January 2018, and what progress has been made in taking forward each of these, including those concerning compiling Scotland-specific data covering (a) pre-payment meters, (b) warrants, (c)…
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government’s Energy Consumer Action Plan, published in May 2019, builds on the outcomes of the Vulnerable Energy Consumer Summit in January 2018. It was developed with support from an expert advisory group. It takes into account recent developmen…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will seek reassurance from Ofgem that there will be no significant mutualisation of costs once its supplier licensing proposals have been finalised and implemented.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26451 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will seek reassurance from Ofgem that any new rules it is proposing to put in place under the Supplier Licencing Review will alleviate the moral hazard problem in the energy supply market where suppliers are able to use an uninformed line of credit in the form of customer cred…
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26451 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will encourage Ofgem, through its Supplier Licencing Review, to ensure that energy suppliers guarantee (a) 100% of their credit balances and (b) government policy costs, should they fail through parent company guarantees, ringfenced cash or any other appropriate financial inst…
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26451 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Ofgem on protecting consumers from higher bills as a direct result of energy supply company failures, where credit balances and unpaid renewables obligations are thereafter mutualised across other suppliers.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26451 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask Ofgem to provide an estimate of the average credit balance held by customers in Scotland for each energy supply company that has failed since January 2018.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26451 on 5 December 2019. 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/parliamentarybusines…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it will make to Ofgem and the UK Government as part of the Supplier Licencing Review.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W- 26451 on 5 December 2019. 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…
20 Nov 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask Ofgem to provide an estimate of the costs of energy supplier failure in Scotland, including (a) managing the supplier of last resort process, (b) covering the cost of consumer credit balances and (c) unpaid renewables obligations, since January 2018.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: All legislative and regulatory powers regarding electricity and gas markets remain reserved to UK Ministers under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998, and, consequently, the Scottish Government does not currently have any devolved powers to direct actions…
19 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help families experiencing in-work poverty.
12 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce mental health training for midwives.
29 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will enact the provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Bill regarding keeper liability before the Parking Code of Practice is in force.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The UK-wide Code of Practice, which is being established under the UK (Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, will be a key element supporting the keeper liability provisions within Scotland. To ensure fairness and transparency for motorists we have no intentio…
22 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on encouraging the uptake of breast cancer screening.
9 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what marketing and campaign plans it has for Hate Crime Awareness Week 2019, and whether it plans to repeat the "Dear Haters" letter campaign that covered multiple identity characteristics, which was used in 2018.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Following our Letters from Scotland campaign in 2018, we are currently working with stakeholders to develop a further hate crime campaign for early next year. The campaign will focus on encouraging victims and witnesses to report hate crime, making it clear …
7 Oct 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce its plans for Hate Crime Awareness Week.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Hate Crime Awareness Week took place across the UK from 12 to 19 October 2019, during which we engaged with key stakeholders to promote and support a broad range of events and activity across Scotland. Myself and the Justice Secretary used the opportunity pro…
26 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) individuals and (b) organisations the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People has met in the last year to discuss (i) equalities issues and (ii) the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Information on Ministerial engagements is published on the Scottish Government’s website and is at https://www.gov.scot/search/?q=Ministerial+engagements . The most recent published information covers the period to April 2019. Since then I have undertaken t…
26 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a means-tested voucher scheme to enable lower income families to provide tuition for their children.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not provide funding for the use of private tutors and there are no plans to provide means-tested vouchers for private tutoring. We recognise that children affected by poverty can face barriers to accessing education. That is why t…
24 Sep 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will allocate the £1.5 million that is to be provided to social landlords to prevent homelessness.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have been working with partners including the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, to develop the parameters of the Homelessness Prevention Fund to ensure that it is targeted in a way that ensures maximum impact. We will announce further details la…
28 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Shelter Scotland's view that Glasgow City Council has broken the law almost 7,000 times in the last two years by failing to provide accommodation for people presenting as homeless, and whether it supports the organisation’s plan to take the council to court on thi…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: It is for Shelter Scotland to decide what action it wants to take. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25020 on 19 September 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for …
28 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Glasgow City Council has failed to provide accommodation for people presenting as homeless on almost 7,000 occasions over the last two years, what its response is to the council refuting Shelter Scotland's accusation of the “gatekeeping” of homelessness services.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government considers any failure to provide temporary accommodation to those presenting as homeless as unacceptable. That is why the Scottish Government has agreed to work with Glasgow City Council to understand the local issues they face and is…
23 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times in orthopaedics.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Orthopaedic community of clinicians and managers, supported by Scottish Government’s Trauma and Orthopaedic ACCESS Programme, are driving through a range of improvements to provide better care for patients, and continue to do so through increasing clinica…
5 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average daily population of HMP Castle Huntly has been in each year since 2010.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: The following table shows the average daily population of HMP Open Estate, Castle Huntly each year from 2010. Year Average Daily Pop…
29 May 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated for citizens' assemblies; how many members will be on each assembly, and who will (a) compile the questions for and (b) oversee the assemblies.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is committed to involving people in its work. Increasingly we are using approaches that enable us to hear clear feedback, crowdsource ideas and to undertake user research to make sure policies and services meet the needs of people in S…
20 May 2019 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that around one in five of Scotland's free-to-use ATMs are expected to introduce charges to customers in the next 12 months.
14 May 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to veterans.
Answer · Graeme Dey: This Scottish Government is firmly committed to supporting our Armed Forces and Veterans Community and ensuring that they are not disadvantaged when accessing services and support. An annual debate is held in Parliament, most recently in September 2018, to re…
7 May 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is satisfied that everything possible is being done to aid the recovery of Sauchiehall Street following the Glasgow School of Art fire.
2 May 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on placing a statutory duty on local authorities to maintain a register of people and groups that have acquired service plots for self-build homes and for the councils to employ a named officer to take such interests forward, including by ensuring that there are enou…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has no plans to place a statutory duty on local authorities to maintain a register of people and groups that have acquired service plots for self-build homes. We support self-build and want to see this sector grow, providing more optio…
2 May 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has encouraged local authorities to keep a register of people and groups that express an interest in self-build homes and, if so, what response it has received.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: At Stage 2 of the Planning (Scotland) Bill, an amendment was passed by the Local Government and Communities Committee which requires local development plans to include a list of sites suitable for self-build projects. The Scottish Government is giving further…
2 May 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many units have been constructed with support from the Scotland Self-Build Loan Fund, and what plans it has to expand the fund.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: To date, 14 homes have been constructed with support from the Self Build Loan Fund pilot in the Highland Council area. Fund administrators, The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust, has approved two loans from the national fund to a value of £265,000 and…