Pauline McNeill

30 Oct 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of ground floor properties in the social housing sector for people with accessibility needs.

30 Oct 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government plans to take to help families faced with financial hardship should interest rates rise.

6 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are in place to ensure that Syrian refugees are receiving the necessary support as set out in its strategy, New Scots: Integrating Refugees in Scotland's Communities, and whether there has been any review or assessment of how support from the assigned integration support teams…

Answer · Angela Constance: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the Help to Buy scheme beyond 2019.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build and Smaller Developers Schemes are due to run until 31 March 2019. We expect to make decisions early in 2018 on the future of these schemes beyond March 2019.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the take-up has been of the New Supply Shared Equity (NSEE) scheme.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The number of households assisted each year are detailed in the following table: Finance Year No of households 2007-08 527 2008-09 651 2009-10 721 2010-11 491 2011-12 446 2012-13 302 2013-14 307 2014-15 252 2015-16 189 2016-17 179 Total…

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that Syrian refugees receive the support required under the refugees action plan, and what plans it has to review whether the support offered by the assigned integration support teams is meeting their needs.

Answer · Angela Constance: The operation of refugee resettlement schemes is reserved to the UK Government and managed by the Home Office. Support for refugees arriving under the Syrian Resettlement Programme is provided by local authorities, who report to the Home Office on delivery of…

2 Oct 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will undertake a national audit of the number of people who are rough sleeping.

29 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the social concept "white privilege" is relevant to its work regarding the Race Equality Framework for Scotland.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Race Equality Framework for Scotland has been developed with an understanding of the urgent need to avoid and eradicate institutional racism wherever it is found. We recognise that much progress has been made, although much more remains to be done. Howeve…

29 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that English language classes are available to (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government (SG) is committed to ensuring that all residents in Scotland whose first language is not English can contribute to Scottish society and the economy. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland is delivered by …

29 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it tracks the progress of the Race Equality Framework for Scotland, and what progress has been made since the framework's launch.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government published its Implementation Approach of the Race Equality Framework for Scotland 2016 - 2030 on 23 February 2017. The Race Equality Framework is being delivered by the Scottish Government and is coordinated by the Race Equality Team w…

12 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what accountability the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board has to ministers; what role it plays in appointments to the board and the other senior executive positions at the college, and what its position is on the salaries paid to the board and the other senior executive positions.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Chair of Glasgow Colleges Regional Board (GCRB) is appointed directly by Scottish Ministers; Ordinary members of the board are appointed by the Chair and the Regional Board with approval from Scottish Ministers. Ordinary members are appointed through an o…

5 Sep 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to further the automation of benefits to help poorer families.

30 Aug 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to put specific provisions in the Social Security (Scotland) Bill to rule out private contractors conducting disability assessments.

24 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has reimbursed local authorities under the Scottish Welfare Fund scheme, Assistance with Housing Costs for 18-21 year olds.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Reimbursement details are subject to agreement through COSLA’s usual processes, and funding for 2017-18 will be announced and included as an adjustment to this year’s Local Government Finance Order in February 2018, with payments to Local Authorities being ma…

16 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support has been provided by (a) Scottish Enterprise and (b) other agencies to (i) Pladis and (ii) the previous owners of the McVities factory in Tollcross, Glasgow, since 2010.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: a) The Tollcross site under United Biscuits ownership engaged with Scottish Enterprise (SE) in late 2013, to help the site through a three year £7.2m modernisation plan to transform the company’s operating performance and improve overall efficiency. An SE Tra…

16 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement Scottish Enterprise has had with Pladis regarding the future of manufacturing at its factory in Tollcross, Glasgow.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Enterprise (SE) has been actively supporting the company’s manufacturing business at Tollcross for the last three years, and work is currently ongoing with SE’s Workforce Innovation team to support workforce development. SE also has a strong relation…

16 Aug 2017 · Written Question

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

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government’s economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise (SE), last met with Pladis representatives on 16 August 2017. Issues discussed included SE’s ongoing support for the Tollcross site and its staff; recent press coverage of GMB union co…

14 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to (a) prevent spatial segregation in urban areas, (b) monitor areas that are at risk of segregation and (c) tackle existing segregation in cities, particularly in areas where ethnic minorities represent a higher percentage of the population.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Planning Policy states that that “Local development plans should allocate appropriate sites to support the creation of sustainable mixed communities and successful places and help to ensure the continued delivery of new housing.” As the statutory…

14 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that (a) schools and other educational institutions and (b) childcare facilities are used to their full potential, particularly in urban areas where ethnic minorities represent a higher percentage of the population.

Answer · John Swinney: Educational institutions are supported to develop effective engagement with partners and stakeholders, including communities, through the Education Scotland quality frameworks ‘How Good is Our School’ (HGIOS), ‘How Good is Our College’ (HGIOC) and ‘How Good i…

14 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that it collects sufficient data on the (a) accessibility and (b) quality of (i) schools and other educational institutions, (ii) medical institutions and (iii) public transport, particularly in urban areas where ethnic minorities represent a higher percentage of the popul…

Answer · Angela Constance: Scotland has an impressive set of high quality public sector data and internationally significant informatics research. Collective data agreements, use of questions in core surveys, and combined data sets are helping to provide a broader range of data for eth…

5 Jun 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent figures are for the uptake of the Young Scot National Entitlement Card.

30 May 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to help people with arthritis who are struggling to work.

23 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the cost and increase the availability of public transport in rural areas.

16 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to use its share of the UK Apprenticeship Levy.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Funding notionally received from the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy through the block grant is not additional money, and largely replaces funding the Scottish Government would have previously received. Taking account of public bodies' contributions to th…

8 May 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to better resource planning authorities, in light of an increase in planning fees for major applications from 1 June 2017.

2 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on the provision of minor injuries units in communities.

20 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its research into barriers to engagement and the role of community councils in planning.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We plan to publish research into the barriers to engagement in the planning system shortly.

20 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its long-term strategy is with regard to 18- to 21-year-olds having access to housing benefit.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We remain disappointed that the UK Government have refused to agree an approach that would have avoided housing benefit being withdrawn from young people in Scotland.  We continue to seek a solution that will allow all 18-21 year olds to receive housing cost…

11 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to automating some benefits, such as school clothing grants, free school meals and the educational maintenance allowance, to increase the uptake by those most in need.

21 Mar 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending child fares to the age of 18 for all forms public transport.