Parliamentary questions
Pauline McNeill
2,364 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of people who have been sleeping rough in each of the last three years.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government collect information on homeless households from Local Authorities. Local authorities ask homelessness applicants whether they have slept rough in the previous 3 months and if they slept rough the night before approaching the Council an…
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a budget allocation to assist rough sleepers.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: There is no specific budget allocated to assist rough sleepers. Local Authorities have the statutory responsibility for the delivery of housing and homelessness services in their area, including allocating budgets. The local government finance settlement for…
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which organisations it has met to discuss the issue of rough sleeping in Glasgow.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has met with Glasgow City Council, the Glasgow Homelessness Network, Glasgow City Mission and the Simon Community Scotland and others to discuss issues around homelessness and rough sleeping in Glasgow.
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations it has met to discuss the issue of rough sleeping.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government meets regularly with local authorities through meetings with the Housing Options Hubs. The Housing Options Hubs look at ways of preventing homelessness and enabling access to people’s widest housing options. Meetings concentrate on a r…
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that there is a minimum number of places available for emergency accommodation for rough sleepers in each local authority.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland’s strong housing rights for homeless households mean that nobody should have to sleep rough. Local Authorities have the statutory duty for the delivery of housing and homelessness services in their area. This includes the provision of emergency accom…
20 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a national strategy for the eradication of rough sleeping.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland’s strong housing rights for homeless households mean that nobody should have to sleep rough. Local Authorities have the statutory duty for the delivery of housing and homelessness in their area. This includes addressing rough sleeping, taking account…
19 Dec 2016 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the number of destitute people sleeping on Scotland’s streets this Christmas.
28 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that the highest level of consumer protection is available to buyers of new-build homes.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The regulation of consumer protection is reserved to the UK government. However, under the Scotland Act 2016 the Scottish Government has taken on responsibility for consumer advice and advocacy and in terms of Building Standards, local authorities are respons…
28 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what liability local authority providers of building control have in cases where faults are found with new-build homes.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 sets out the duties of a local authority in their role as a verifier and as the enforcement authority. It is the responsibility of the ‘relevant person’, generally the owner or developer, to ensure that a building has been con…
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow Housing Infrastructure Fund loans to be used from 2017-18 to support the provision of community infrastructure, such as schools, that is required as a result of new housing development.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Government has published guidance on the operation of the Housing Infrastructure Fund. This notes that the fund will not support the provision of community infrastructure required as a consequence of new housing development, for example, funding for …
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will notify local authorities of whether the Strategic Housing Investment Plans that were submitted to its More Homes Division have been agreed, and whether the notification will detail the level of funding that it will provide for the plans.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) are part of the Local Housing Strategy process and set out local authorities’ view of housing development priorities. Scottish Government does not formally agree SHIPs but will use them as the basis for the developme…
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many units were proposed in the Strategic Housing Investment Plans that were submitted to its More Homes Division for each of the next five years.
Answer · Angela Constance: Strategic Housing Investment Plans were due to be submitted to Scottish Government on 30 November and therefore we do not currently hold this information.
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many units were proposed in the Strategic Housing Investment Plans that were submitted to its More Homes Division (a) in total and (b) from each local authority.
Answer · Angela Constance: Strategic Housing Investment Plans were due to be submitted to Scottish Government on 30 November and therefore we do not currently hold this information.
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the Strategic Housing Investment Plans that were submitted to its More Homes Division.
Answer · Angela Constance: Strategic Housing Investment Plans are local authority documents and Councils have responsibility for publishing these.
24 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the units that are proposed in the Strategic Housing Investment Plans that were submitted to its More Homes Division will require agreement and grant funding by the end of the financial year, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Angela Constance: Strategic Housing Investment Plans cover a five year period starting from April 2017. Programmes are already in place for this financial year.
23 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with medical professionals regarding the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
Answer · Shona Robison: Regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Officials from the Scottish Government and the MHRA are in r…
23 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding devolving the power to re-classify cannabis.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: To date there have been no discussions with the UK Government regarding devolving the power to re-classify cannabis. Officials from the Scottish Government and Home Office are in regular contact about a range of topics, including drugs classification.
23 Nov 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how long it would take to make a decision on the future of Lightburn Hospital if this was to come to ministers.
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the average cost to the Scottish economy of a domestic house fire in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This information for Scotland is not held centrally. A methodology for estimating costs for England was developed in 2008 by the UK Department for Communities and Local Government, using data available at that time, and published in its Fire Research Report 3…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on provisions in the UK Digital Economy Bill to protect consumers in Scotland from counterfeit electrical goods being sold online.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions with the UK Government on aspects of the Digital Economy Bill but we have not had any specific discussions over the online sale of counterfeit electrical goods. Regulations over counterfeit goods are re…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any recent assessment being undertaken of the extent of the sale of counterfeit electrical goods in Scotland and the (a) cost to the Scottish economy of such sales, (b) amounts of such goods being imported and (c) the extent of the sale of such goods.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland's Serious Organised Crime Strategy 2016 Annual Report noted that an estimated £6.8 million of counterfeit goods and products had been forfeited through the activity of the Scottish Anti-illicit Trade Group (SAITG) following the launch of Scotland's r…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its baby box will contain any electrical safety information to help protect families and children from electrical hazards in the home.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish baby box will provide a range of baby clothing, equipment and simple, consistent information for new parents. This will not include specific electrical safety information, but will contain a link to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accide…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether electrical safety is taught in primary schools as part of the curriculum for excellence.
Answer · John Swinney: The safe use of electricity is part of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), from the early years onwards. The experiences and outcomes for the Sciences within CfE state that ‘The learner’s knowledge about electricity begins with knowing how to use it safely and t…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with the UK Government on the fire risk from faulty white goods and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: Regulations concerning the safety of products are reserved and, while there is no discussion between Scottish Government and UK Government on this, we welcome the UK Government’s recent action in establishing a working group to improve the safety of white goo…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to warn consumers about the dangers of buying counterfeit electrical goods in the run-up to the festive season.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As a member of the Consumer Protection Partnership, the Scottish Government supports National Consumer Week which ran from 28 November to 2 December. The theme of this year's campaign is 'Switched On' and aims to alert the public to potential problems with el…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it promotes the use of anonymous marking in universities and colleges as part of the equality agenda.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: This is a matter for individual colleges and universities to determine. However these institutions are required to give due regard to the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Funding Council monitors and supports colleges and universities to deliver and embed equa…
11 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of people rough sleeping in Glasgow, and what information it has regarding the number of rough sleepers there have been in the city in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland’s strong housing rights for homeless households mean that nobody should have to sleep rough. Glasgow City Council have the duty to provide housing and homelessness services in their area. Homelessness statistics indicate that the number of homeless …
7 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-03922 and S5W-03923 by Kevin Stewart on 3 November 2016, how many of the expressions of interest were regarded as priority sites ahead of the formal SHIP submissions.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Local authorities were invited as part of the development of their Strategic Housing Investment Plans to identify priority housing sites that could, with support from the Fund, be unlocked to bring forward housing within the next five years. All expressions o…
7 Nov 2016 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the number of children in temporary accommodation.
31 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage universities to make their facilities more accessible to disabled people.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, long term medical condition or additional support needs are able to access higher education and are fully supported throughout their studies. Universities have a duty under …