Parliamentary questions

Sandra White

1,617 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

15 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to broaden awareness of the housing and support needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and whether it will adopt a recommendation contained in the report by Organisational Development and Support and Stonewall Scotland calling on Communities …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows: Communities Scotland has published two pieces of guidance following recommendations from the research published by ODS and Stonewall. These …

7 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Home Office officials involved directly with the removal of children in “dawn raids” in Scotland have had a full disclosure from Disclosure Scotland.

Answer · Robert Brown: It is for individual employers, in this case the Home Office, to decide whether a particular member of staff working in Scotland is in a child care position under the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 and whether they require a disclosure check.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19584 by Robert Brown on 24 October 2005, whether it will publish any concerns which it raised directly with the Home Office regarding the welfare of children removed from their home in October and November 2005 with any personal or individual inform…

Answer · Robert Brown: Ministers have expressed concerns that the removal of all asylum seeker families with children should be handled sensitively, humanely and proportionately. The agreement that we are developing with the Home Office will help address these concerns.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what average notification time it received from Home Office officials prior to them carrying out a removal of children of asylum seekers who may potentially have been subject to a referral to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration from January 2003 to November 2005.

Answer · Robert Brown: The removal of asylum seekers is a reserved matter. The Executive does not currently routinely receive notification prior to a removal being carried out.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any advice from clinical child psychologists on the potential psychological harm to children of asylum seekers who are referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration but deported before investigations by the Children’s Reporter were completed.

Answer · Robert Brown: No.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children of asylum seekers who were referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration were referred on grounds that they were potentially at risk because they lived in the same household as an offender under Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, from…

Answer · Robert Brown: This is a matter for the Scottish Childrens Reporter Administration and I have asked the Principal Reporter to write to you.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it or its agencies monitor the care and protection of children referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration who are in the intervening investigation period deported by the Home Office.

Answer · Robert Brown: Once a child has been removed responsibility for the monitoring of care and protection rests with the authorities of the receiving state.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to publish any legal advice it or any of its agencies hold regarding the remit of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and how that Act applies to children of asylum seekers.

Answer · Robert Brown: We have no such plans.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration has been in contact with officials at the Scottish Executive to express concern about the removal of asylum seekers’ children since January 2005.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Childrens Reporter Administration has never been in contact with officials at the Scottish Executive to express any such concern.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings its officials have had with colleagues at the Home Office with regard to the removal of asylum seeker families with children in Scotland since April 2005.

Answer · Robert Brown: Four.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest date is by which it expects to have a formal written protocol in place with the Home Office with regard to the role of Scottish children’s services in future removals of asylum seeker families with children.

Answer · Robert Brown: Discussions with the Home Office are being taken forward as a matter of urgency. These are complex matters and the work will be completed as quickly as possible.

31 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the opportunities for disabled people who wish to become involved in volunteering.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive’s VolunteeringStrategy sets out our way forward to embed a robust culture of volunteering acrossScotland, including volunteering by disabled people. This includes the provisionof resources for Volunteer Development Scotland and the netw…

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of public hearings for communities that have taken place in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not heldcentrally.

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken to determine the effectiveness of public hearings prior to decisions being made on planning applications, including gathering information on experiences of the general public.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has notundertaken such research.We discussed the issue of hearingsin detail with a wide range of stakeholders as part of drawing up the White PaperModernising the Planning System. Responses that we have subsequently receiv…

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the levels of public participation at different stages in the planning process.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Executive does not hold thisinformation centrally.The forthcoming Planning AdviceNote on Community Engagement will look at issues of public participation in theplanning system, building on previous research contained in Getting Involvedin <i…

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted any economic assessment to consider and quantify the potential impact on the economy of the introduction of a third-party right of appeal.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has not undertakenany specific economic assessment of the possible impact on the economy of introducingof a third party right of appeal.The Scottish Executive’s consultationpaper Rights of Appeal in Planning, issued on 1 Apr…

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has conducted into the effectiveness of pre-application consultation with communities prior to the submission of planning applications to local authorities for determination.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Executive has not undertaken any research on the effectiveness of pre-application consultation with communities.

27 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many complaints relating to the planning system have been lodged with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman in each of the last five years and, of these, how many have been upheld.

Answer · Johann Lamont: This information is not held centrally.

19 Oct 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to adopt the Race for Opportunity scheme, currently in place in England, which promotes ethnic diversity in the labour market.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive recognises the benefits to be derived from an ethnically and culturally diverse workforce, and is committed to becoming an exemplar employer whose staff is representative of Scotland’s population. We are due to publish our new Race Equa…

30 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the protocol agreed between it and the Home Office in respect of children being held at Dungavel who are referred to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.

Answer · Robert Brown: There is an informalarrangement currently in place between the Scottish Children’s ReporterAdministration (SCRA) and the Home Office through which SCRA will notify theHome Office when a referral is received involving a child from an asylum seekerfamily.<p…

30 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish copies of communications it had with the Home Office in respect of the Vucaj family.

Answer · Robert Brown: No. The Executive does notpublish details of our communications with the UK Government about individualcases.

30 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first notified that the Vucaj family were to be removed from their Drumchapel home and what concerns it raised about the impact of the removal on the welfare of the children.

Answer · Robert Brown: We are in regular contactwith the Home Office on a wide range of issues but it would be inappropriate tocomment on the detailed circumstances in an individual case.Discussions are underway betweenthe Executive and the Home Office on a protocol to ensur…

27 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop a National Family Strategy for Scotland, as referred to in the Equal Opportunities Commission's report, Britain's Hidden Brain Drain.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Equal Opportunities Commission's proposal deals mainly with reserved matters such as flexible working, paid parental leave and pension issues. The Executive is working strategically across a wide range of policy areas to improve support for Scotland's par…