Parliamentary questions
Sandra White
1,617 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many refugees and asylum seekers undertook training and educational courses in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Data on training and education for refugees and asylum seekers is not held centrally.</p> <p>However, data is available on the number of people attending further education colleges on a part-time English as a second or other language (ESOL) course or another …
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake of translation and interpreting services for ethnic minorities has been in each year from 1999 to 2004, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.</p>
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to local authorities to enable them to provide translation and interpreting services for ethnic minorities in each year from 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: No specific funding is provided to local authorities for the provision of translation and interpretation services. It is for each authority to decide how it will use its grant settlement to ensure that these services are provided at an appropriate level.</p>
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding the Greater Govan Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) has received as part of the Citizen Advocacy Pilot in each month since the pilot began.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p> <p>The Govan Citizen’s Advocacy Project has to date received no money from the Greater Govan SIP.</p>
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will commission research to identify statistical and demographic information to inform community development and service planning and to project need for particular services in light of key action 19 in Scottish Refugee Integration Forum: Action Plan – progress report.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The need for this research has been considered as part of the development of the Social Research Programme. However, in light of the current difficulties surrounding collating the essential data, it is not possible to commission this research at this time. Co…
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional ring-fenced funding was made available to schools to encourage participation in sports by young disabled people in each year from 1999 to 2004, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Funding from<b> sport</b>scotland for school sport is available on the basis of applications from local authorities and/or individual schools as part of wider programmes and there is no central record on which elements of the funding will be specifically dive…
11 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote greater uptake of sports training amongst local authorities to increase the number of young disabled people participating in sports.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: <b>Sport</b>scotland are working in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) and the Youth Sport Trust to develop a new disability inclusion module on including people with a disability in physical education, physical activity and sport. This module w…
7 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many violent assaults involved the use of a knife, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of violent assaults, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) police force area, in each year since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics available centrally on crimes of assault recorded by the police do not distinguish the circumstances of the assault, such as the type of any weapon involved.</p>
7 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many intelligence-led enforcement actions there were within the four police divisions in Glasgow city centre in each year since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. The deployment and utilisation of resources in the Strathclyde force area is a matter for the Chief Constable.</p>
7 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many outstanding apprehension warrants relating to violent offenders there were in each police force area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Colin Boyd: This information requested is not held centrally.</p>
6 Apr 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected costs are of operating the trial electronic tagging schemes for offenders in Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Stirling.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Executive has set aside up to £1 million to pilot the use of electronic monitoring services in these schemes which are designed to reduce offending on bail.</p>
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of daily admissions has been to accident and emergency departments in Glasgow in each of the last seven years, and how this compares to days when Celtic and Rangers football clubs were playing each other, broken down by hospital.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information is not held centrally in the format requested.</p>
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary healthcare providers have incorporated the checklist in Appendix A of Bridging the Gap: Improving access to primary healthcare services for disabled people, broken down by provider and NHS board area.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I understand that the report<i>Bridging the Gap: Improving access to primary health care services fordisabled people</i> was published by the Scottish Consumer Council on 16 March 2005. Itwill be for each service provider to consider whether to use the check …
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Consumer Council regarding its report, Bridging the Gap: Improving access to primary healthcare services for disabled people.
Answer · Andy Kerr: <i>Bridging the Gap-</i> <i>Improving access to primary health care servicesfor disabled people - </i>was commissioned and published by the Scottish ConsumerCouncil (SCC) on 16 March 2005. Consequently, there have been no discussions as yetwith SCC about this…
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring primary healthcare providers to ensure that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is complied with.
Answer · Andy Kerr: It is for each serviceprovider to ensure that it is operating consistently with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the department is funding a three year project in which the DisabilityRights Commission will work with NHS Scotland …
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all primary healthcare providers implement the checklist in Appendix A of Bridging the Gap: Improving access to primary healthcare services for disabled people, the research report of the Scottish Consumer Council.
Answer · Andy Kerr: It is for each serviceprovider to satisfy itself that its arrangements for service delivery areconsistent with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, andto use the tools, including the checklist in the Scottish Consumer Councilreport <i>Bri…
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to undertake any study of crimes linked to religious prejudice.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15325 on 12 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
18 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been made of any potential damage to Scotland's image by sectarianism and the impact on its efforts to promote Scotland internationally.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15323 on 12 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
17 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers are trained in the awareness of dyslexia.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The numbers of teachers trained in the awareness of dyslexia is not held centrally.</p> <p>The early identification of dyslexia is a priority area. The Executive provides £7.2 million to local authorities for the training and development of teaching and suppo…
17 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many schoolchildren have been diagnosed with dyslexia in each of the last five years.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The number of schoolchildren diagnosed with dyslexia in each of the last five years is not held centrally.</p> <p>However, we do collect statistics on those with specific learning difficulties, which includes dyslexia, where children have a record of needs (R…
17 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all funding received from council house rents is reinvested in council housing.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Almost all income from council house rents is reinvested in council housing. The only alternative permitted use for rental income is a transfer to the General Fund and in 2003-04 only £1.7 million out of a total rental income of £838.5 million was used for t…
17 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding received through capital receipts under the right to buy scheme has been reinvested in council housing.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: All Right to Buy receipts are either re-invested in council housing stock or used to redeem housing debt. As of April 2004, it is for local authorities to determine what percentage of receipts is re-invested in their stock.</p>
2 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote among employers equality of treatment of workers who have been diagnosed with cancer in light of the recent CancerBACUP survey.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Employment legislation is a reserved matter.</p><p>On 25 November 2004 the UK government introduced the Disability Discrimination Bill which will amend the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 so that more people diagnosed with cancer will be brought with…
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding the cost of servicing its £1.27 billion debt and whether the £121 million a year repayments represent a competitive rate.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with all local authorities and Joint Boards of Policeand Fire, with regard to their respective levels of outstanding debt, and the annuallevel of revenue support from the Scottish Executive to meet the costs of ser…
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the approximately '9 billion of debt owed by local authorities has an impact on the delivery of core services, such as care for elderly people and services for disabled people.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Local authorities’ accumulateddebt as at 31 March 2004 of £9 billion is made up from past years’ capital investmentprogrammes and around 75% is directly supported by the Scottish Executive through revenue support grant in the form of Loan Charge Support. In 2…
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned at the '1.27 billion debt owed by Glasgow City Council and what plans it has to assist the local authority to reduce the scale of the debt.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is content with the arrangements for sound and effective management of this debt. The Scottish Executive provides revenue support in the form of Loan Charge Support to meet the costs of servicing this debt, except for a small element w…
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has commissioned in the last three years into why Glasgow has the highest rate of cancer in Scotland and among the highest rates in the United Kingdom.
Answer · Andy Kerr: <i>Cancer in Scotland: Sustaining Change</i> (2004) recognised that the burden of cancer is unevenly distributed in the population and that people living in the most deprived areas have the highest risk of cancer and lowest probability of survival.</p><p>The …
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many answers to parliamentary questions it gave where a full response was unavailable as the information was not held centrally in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002, (e) 2003 and (f) 2004.
Answer · Margaret Curran: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p>
28 Feb 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents or complaints the NHS has recorded of discrimination against (a) minority ethnic communities, including Gypsy Travellers, refugees and asylum seekers, (b) children and young people, (c) disabled people, (d) older people, (e) people of a particular religious or faith gro…
Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.</p>
23 Feb 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office regarding the costs to the NHS associated with refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: A meeting took place in November 2004 involving officials from the National Asylum Support Service, COSLA, Glasgow City Council, Greater Glasgow Health Board and the Scottish Executive. This meeting discussed the suggestion put forward by COSLA that there wer…