Parliamentary questions

Adam Ingram

1,244 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

9 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under six have been diagnosed with a mental illness in each NHS board area in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) type of illness and (b) age.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not heldcentrally.

5 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of childcare staff (a) were qualified in 2005 and (b) are qualified in 2006 to (i) registration standards, (ii) SVQ level 2 and (iii) above SVQ level 2.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested onstaff qualification levels for 2005 is given in table 1.11 of the Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 publishedby Scottish Executive National Statistics in 2006, a copy of which is availablein the Scottish Parliament…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average hourly pay rate is for staff working in the childcare sector who do not directly work with children.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested forthe year 2005 is given in Table 1.13 of Pre-Schooland Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 published by Scottish Executive NationalStatistics in 2006 a copy of which is available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre …

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total number of registered disabled people working in the childcare sector left the sector in each year since 2000.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of childcare staff in each year since 2000 had a registered disability.

Answer · Robert Brown: Information on the proportionof child care staff with a registered disability is not held centrally. However,information is available concerning the proportion of child care staff who answeredyes to the question “Do you have any health problems or disabilitie…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the total childcare and pre-school staff in each year since 2000 were male.

Answer · Robert Brown: The percentage of the total childcare and pre-school staff in each year since 2003 that were male is shown in thetable below. These data are from the 2005Survey of Childcare and Pre-school Education Workforce. Information for years prior to 2003 is not held c…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reduce the 58% of childcare staff who leave the sector for jobs which do not involve childcare.

Answer · Robert Brown: The actual percentage of childcare staff that left their employer during 2005 and reported they were moving toa job which did not involve working with children was 11%.Staff retention is primarilythe responsibility of employers. The National Review of …

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the underlying reasons are for the level of long-term vacancies for staff in the childcare sector.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested isgiven in table 1.5 of Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005published by Scottish Executive National Statistics in 2006, a copy of which isavailable in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 3953…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff working in pre-school and childcare centres have applied for workforce development funding since its introduction and, of these, how many applications have (a) been rejected and (b) taken more than two months to process.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the number of staff holding a relevant qualification to work in pre-school and childcare centres.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive is committed toincreasing the proportion of early years and child care workers with qualifications,to meet Scottish Social Services Council registration criteria, from 65% in 2003to 85% in 2009.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the recruitment and retention of staff working in pre-school and childcare centres.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive have not set atarget for recruitment and retention of staff working in pre-school and child carecentres.It is in the interests of employersthat they strive to provide employment conditions which will both attract and retainstaff in the se…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average hourly pay rate has been for childcare staff compared with the average hourly rate for all employees in each year since 2000.

Answer · Robert Brown: The following table shows themedian hourly pay rate of child care and related personal services employees comparedwith all Scottish employees in each year since 2003.Median Hourly Pay Rate of ChildCare and Related Personal Services Employees and all Sc…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff in total have worked in pre-school and childcare centres in each year since 2000.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested for2003, 2004 and 2005 is given in tables 2.1and 1.1 of Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 published byScottish Executive National Statistics in 2006, a copy of which is available inthe Scottish Parliament Info…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff who do not hold a qualification at any level have worked directly with children in pre-school and childcare centres in each year since 2000.

Answer · Robert Brown: Three thousand, nine hundredand eighty staff who did not hold a qualificationat any level worked directly with children in pre-school and child care centresin 2005. This data is from the Pre-schooland Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 and is rounded to the …

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of staff who have worked directly with children in each year since 2000 did not hold a qualification in childcare at SVQ level 2 or above.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested forthe year 2005 is given in table 1.11 of Pre-Schooland Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 published by Scottish Executive NationalStatistics in 2006, a copy of which is available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the current number of vacancies for staff within pre-school and childcare centres are for temporary posts.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the current number of vacancies for staff within pre-school and childcare centres are for part-time posts.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not heldcentrally.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff have left employment in pre-school and childcare centres in each year since 2000.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested for2003, 2004 and 2005 is given in tables 2.3and 1.6 of Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics 2005 published byScottish Executive National Statistics in 2006, a copy of which is available inthe Scottish Parliament Info…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the guidance on children’s services plans will be updated.

Answer · Robert Brown: We intend to consult local partnershipson updated guidance in May and we hope to finalise it by the end of June.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the Changing Children’s Services Fund has gone to the NHS in each year since October 2001.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive does not allocatespecific proportions of this fund to NHS boards. Allocations are provided to localauthorities who then submit joint proposals for uptake of these allocations in partnershipwith NHS boards, the voluntary sector and others.…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the Changing Children’s Services Fund has gone to the voluntary sector in each year since October 2001.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive does not allocatespecific proportions of this fund to the voluntary sector. Allocations are providedto local authorities who then submit joint proposals for uptake of these allocationsin partnership with NHS boards, the voluntary sector and othe…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the membership of the Children and Young People Delivery Group was determined.

Answer · Robert Brown: The remit and membership of theChildren and Young People Delivery Group were considered and agreed by the Cabinetin 2003.

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had from the NHS raising concerns in respect of accessing funding under the Changing Children’s Services Fund.

Answer · Robert Brown: We have not received any formalrepresentations from NHS boards. The potential for retention of resources by localauthorities from the transfer of a proportion of the fund into the local governmentsettlement was raised in informal discussions by some local par…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the voluntary sector in respect of a lack of ring-fenced funding for voluntary organisations in the Changing Children’s Services Fund.

Answer · Robert Brown: We have not received any formalrepresentations from the voluntary sector. The potential for retention of resourcesby local authorities from the transfer of a proportion of the fund into the localgovernment settlement was raised in informal discussions by some…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions the National Workforce Group on social work recruitment and retention has met since 2002.

Answer · Robert Brown: The National Workforce Groupfor Social Services met 10 times between September 2003 and its last meeting inFebruary 2006. Workforce Development will be one of the work programmes which willimplement the aspirations of Changing Lives, the report of the …

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated for the retention of social work staff in children's services in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Executive has provided £270,000between 2003 and 2006 to support the Supporting Front Line Staff initiativerun by the Association of Directors of Social Work, which has a remit across thesocial services sector not specific to children’s services. We…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to the training of social work staff in children's services in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Robert Brown: This information iscurrently not held centrally.Specific Grant forSocial Work Training of £5.5 million per annum is allocated to local authorities.This ring fenced funding is to improve the quality of social work serviceprovision by increasing the avai…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many social workers have been recruited to children's services in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested isnot currently held centrally. The Scottish Executive is collecting information onsocial workers starting and leaving employment with Scottish local authorities duringthe October 2005 to September 2006 period. Subject to the accurac…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many social workers have left employment in children's services in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested isnot currently held centrally. The Scottish Executive is collecting informationon social workers starting and leaving employment with Scottish localauthorities during the October 2005 to September 2006 period. Subject to theaccuracy…

3 May 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the outstanding deficiencies in children's services, highlighted by the Children and Young People Delivery Group’s Action Team in For Scotland’s children.

Answer · Robert Brown: “For Scotland’sChildren” made many observations about children’s services, includinghighlighting areas of good practice. Chapter 8 of the Report, which was publishedas a separate action plan, summarised difficulties in the current system andset out a six-poin…