Parliamentary questions
Des McNulty
1,840 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Mar 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to reduce any stigma associated with mental health.
Answer · Iain Gray: The Framework for Mental Health Services, launched in 1997, emphasises the need for all care agencies to publicise and improve the profile of mental health services in the community. Health boards - often working in partnership with Trusts, primary care agenc…
16 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which five local authorities specifically have the highest levels of (i) child mortality, (ii) income support dependants, (iii) male and female and overall unemployment levels, (iv) lone parent households, (v) average number of children per lone parent household and (vi) average income, a…
Answer · Jack McConnell: <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">(i) Child mortality:<B> </B>The local authority areas with the highest average annual death rates per 100,000 population for persons aged under 16 for 1996-98 are as follows.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH=…
16 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any link between lower per capita grant-aided expenditure redistribution and increased levels of council tax for individual local authorities.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Council tax levels are a matter for local authorities to determine having regard to their expenditure guidelines. Authorities take into account their level of grant and other income in determining council tax levels.
16 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its preferred poverty and deprivation indicators are and how the individual local authorities score in relation to these.
Answer · Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive's targets and milestones for social justice were set out in November 1999 in our document <I>Social Justice - a Scotland where everybody matters</I>. Data at local authority level on these matters is not held centrally.<P>A number of in…
16 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which five local authorities have the lowest financial allocations from it relative to their recognised poverty levels.
Answer · Jack McConnell: All councils receive allocations based on their relative expenditure needs, taking account of a range of factors, including deprivation. One of the indicators of deprivation used within the distribution system is numbers of Income Support recipients as a prop…
10 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the allocation of overall local authority funding is currently distributed on the basis of deprivation indicators and what indicators are used.
Answer · Jack McConnell: A significant proportion of the total local government settlement for the current year is directed towards services that can assist in promoting social inclusion and tackling deprivation, including, for example, education (£2.6 billion), social work (£1.1 bil…
9 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what immediate action it intends to take in response to the report by the Accounts Commission on collection rates for council tax.
Answer · Jack McConnell: I confirm that the Executive will consider all of the legislative recommendations of the joint Scottish Executive/CoSLA Working Group on Council Tax Collection. I am pleased that CoSLA have responded positively to the practical recommendations. I have today s…
26 Jan 2000 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it will make to ensure continuity of projects supported by European structural funds in the period between this round and the next.
Answer · Jack McConnell: Support for European Social Fund projects under the previous programme round has been extended up to 30 June 2000, and longer in exceptional cases. Revenue projects under the European Regional Development Fund already approved can continue until 31 December 2…
25 Jun 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it intends to take to extend social inclusion provision in West Dumbartonshire, given that this area has the highest claimant count unemployment in Scotland and the lowest percentage of VAT registered businesses in the UK.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: We are already supporting a Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) in West Dunbartonshire with core funding of more than £6m over 3 years. West Dunbartonshire is also benefiting from the wide range of national Government programmes to promote social inclusion, su…
24 Jun 1999 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it intends to take to extend social inclusion provision in West Dumbartonshire, given that this area has the highest claimant count unemployment in Scotland and the lowest percentage of VAT registered businesses in the UK.
Answer · Jackie Baillie: We are already supporting a Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) in West Dunbartonshire with core funding of more than £6m over 3 years. West Dunbartonshire is also benefiting from the wide range of national Government programmes to promote social inclusion, s…