Iain Gray

26 Nov 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent ISD Emergency Department Activity and Waiting Times report, which states that seven NHS boards did not meet the four-hour accident and emergency waiting times standard in any month between June and September 2012.

22 Oct 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage the take-up of science subjects in secondary schools.

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of modern apprenticeship starts in East Lothian.

Answer · Angela Constance: The following table shows that the number of apprentices in East Lothian has increased significantly over the last three financial years. This is as a result of Scottish Government’s ongoing policy around the promotion of apprenticeships to employers. Modern…

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason East Lothian has had no more that 1.2% of modern apprenticeship starts in the last three years, given that it has an estimated 1.9% of the country's population.

Answer · Angela Constance: In Scotland, all apprentices must be employed. This means that the uptake of Modern Apprenticeship places in any geographic area is dependent upon employers in that area recruiting apprentices.

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that Scottish (a) companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) will be able to compete for contracts in the procurement of construction and maintenance of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

Answer · Alex Neil: The procurement for the re-provision of Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) at Little France will be openly advertised in line with best practice for public contracts. The NHS Lothian Procurement…

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what requirements for training and sustainability will be specified in the procurement of construction and maintenance of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh.

Answer · Alex Neil: Sustainability is a core objective of the project to re-provide services from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department for Clinical Neurosciences at Little France; this includes financial sustainability, energy efficiency and the wider community be…

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated lifetime costs are for the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh and what the costs would be using traditional public sector procurement.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS Lothian plans to advertise the project through the Official Journal of the European Community (OJEU) in November 2012 and the competitive dialogue process will conclude with the appointment of a preferred bidder in 2014. Financial elements of the outline …

10 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the outline business case for the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh will be published.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS Lothian has published a redacted version of the Outline Business Case for the re-provision of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children and Department of Clinical Neurosciences on its website at: http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/GoingToHospital/Locations/Re…

1 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of local authority budget constraints on the provision of services for pupils with additional support needs.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Decisions about prioritisation and budgets, including those for the provision of services for pupils with additional support needs, are a matter for individual councils, balancing their need to meet a wide range of statutory duties, local priorities and local…

24 Sep 2012 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the proposals that the Scottish Court Service is consulting on regarding court closures.

10 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the arable sector of recent weather conditions.

3 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle long-term unemployment.

23 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases involving accused from East Lothian have been heard at (a) Haddington and (b) Edinburgh Sheriff Court in 2012 and how many in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No information is held locally or centrally on the number of cases heard at Haddington and Edinburgh Sheriff Court involving accused from East Lothian. Information on accused prosecuted in these courts, and throughout Scotland, is based on the locus of the cr…

22 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its target time is for ministerial replies to (a) correspondence and (b) parliamentary questions from members and what proportion of these have met this target with a (i) substantive and (ii) holding response in each year since 2007, broken down by minister.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The target time for ministerial replies to all correspondence is 20 working days and for parliamentary questions is 10 working days when the Parliament is sitting and 20 working days during recess. Completed information to date shows that the percentage of f…

13 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the number of patients required to wait over eight hours to be assessed by a doctor in accident and emergency departments in NHS Lothian.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government are working closely with NHS Lothian to provide support and guidance in reducing delays for patients presenting to the emergency department.

13 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its positon is on reports that 1,108 patients in NHS Lothian waited over eight hours to be assessed by a doctor in accident and emergency departments in 2011-12.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The report that 1,108 patients in NHS Lothian waited over eight hours in 2011-12 was in response to a question as to how many emergency arrivals were not admitted, discharged or transferred for at least eight hours. Some of these waits will have been because …

18 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent health visitors have been employed in East Lothian in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The number of health visitors employed by Community Health Partnership (CHP) is only available from 2007. The following table provides information on Health Visitors employed (whole-time equivalent) in East Lothian CHP each year since 2007. However, the role …

6 Jun 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the value of Edington Cottage Hospital to North Berwick and its neighbouring communities.

23 May 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with the Scottish Court Service’s review of sheriff and justice of the peace courts.

18 Apr 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether reductions in Scottish Government funding were a factor in First Scotland East’s decision to reduce bus services in Midlothian and East Lothian.

Answer · Keith Brown: When announcing bus service reductions in Midlothian and East Lothian Paul Thomas, First Scotland East Managing Director, said “We have for some time been running a number of services in the East and Midlothian regions at a loss. Over a number of years we hav…

6 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what impact the reduction in the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit in April 2011 has had on access to childcare in Scotland.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the impact on access to childcare in Scotland as a result of changes to the childcare element of working tax credits implemented in April 2011. We do know, from information published by HMRC as at 3 April …

6 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to require local authorities to compile data on the supply, quality and marketing of childcare.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Assessment of demand for childcare at local level and provision of childcare to meet that demand is a matter for local authorities. We are working closely with local authorities, key partners and the Early Years Task Force to consider how best to further expa…

6 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can and, if so, whether it will, cap the financial contribution of parents toward childcare based on ability to pay

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We are putting Childcare for All at the centre of our ambition for families in Scotland. We are committed to developing a cohesive and universal system of integrated, high quality early learning and childcare which is accessible, flexible and affordable, matc…

6 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to support working parents with childcare costs.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has announced that in 2013 we will introduce legislation for an expansion from 475 hours to a minimum of 600 hours per year of funded early learning and childcare for all three and four-year-olds and two-year-olds who are looked after.…

21 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the additional £8 million in funding to the Scottish Funding Council in 2012-13 to help colleges deliver their Opportunities for All commitments will be allocated to students with learning disabilities aged (a) 16 to 19 and (b) over 19.

Answer · Michael Russell: Detailed decisions on the allocation of this funding have not yet been made, although the priority age group for college places, in line with our plans for Putting Learners at the Centre, will be 16 to 19-year-olds. Colleges exist to help people towards empl…

8 Feb 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to promote buses as a method of travel.

12 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeship new starts there were in East Lothian in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and have been in 2011-12.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to respond to you with this information.

11 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that reductions in college budgets will not have a disproportionate impact on opportunities for people with learning disabilities.

20 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gives to the needs of local communities when considering changes to the local court network.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters of that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

20 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Courts Service has been asked to draw up plans for saving money by closing sheriff courts.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters of that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing’