Iain Gray

11 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many food and drink manufacturing businesses have accessed Flexible Workforce Development funding.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The pilot year for the Flexible Workforce Development Funding is still underway and therefore this information is not yet available.

11 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage food and drink companies to access Flexible Workforce Development funding.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has promoted the Fund through a variety of media channels and has encouraged stakeholder groups to promote the Fund to their member networks. Colleges have actively promoted the Fund to employers in their area which will take in a wid…

11 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the pilot of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund will be extended into 2018-19.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Yes.

11 Jun 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to meet its 2020 target for childcare provision, in light of a recent survey that found that only 30% of private nurseries are likely to offer the full 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare.

1 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has given to Taylor Wimpey in the last two years (a) through its Help to Buy scheme and (b) for any other reason.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Government funding for the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme is not given directly to builders. The funding provides an equity stake for purchasers who cannot afford to buy without assistance from the scheme. There has been no other known Scottish Gover…

1 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to facilitate wider opportunities for self-build housing.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is taking forward a programme of support for self build homes. The £160k Self & Custom Build Challenge Fund is supporting 7 pilot projects which will contribute to the expansion of the sector. Case studies of the individual projects w…

30 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact could be on Scotland's future ability to develop and promote its culture of the reported reduction in funding for music tuition in schools.

25 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15927 by Aileen Campbell on 30 April 2018, when allocations to individual NHS boards from the additional £20 million funding for drug and alcohol services will be made.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We will be writing to stakeholders in the coming weeks with details of how this new £20 million investment will be allocated to support new and innovative approaches which responds to the needs of patients in a more joined up person centred way.

21 May 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to calls at the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association conference for the proposed Education Bill to be shelved.

15 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the trend in spending per primary school pupil since 2010.

14 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updated guidance on housing allocation policy for local authorities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: On 4 November 2016, the Scottish Government published on its website a final draft of the statutory guidance on the social housing allocations provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. This can be found at: https://beta.gov.scot/policies/social-housing/…

14 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been home-schooled in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. The collection of home-schooled children data was previously published in the 'Children Educated Outwith School' annual publication however the data collection was discontinued after 2009 following a consultation.

10 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether another round of the Coastal Communities Fund is planned and, if so, when it will open for applications.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: No decision has been made on the future of the Coastal Communities Fund and existing projects are being funded by Scottish Ministers. With the devolution of the Crown Estate, 100% of net revenue will be available from the Scottish marine assets out to 12 nau…

4 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans and funds it has in place to expand rail services in East Lothian to meet the needs of the 10,000 new homes that are expected to be built in the area.

2 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have signed up to the STEM career changer bursary programme.

Answer · John Swinney: As at Friday 11 May, Skills Development Scotland had received 55 applications for the STEM teacher bursary scheme.

25 Apr 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to meet the leader of East Lothian Council and other stakeholders to discuss the development of the site of the former Cockenzie power station.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The planning application for a Transmission Station at Cockenzie has now been passed to the Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division. It is now for the independent reporter to consider what information is required to consider this case fully a…

17 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on restricting the sale of corrosive products, in light of their use in acid attacks.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Good progress has been made. There is a voluntary agreement in place across the UK including Scotland with a number of major retailers such as Lakeland, Aldi, Wickes, Homebase, Wilko, Morrisons, Tesco and the Co-op all putting in place restrictions on the sa…

16 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of provision is for young people's secure residential care, and how many places were vacant and available for new placements in each month since April 2017.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scotland has 84 secure beds across 5 units. The units are owned and operated by 5 providers - 4 of whom are independent, not for profit, charitable organisations. The other is run by The City of Edinburgh Council. Secure unit occupancy is closely monitored o…

16 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce individual local authority allocations of drug and alcohol services funding, and whether this will be ring-fenced.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Since 2017-18 ADP funding has been provided to NHS Boards as part of their baseline budget for onward delegation to Integration Authorities (Health and Social Care Partnerships). We expect this funding to continue to be protected. The Scottish Government’s 2…

16 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce the living wage for staff providing sleepover cover in social care settings.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government announced on 19 October 2017, that adult social care workers will be paid the real Living Wage for sleepover hours, meaning that the Living Wage will be received for all hours worked. The change is taking place during 2018-19 to provid…

16 Apr 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has called in the planning application for a substation on the site of the former Cockenzie power station.

28 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will comment on the trends in spending on schools since 2010-11.

8 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government(a)  how many and (b) what percentage of children in each local authority area are absent from school due to sickness and are eligible for alternative education provision; how many (i) have and (ii) have not been provided with this within the target timescale, and what support it is givin…

Answer · John Swinney: The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 places duties on education authorities to make special arrangements for children or young people who are unable to attend school due to ill health to receive education elsewhere than at an educational establis…

7 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on the inclusion of the experience of patients under 16 in the Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

Answer · Shona Robison: We recognise the importance of ensuring that patient experience is captured and used in a meaningful way to influence the care that NHS Scotland provides to children and young people with cancer. A stakeholder group has been established to provide advice on …

5 Feb 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to UCAS recording a fall in university applications by 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas.

31 Jan 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish responses to the consultation on the provisions of the proposed Education (Scotland) Bill, and its analysis of them.

Answer · John Swinney: Our Consultation on the Provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill closed on Tuesday 30th January with over 800 responses. They will be published by no later than 27th February 2018. The responses are currently being analysed and a report of that analysis …

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children who were looked after for at least part of 2015-16 are in positive destinations, broken down by (a) local authority, (b) on leaving school and (c) 9 months after leaving school.

Answer · Maree Todd: The following table shows percentages of children looked after in each local authority in Scotland who were in positive destinations a) on leaving school, and b) 9 months after leaving school. The figures are broken down by whether the child was looked after …

11 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children who were looked after for at least part of 2015-16 are in positive destinations.

Answer · Maree Todd: For young people who were looked after from August 2015 to July 2016 and those who left school during 2015-16 : 66% of school leavers looked after for part of the year left school for a positive destination. 78% of school leavers looked after for the full y…

20 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that (a) public and (b) third sector services working with people who are homeless have trained staff and resources available to identify and support survivors of child sexual abuse.

Answer · Angela Constance: We recognise that sexual abuse can have a devastating, long-term impact on the lives of victims and increase an individual’s vulnerability to circumstances such as homelessness. The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS Education Scotland to lead the deve…

20 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the proportion of people who have been homeless who also had a history of sexual abuse as a child.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government collects information from local authorities on homelessness applications through the HL1 quarterly return. This return provides individual-level information on applicants and their circumstances prior to making a homelessness applicati…