Parliamentary questions

Johann Lamont

1,407 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to create a duty on community planning partnerships to consult the voluntary sector.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities, as facilitators, have a statutory duty under section 15(1) of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 to consult and co-operate with such community bodies as is appropriate in the community planning process. This should reflect the circum…

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on consulting on adding illegal money lending to the list of specific offences that are deemed as criminal lifestyle offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We plan to consult shortly on the possibility of adding a number of offences to the list of criminal lifestyle offences contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Illegal money lending is only one of the offences under consideration.

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional places in refuges for women have been introduced since April 2008, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not held centrally. Scottish Women''s Aid can provide information on the number of refuge spaces provided by affiliated women''s aid groups over the period requested.

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional disabled people have been supported into independent living since April 2008, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not held centrally. Statistics were previously collected on the number of disabled people receiving a housing support service funded through the Supporting People programme. However, local authorities indicated that housi…

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional hours of respite care there have been since April 2008, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on respite hours is a statutory performance indicator collected by Audit Scotland. Information for 2008-09 is currently being audited and will be published for each local authority on the Audit Scotland performance information website in December …

2 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which credit unions have benefited from the Social Entrepreneurs Fund and how much each has been awarded.

Answer · Jim Mather: The aim of the Social Entrepreneurs Fund is to encourage new start social entrepreneurs, not to fund credit unions.

2 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which credit unions have benefited from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund and how much each has been awarded.

Answer · Jim Mather: Three credit unions have had awards from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund which incorporates the Third Sector Credit Union Fund (TSCUF). Capital Credit Union - £69,000. Glasgow South Credit Union - £24,700 (TSCUF). Renfrewshire-w…

2 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which credit unions have benefited from the Scottish Investment Fund and how much each has been awarded.

Answer · Jim Mather: None. To date no credit unions have applied to the Scottish Investment Fund.

8 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions since May 2007 can be attributed to wind farms.

Answer · Jim Mather: Information is not available in the format requested. We estimate however that in the calendar year 2007, the electricity generated by wind and wave power in Scotland had the potential to displace around 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 when compared with…

8 May 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by how much carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced since May 2007.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Carbon dioxide emissions data for Scotland covering the period since May 2007 to the present day are not currently available. Emissions data for 2007 will be released later this year. The most recent emissions data available is contained in Greenhouse Gas …

23 Apr 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for implementation of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

Answer · Adam Ingram : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-01.htm">http…

9 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding for financial inclusion it has allocated for 2009-10.

Answer · Alex Neil: Further work on improving financial inclusion will be taken forward through Achieving our Potential, our framework for tackling poverty and income inequality in Scotland. We have yet to finalise the allocation of the £7.5 million which will support <i…

9 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations it funded for financial inclusion in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008 and how much each recieved.

Answer · Alex Neil: Funding information is available for financial years only. The following organisations received funding in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Funding provided to local authorities through the local government settlement to support the provision of money advice is not inclu…

9 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it provided for financial inclusion in (a) 2007 and (b) 2008.

Answer · Alex Neil: Funding information is available for financial years only. We allocated £5.3 million, though the Financial Inclusion Fund, to local authorities in 2007-08. In 2008-09, reflecting the Concordat with local government, the funding for financial inclusion activit…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22428 by Michael Russell on 3 April 2009, whether guidance on the criteria for applying for funds from the £2.973 million in Barnett consequentials resulting from the creation of the Migration Impacts Fund in England will cover areas such as English …

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22726 on 28 April 2009. 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/Apps2/…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22428 by Michael Russell on 3 April 2009, when guidance will be available on how organisations can apply for funds from the £2.973 million in Barnett consequentials resulting from the creation of the Migration Impacts Fund in England.

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22428 by Michael Russell on 3 April 2009, which organisations will be entitled to bid for funds from the £2.973 million in Barnett consequentials resulting from the creation of the Migration Impacts Fund in England.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Barnett consequential will be added to the Scottish Block, and Scottish ministers will decide in due course how these additional funds should be spent. There are therefore no current plans for a bidding process.

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have received funding from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 and how much they have received in each case.

Answer · John Swinney: The Third Sector Enterprise Fund opened for applications on 30 January 2009, with funding available for draw-down between April 2009 and March 2011. The first approvals from the Third Sector Enterprise Fund are due to be made by the end of April 2009. Details…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have received funding from the Scottish Investment Fund for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 and how much they have received in each case.

Answer · John Swinney: A total of five awards have been made from the Scottish Investment Fund. Two awards were made in 2008-09: Momentum Scotland Ltd - £500,000 Out of the Blue Arts and Education Trust - £425,000. Three awards have been made i…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that there is improved access for women to adult apprenticeships in engineering and construction.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Young people''s career choices are often persuaded by stereotyped views about which jobs are suitable for men and which are suitable for women. The construction and engineering industries have been particularly proactive in working to challenge these percepti…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the success of community planning partnerships in addressing employability issues.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Employability sits at the heart of the Scottish Government''s policy agenda and we encourage our partners to adopt the same approach. Scottish Government has been working with Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to ensure Local Employability Partnerships a…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the links are between Skills Development Scotland and community planning partnerships in addressing employability issues.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Skills Development Scotland work with community planning partnerships (CPPs) to address employability issues through joint pursuit of a range of priorities including: On employability - Workforce Plus; Integrated Employment and Skills; Partnership Ac…

6 Apr 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list how the European Social Fund is being used to encourage the employability of hard-to-reach groups.

Answer · Jim Mather: The European Social Fund (ESF) Programmes for 2007 to 2013 are clearly aligned with the government''s economic strategy to create opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through sustainable economic growth. The ESF Lowlands and Uplands Scotland…

31 Mar 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of after-school care per day were available per pupil in each of the last three years for which information is available, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Adam Ingram: This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.