Questions · Johann Lamont

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in devising the single outcome agreement process, it is intended to draw on the English experience of local area agreements.

Answer · John Swinney: In developing single outcome agreements appropriate for Scotland, we have had regard to, and have learnt from, experience elsewhere. We have also drawn on a wide range of public and private sector sources, both at home and abroad, and this has helped to infor…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the performance of local authorities in respect of aspects of service not covered by local agreed targets and indicators will be monitored.

Answer · John Swinney: Aspects of council services not covered by local agreed targets and indicators will continue to be monitored by inspection and regulatory bodies in the same way as they are currently. The Scottish Government recently announced further detailed consid…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the event of evaluation of pilots on single outcome agreements (SOAs) providing negative results, the SOAs will be abandoned.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9814 on 29 February 2008. 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/webap…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to evaluate pilots on single outcome agreements.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9814 on 29 February 2008. 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/webap…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to pilot single outcome agreements.

Answer · John Swinney: We do not intend to pilot single outcome agreements. We are working to agree single outcome agreements with all councils by 30 June 2008.

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the performance of local authorities in terms of their targets and indicators will be monitored.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities will submit an annual report to the Scottish Government showing achievements against their agreed contribution to national outcomes as detailed in the single outcome agreement. The details of the content and timing of this are currently bein…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be local targets and indicators for those aspects of health and care provision within the remit of local authorities.

Answer · John Swinney: Single outcome agreements will reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council, and will include the relevant and appropriate indicators and targets.

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be statutory targets and indicators for education and early years provision.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The national outcomes contained in the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 outline what the Scottish Government, working with our partners, aim to deliver in education and early years provision. That document also contains the set of national indica…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how single outcome agreements will connect with national minimum standards of service for vulnerable groups.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9808 on 27 February 2008. 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/weba…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consult organisations representing vulnerable groups on arriving at national standards of service for vulnerable groups.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-9808 on 27 February 2008. 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/weba…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will achieve national minimum standards of service for vulnerable groups.

Answer · Shona Robison: The National Care Standards set out of the quality of care for a range of care services available to vulnerable people. They are based on principles for ensuring dignity, privacy, choice, safety, realising potential and equality and diversity. The Care Commis…

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities will only have access to the £70 million identified in the concordat with COSLA if they sign up to the terms of a single outcome agreement.

Answer · John Swinney: I am delighted that all 32 local authorities in Scotland have frozen (or, in one case, cut) their council tax rates in 2008-09. All 32 authorities will now receive a share of the £70 million identified in the concordat.

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the minimum number of local targets and indicators will be in each single outcome agreement.

Answer · John Swinney: Single outcome agreements will reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council, and will include the relevant and appropriate indicators and targets.

13 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available the list of local targets and indicators from which single outcome agreements will be negotiated.

Answer · John Swinney: The local indicators will be available shortly on the Improvement Service website at: <a href="http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/">http://www.improvementservice.org.uk</a>.

7 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to replace Communities Scotland’s local offices with a Scottish Government presence at a local level to address housing investment issues.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Yes, some staff from the Scottish Government''s Housing and Regeneration Directorate will continue to be based in offices around the country previously occupied by Communities Scotland. They will work with local stakeholders to help take forward the governmen…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to publicise and increase the scale of the Mortgage to Rent scheme.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I have asked James Hynd, Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: The Mortgage to Rent scheme has a dedicated webpage for those wishing to find out about the scheme. The following link contains details ab…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-7893 by Michael Russell on 11 January 2008, what meetings were held between 20 December 2007 and 30 January 2008 with stakeholders affected by the removal of ring-fencing from the Supporting People fund.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Supporting People Enabling Unit is organising a series of five regional events at which representatives from the Scottish Government and local authorities are discussing with third sector service providers and other stakeholders the rationale for removing…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils in each Glasgow primary school were taking free school lunches in (a) June 2007 and (b) December 2007.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The most recent school meals data which was collected in February 2007, including the proportion of pupils registered for free school meals in each Glasgow primary school, is available on the Scottish Executive website at <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.u…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the development of single outcome agreements will be informed by Taking Forward the Government Economic Strategy: A Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: Single outcome agreements will cover all local government services in each council area. A wide range of issues, including the ways in which we tackle poverty, inequality and deprivation, will inform the development and implementation of national and local po…

6 Feb 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with regard to finalisation of single outcome agreements.

Answer · John Swinney: We expect all 32 councils to submit their proposed single outcome agreements by 31 March 2008, and aim to complete the process of agreeing single outcome agreements with each council by 30 June 2008.

31 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings are planned with organisations representing people with disabilities to discuss the proposal to merge the Mobility Access Committee with the Public Transport Users Committee.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The government will support MACS and PTUC through the amalgamation process and officials have met with MACS on several occasions recently. We have also started a dialogue with key MACS stakeholders. This amalgamation will help deliver our vision to r…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to a request from the Prince’s Trust to maintain ring-fencing of the Youth Crime Prevention Fund for two to three years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The money previously distributedthrough the Youth Crime Prevention Fund to the Third Sector will be included inthe local government finance settlement in future years.Theconcordat agreed between central and local government sets out the overall resourc…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings are planned with the Prince’s Trust to discuss its concerns regarding changes in funding arrangements.

Answer · Jim Mather: Officials met representativesof the Princes Trust on 21 January to discuss concerns held about future fundingarrangements. Informal discussions continue.

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held with the Prince’s Trust to discuss its concerns regarding changes in funding arrangements.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish Government officialsmeet regularly with representatives of the Princes Trust to discuss delivery offunding. This includes quarterly management meetingsto discuss delivery of specific programmes and a number of these meetingshave included discussion o…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Minister for Community Safety, in respect of the provision of £34 million for disabled children, that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning was “considering the matter carefully” (Official Report, c.3846-7), whether it will provide an u…

Answer · Adam Ingram: Consistent with the concordatwith local government and in order to reduce bureaucracy and improve local flexibility,resources flowing as consequentials from the May 2007 announcement of £340 millionto support disabled children in England have been rolled into…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will postpone for two or three years the removal of ring-fencing from funds to local authorities until agreements are in place to guarantee that domestic abuse services will be enhanced rather than diminished.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Under the concordat agreed betweenScottish ministers and COSLA, the Supporting People fund and an element of the ViolenceAgainst Women Fund will from 1 April 2008, be absorbed into the main local government settlement.This decision to remove ring fencing from…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will postpone for two or three years the removal of ring-fencing from funds for violence against women to local authorities until agreements are in place to guarantee that sufficient places will be available in refuges for women suffering from domestic abuse.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Under the concordat agreed betweenScottish ministers and COSLA, the Supporting People fund and an element of the ViolenceAgainst Women Fund will from 1 April 2008, be absorbed into the main local government settlement.This decision to remove ring fencing from…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings are planned with women’s organisations to discuss the funding of places in refuges for women suffering from domestic abuse.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Domestic Abuse Accommodationand Provision Working Group, which was established by the National Group to AddressViolence Against Women is due to meet at the end of February 2008. Scottish Women’sAid is represented on this group, as is COSLA, and the Violen…

8 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held with women’s organisations to discuss the funding for places in refuges for women suffering from domestic abuse.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: No meetings have been held withwomen’s organisations to specifically discuss the funding for places in refugesfor women suffering from domestic abuse. However, as chair of the National Groupto Address Violence Against Women I get a report on progress from the…

7 Jan 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive in what form the performance of the provision of respite for disabled people will be reported in light of the ending of ring fencing.

Answer · Shona Robison: Local authority funding for respite services for all care groups was not previously ring-fenced. Funding for respite and carer support services was included within the annual local government finance settlement and paid as part of the general block grant. Tha…