Johann Lamont

13 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to third sector organisations in Glasgow for 2018-19 to tackle homelessness.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: For 2018-19 to date funding of £195,920 has been provided to third sector organisations in Glasgow to tackle homelessness.

13 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) discussions and (b) meetings the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning has had with (i) the leadership of Glasgow City Council and (ii) third sector organisations in the last 12 months regarding rough sleeping in Glasgow.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I met with Simon Community Scotland in September last year to discuss rough sleeping in Glasgow. On the 5 October I attended and addressed the launch meeting of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group at which rough sleeping in Glasgow was discussed…

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its £453 million underspend, what representations it has received from Glasgow City Council seeking additional funding to address the £20 million deficit in the city finances.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government is not permitted to overspend its budget so we have consistently adopted a position of controlling expenditure to ensure we live within budget control limits. Glasgow City Council will be aware the 2017-18 variance is primarily planne…

17 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02106 by Jeane Freeman on 16 May 2018, how much it has earmarked to support housing costs for under-21s, and whether this will be allocated to the Scottish Welfare Fund once the UK Government has confirmed its position.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government will continue to provide support for 18-21 year olds via the Scottish Welfare Fund for as long as is required. Local authorities are reimbursed for costs incurred rather than being allocated specific funding. All funding is separate f…

17 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02106 by Jeane Freeman on 16 May 2018, how much has been reimbursed to each local authority through claims to the Scottish Welfare Fund to support housing costs for under-21s.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: In the first six months of the interim scheme being put in place two Local Authorities have reported making three awards for assistance with housing costs for those aged 18-21 via the Scottish Welfare Fund. The Scottish Government has reimbursed a total of £…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to stop local authorities charging burial fees for the funerals of under-18s.

Answer · Angela Constance: On 30 May 2018, the Scottish Government and COSLA announced that agreement in principle has been reached to remove local authority child burial and cremations charges for under-18s in Scotland. The Scottish Government will provide funding to support the remov…

14 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the finance secretary considers that Glasgow City Council has received sufficient funding for 2018-19.

8 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether funds allocated to local authorities to provide housing benefit replacement for 18- to 21-year-olds will be retained for Scottish Welfare Fund crisis and community care grants.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Whilst I very much welcome the U-turn from the UK Government that they are reversing their policy of not providing financial support for housing for under 21s; they have not yet provided a date or any details. Therefore the Scottish Government will continue t…

17 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £10 million that it has announced for local authorities to help pay for road repairs will be allocated to Glasgow City Council. 

Answer · Derek Mackay: I can confirm that the distribution methodology for the additional £10 million has been agreed at the Settlement and Distribution Group, jointly attended by Convention of Scotland's Local Authorities (COSLA) and Scottish Government officials. Final agreement …

16 Apr 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any representations from Glasgow City Council seeking additional resources to avoid increasing charges for early learning and childcare.

11 Apr 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what animal welfare policies it has regarding pets of rough sleepers.

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1), what impact it considers the decision by Glasgow City Council to increase childcare fees will have on parents considering a return to the labour market.

Answer · Maree Todd: As I set out in my answer to S5O-01927, this is a matter for the local authority. It is for Glasgow City Council to manage the fulfilment of their duties and to consider how best to support families in their area more widely. We will fully fund the expansion…

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1) and, in light of its comment in the Programme for Government that "improving the education and life chances of children and young people is the defining mission of this Government", what (a…

Answer · Maree Todd: My strong belief is that this expansion will have an overwhelmingly positive impact on Scottish families – both in money saved upfront as well as improved outcomes in the future. Any increase in funded hours will reduce the need for wrap-around hours and we …

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1) and, in light of its comment in the Programme for Government that "improving the education and life chances of children and young people is the defining mission of this Government", what di…

Answer · Maree Todd: We have regular discussions at both official and ministerial level on a wide range of issues in relation both to improving the education and life chances of children and young people and specifically to the forthcoming expansion of Early Learning and Childcar…

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1), what funding it has provided to Glasgow City Council to fund services, and whether if it has received representations from the local authority for additional resources to support these.

Answer · Maree Todd: Glasgow City Council’s total local government finance settlement in 2018-19 from the Scottish Government amounts to £1,388.1 million. In addition, as Glasgow City Council increased their council tax by the maximum allowable 3 per cent this means they will hav…

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1), what discussions it has had with nursery providers in Glasgow regarding childcare funding, and when these took place.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has not held specific discussions with nursery providers in Glasgow regarding childcare funding. Officials have however engaged extensively with private and third sector providers (both individual providers and representative bodies) …

4 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01927 by Maree Todd on 22 March 2018 (Official Report, c.1), whether it considers that the decision by Glasgow City Council to increase charges for childcare is in line with its comment in the Programme for Government that "improving the education a…

Answer · Maree Todd: As set out in my previous answers on this issue, local policy decisions are a matter for the local authority.

12 Mar 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Glasgow City Council has increased charges for childcare.

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in delivering an additional qualified teacher or childcare graduate to every nursery in the most deprived communities.

Answer · Maree Todd: On 22 February 2018 we wrote to local authorities to confirm that we are allocating up to £18 million in 2018-19 to support delivery of the commitment to have an additional graduate in nurseries in Scotland’s most deprived areas by August 2018. This funding w…

19 Feb 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote and improve access to buses for young people.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Young People provides discounts on bus and rail travel within Scotland for all young people living in Scotland aged 16 to 18. Using the Young Scot smart card, the Scheme offers a one-third discount off the adult si…

24 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bodies in the voluntary sector that carry out an advocacy role are funded by it and its agencies.

Answer · Angela Constance: A number of third sector organisations funded by the Scottish Government and its agencies will have some form of advocacy role in support of their members and the communities they serve. This aspect of their work may or may not be covered in their grant relat…

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which bus operators in Glasgow ministers have met since May 2016; when the meetings took place; who was present, and what issues were discussed at each meeting.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have met with a number of Glasgow bus operators during my period in office as Minister from Transport and the Islands. A list of Ministerial meetings including information on attendance and the topics discussed is published on the Scottish Government websit…

13 Dec 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specialist help there is for children who have been sexually abused, and whether these services are meeting demand.

4 Dec 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures published in the Scottish OHCA Data Linkage Project, which suggest that people living in the most deprived areas are 43% less likely to survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest than those in more affluent areas.

4 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is progressing the proposal to develop a centralised UK-wide microchipping database, as recommended in its paper, Scoping Research on the Sourcing of Pet Dogs from Illegal Importation and Puppy Farms 2016-2017.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will consider the proposals from the Scoping Research on the Sourcing of Pet Dogs from Illegal Importation and Puppy Farms 2016-2017 as it brings forward improvements to animal welfare in Scotland. The Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland)…

4 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the review of the Non-commercial Movement of Pet Animals Order 2011.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We advised you on 21 November 2017 that initial discussions on the consultation and review of the Non-commercial Movement of Pet Animals Order 2011 had already happened. No further discussion with either the UK or Welsh Government has taken place. We hope tha…

10 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12100 by Shona Robison on 6 November 2017, for what reason it does not use the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource or the NHS ISD Health and Social Care Data Integration and Intelligence Project to calculate the cost to the NHS and local auth…

Answer · Shona Robison: At present it is not possible to use the data sources mentioned to respond to the cost of specific conditions. The Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE) is a recent development to enable the use of data from general practice. SPIRE does not capt…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received from the leader of Glasgow City Council regarding the city's budget allocation, and whether these have called for an increase in the amount allocated. 

Answer · Derek Mackay: I met with Glasgow City Council Leader, Councillor Susan Aitken, on 8 August and we discussed a range of issues including the Council's current and future funding allocations. This year Glasgow City Council were able to increase their spending power to suppor…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the homelessness and rough sleeping action group will report to ministers, and by what date it will publish the findings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group has already been working hard on its first objective of minimising rough sleeping this winter. The Action Group are scheduled to meet on 22 November to finalise its recommendations around this objective and we …

8 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its research on the illegal puppy trade and what motivates buyers to use illegal sources.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scoping Research on the Sourcing of Pet Dogs from Illegal Importation and Puppy Farms 2016-2017 was published on the Scottish Government's website on 9 November 2017 and can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/11/1736