Ken Macintosh

22 Feb 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the impact of the local authority budget settlement on nursery education.

17 Feb 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the environmental impact of cutting business rates relief for the renewables industry.

12 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often practitioners will be subject to the unannounced inspection of dental practices.

Answer · Maureen Watt: All NHS dental practices are subject to a routine inspection by the health board on a three-year cycle. An unannounced inspection will be made if, following a routine inspection, a patient safety issue has arisen and needs to be followed up by the board, or w…

12 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the unannounced inspection of dental practices will achieve.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Unannounced inspections of dental practices will improve patient safety by allowing NHS boards to respond to specific concerns, such as infection control incidents.

12 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether changes in the behaviour of practitioners led to the decision to introduce the unannounced inspection of dental practices and, if so, what these were.

Answer · Maureen Watt: No. The amendment to allow unannounced practice inspections was included as one of a number of amendments to the NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations.

12 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not hold a consultation regarding the introduction of regulations to allow for the unannounced inspection of dental practices.

Answer · Maureen Watt: There is no requirement to consult on proposed amendments to the NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations. However, it is standard practice to inform relevant stakeholders of forthcoming amendments to regulations in advance of their parliamentary…

11 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on devolved areas of responsibility, whether it will refer a general policy memorandum on the Immigration Bill to the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29681 on 24 February. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

8 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to implement the recommendation of the Residential Care Task Force that “the Scottish Government, COSLA, Scottish Care and CCPS should undertake work to ensure that charging arrangements are transparent and stratified.”

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are currently undertaking work to implement recommendations of the Residential Care Task Force.

8 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27393 by Jamie Hepburn on 14 September 2015, whether it will provide an update on what further discussions the working group on charging for residential accommodation has had regarding addressing variations in the use of contractual care routes.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The working group on charging for residential accommodation will consider this in March 2016 together with the regular annual changes to the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidance.

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how indicators and evidence are used to ensure that policies to deal with bullying are being implemented effectively.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We have established and wholly fund respectme, a national anti-bullying service, to build confidence and capacity to tackle bullying effectively, aligned to the National Approach to Anti-bullying for Scotland's Children and Young People. respectme provide dir…

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how restorative justice is being used to restore relationships that have broken down as a result of bullying.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government launched A National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People in 2010. The national approach forms part of our wider attempts to improve the health and wellbeing of our children and young people. It fits in wit…

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that parental rights and responsibilities are being respected when dealing with bullying incidents.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 recognises the vital role that parents play in supporting their children’s learning by strengthening the framework for supporting parental involvement in school education. There is a duty on Scottish Minist…

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting the need to maintain clear lines of transparency, communication and accountability between everyone involved in responding to bullying incidents.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: This government wants every child and young person in Scotland to grow up free from bullying and to develop respectful, responsible and confident relationships. Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed quickly, whenever it arises. Each loc…

5 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that staff, practitioners and agencies have the confidence and willingness to record and report bullying incidents.

Answer · John Swinney: As an employer, the Scottish Government is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and to ensuring the fair treatment of staff. We are committed to dealing with staff grievances fairly, consistently, quickly through our robust Fairness at …

4 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Barnett consequentials will arise from the English language tuition fund that was recently announced by the UK Government.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29387 on 28 January 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

27 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25576 by Alasdair Allan on 29 May 2015, what extra resources it has allocated to match the increase in the number of children diagnosed with a speech and language disorder.

Answer · Maureen Watt: While the government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality health care in Scotland, it is for each NHS board to decide how best to deliver these services to meet the needs of the population. This includes how best to utilise funding…

27 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors whether provision of speech and language therapy meets demand.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We have appointed an allied health professional (AHP) National Lead for Children and Young People who is working with NHS boards across Scotland and we have recently published Ready to Act, the first children and young people’s services plan in Scotland to fo…

27 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to health and social care partnerships to ensure that provision of speech and language therapy meets demand.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We are working with speech and language therapy leads across Scotland to identify how best to map local demographics and referral data to support services in understanding the real demand and appropriate deployment of resources. This mapping will enable speec…

27 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children under five have been referred for speech and language therapy in each of the last five years.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not currently collected centrally, however we are working closely with Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland to develop a consistent approach to data collection relating to all allied health professional (AHP) services, including sp…

19 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government’s announcement of an English language tuition fund will result in increased funding for English language support in Scotland and, if so, how it will use any additional funding.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We have been advised that the funding announced is for England only and will have no impact English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland. The Scottish Government continues to support refugees and migrants through our New Scots 2014-201…

19 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that English language tuition is offered in a positive manner to support migrants from all communities.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government have two strategies that cover this area of work, the vision behind both the New Scots 2014-2017 Strategy and Scotland’s ESOL Strategy 2015-2020 is for a Scotland where refugees and migrants are able to build a new life from the day th…

19 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Prime Minister’s announcement of an English language tuition fund will have on support for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We have been advised that the funding announced is for England only and will have no impact on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland. The Scottish Government continues to support refugees and migrants through our New Scots 2014-…

19 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that refugees and migrants from all cultures and backgrounds have access to existing English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) support.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Scotland has the infrastructure necessary to support refugees and migrants from all cultures and backgrounds in their language acquisition. We also have a range of SQA assessments for ESOL learners and practitioners as well as an initial assessment pack to en…

14 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many unimplemented planning permissions there have been in each year since 2011.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.

13 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to local museums and galleries following a reduction in the culture budget for 2016-17.

12 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to eliminate unconscious bias and institutional racism in Police Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Equality and diversity within Police Scotland is a matter for the Chief Constable and the Scottish Police Authority.

12 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to help improve the ethnic diversity of Police Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Equality and diversity within Police Scotland is a matter for the Chief Constable and the Scottish Police Authority.

12 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to assist victims of hate crimes in monitoring the progress of their case.

Answer · Frank Mulholland QC: All victims have a right to request and be told about progress of a case following the coming into force of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014. The recently published Victims’ Code for Scotland and Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses, ag…

11 Jan 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government’s target for building affordable homes will resolve the housing crisis that she referred to during First Minister's Questions on 7 January 2016.

1 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an assessment has been made of whether the Scottish Patient Safety Programme reduces any excess mortality associated with weekend emergency admissions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) is internationally renowned for reliably delivering evidence based interventions across NHSScotland. The SPSP’s focus is on providing safe care for every patient, every time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sinc…