Parliamentary questions

Ken Macintosh

1,334 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

5 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on funding less than a quarter of places in a partnership nursery where all children are eligible for free childcare.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure funded early learning and childcare places for all eligible children whose parents wish it, and they can provide this through their own settings or through contracts with private or third sector providers. It …

5 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will help parents who are subject to unfair childcare retainer fees.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: Most afterschool care services are either small parent committee led voluntary sector services or small private businesses. The use of retainer fees in after school care services, private nurseries and sometimes by childminders, is fairly common practice in S…

5 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers it lawful to charge childcare retainer fees for a service that is unavailable.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The use of retainer fees in after school care services, private nurseries and sometimes by childminders, is fairly common practice in Scotland, and we are not aware that providers are acting illegally by charging such fees. The use of retainer fees by priva…

5 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review childcare regulations in relation to the use of retainer fees.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The use of retainer fees by private childcare services are a matter for individual businesses. There are no specific childcare regulations on the purchasing of childcare from private and independent providers. The issue of any charging in relation to funded p…

29 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Creative Scotland.

28 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the levels of support for living costs available to Scottish domiciled students who study elsewhere in the UK.

Answer · Angela Constance: As already indicated, I intend to consider the issue more fully, including the numbers of Scottish domiciled students affected and the costs involved, and am happy to bring the issue back to the Chamber and to Mr Macintosh in due course. If Mr Macintosh has a…

28 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether support for living costs available to Scottish domiciled students studying at a university in London are lower than that available to English domiciled students and, if so, for what reason.

Answer · Angela Constance: We introduced a new support package for all Scottish domiciled students in academic year 2013-14. Every eligible Scottish domiciled student, whether they choose to study for free at a Scottish institution, or elsewhere in the UK, has the same eligibility for …

20 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has confidence in the transport, parking and access arrangements for the new South Glasgow Hospitals site.

Answer · Shona Robison: When the hospital opens there will be approximately 2,500 spaces available, with a further 1,000 spaces available by 2016 on completion of a third multi storey car park. Currently, the parking capacity must not exceed 3,500 parking spaces, as a condition of p…

14 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to help tackle online hate speech, intolerance and anti-Muslim bigotry.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is clear that there is no excuse for any form of hate crime. In February 2014, we launched the ‘Speak Up against Hate Crime’ awareness campaign to help victims of and witnesses to hate crime to report all incidents to Police Scotland o…

14 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the organisation, Tell Mama, which records anti-Muslim bigotry and aims to tackle online hate speech and intolerance, and what its position is on promoting the Tell Mama hotline.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not provide support to Tell Mama. There are currently over three hundred organisations in Scotland registered as third party reporting centres with Police Scotland. The Scottish Government encourages all victims and witnesses to…

2 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed whether clinicians specialising in treating patients with Parkinson’s disease are given enough time and support to carry out further research.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government, through its Chief Scientist Office, provides funding to support clinicians working within NHS Scotland to carry out research. The funding provided through this researcher support scheme was £12.7 million for 2014-15. The Chief Scient…

2 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to research into Parkinson’s disease.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government provides funding of approximately £475,000 per annum for the Scottish Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network. The role of the network is to increase the amount of research in dementia and neurodegenerative disease (inc…

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Down’s Syndrome Scotland's Achieving Better Communication (ABC) groups for children, and what funding streams are available to support these.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families and carers in Scotland. As part of the commitment to support the delivery of The keys to life, the 10 year learning disability strategy, grant…

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in delivering commitment 16 of its national dementia strategy, and how this commitment might support people with Down's syndrome.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Through commitment 16 of the 2013-16 national dementia strategy, we are working with others to identify and address barriers to timely diagnosis and effective care, treatment and support for people with dementia specifically in the following groupings: learni…

3 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the new guidance on the administration of medicines in schools will be published, and for what reason there has been a delay in updating them.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The review of guidance on the administration of medicines is not yet complete. The administration of medicines in schools is extremely complex in nature. It is necessary to ensure that the guidance is appropriate and considered appropriately. It is intended t…

19 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is demonstrating its support for school libraries in addressing literacy levels across the country.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is committed to improving literacy levels across the country as part of the drive to raise attainment and reduce educational inequalities. Local authorities have full autonomy to make decisions concerning school libraries in their are…

19 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the collective budget for school libraries has been in each of the last three years.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held centrally. The specific level of education spending by local authorities including that relating to library services, is a matter for democratically elected local decision makers.

19 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school libraries have closed in each of the last three years as a result of reductions in local government funding.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held centrally. The responsibility for the provision of education rests with individual local authorities including the provision of school libraries. The specific level of education spending by local authorities including th…

19 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school librarians have lost their jobs in each of the last three years as a result of reductions in local government funding.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held centrally. The responsibility for the provision of education rests with individual local authorities including all matters relating to the employment of staff. The specific level of education spending by local authoritie…