Parliamentary questions
Robert Brown
1,531 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the arrangements for paying travel allowances to students.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are currently no plans to review the arrangements for paying travel allowances to students. Travel arrangements for higher education students will be considered within the wider context of the Scottish Government''s consultation on student support: Supp…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the highest number of prisoners was in each prison in each of the last three months.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The following table illustrates the maximum daily population for each establishment in each of the last three months.</p> <table border=…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to agree and implement a standard definition of incidents recorded by the police.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) are currently looking at this issue. This in turn has led the Scottish Command and Control User Group to set up a small working group, under the Deputy Project Manager of the National Command and Co…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are directions from the Lord Advocate on the prosecution of child-care staff.
Answer · Frank Mulholland: Guidance is available for Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service staff in relation to the prosecution of teaching staff as well as cases more generally where criminal offences are committed by those in a position of trust and cases where persons claim to …
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff of residential homes and schools are suspended, broken down by suspension of (a) up to six months, (b) over six months to one year, (c) over one year to two years and (d) over two years.
Answer · Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally.</p>
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the National Residential Child Care Initiative will report.
Answer · Adam Ingram: The National Residential Child Care Initiative aims to report to ministers and to COSLA in autumn 2009.</p>
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased resources to tackle housing disrepair in Govanhill.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities through Private Sector Housing Grant to help meet the cost of priority house condition works. In 2008-09, Glasgow City Council received £10.66 million out of a national budget of £67 million. Glasg…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to tackle alleged problems of gross overcrowding and abuse of housing protections in the Govanhill area of Glasgow.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Local authorities have powers to identify issues of overcrowding under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. To help address overcrowding, local authorities and registered social landlords are required to give reasonable preference in the allocation of their housi…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will strengthen the powers available to local authorities to certify that houses are overcrowded, are in multiple occupation or should be registered under the landlord registration requirements.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Local authorities have powers to deal with the three issues of overcrowding, houses in multiple occupation and landlord registration.</p> <p >The statutory definition of overcrowding is contained in Part VII of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. Local authorit…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will empower local authorities or other agencies as well as tenants to make complaints to the Private Rented Housing Panel.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 makes it clear that the Private Rented Housing Panel (PRHP) deals with complaints on repairing standard issues from tenants only. This Standard, which was introduced by the 2006 act, updated the landlord''s repairing obligation…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the maintenance order provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 are adequate when dealing with owners who can pay but will not.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Local authorities will have new powers under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 to issue maintenance orders in certain circumstances. These will require owners to prepare a maintenance plan to secure the maintenance of the property to a reasonable standard. Wher…
5 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue guidance under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Scheme of Assistance) Regulations 2008 were approved by the Parliament in November 2008. Statutory guidance for local authorities on those regulations and related duties under part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 is expec…
3 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether health visitors carry out routine screening of children at age three to four years.
Answer · Shona Robison: The routine screening, surveillanceand health promotion checks which children and young people receive is set out inthe Health for All Children(Hall 4) Guidance.</p><p>The guidance recommends thatall children at age three to five years should have contact wit…
3 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its early years strategy.
Answer · Adam Ingram: As I confirmed in the courseof the debate on early years in October 2007, we aim to publish the early yearsstrategy by summer or autumn 2008.</p>
3 Jan 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether issues of communication, speech and language will be addressed in the proposed early years strategy.
Answer · Adam Ingram: At this early stage four keythemes are emerging as the underpinning basis of the strategy, building parentingand family capacity, creating communities that provide a supportive environmentfor children and families, delivering services that meet the needs of c…
14 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost will be of providing foster care allowances to both foster carers and kinship carers at the recommended rate.
Answer · Adam Ingram: Getting itRight for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care supports the provision of allowances to carers of looked after childrenat the rate recommended by The Fostering Network. The funding package offered tolocal government, as part of the joint concordat …
13 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether foster carers and kinship carers will have a right to payment at the recommended level of foster care and kinship care allowances and, if so, how this right will be enforced.
Answer · Adam Ingram: The commitment to implementationof the recommendations in Getting it Right for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care is one shared by Scottish Government and local government. It will be forlocal government to deliver this as part of a partnership approach.<…
13 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific funding has been given to local authorities as a result of the spending review and the budget to support implementation of Getting it Right for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care.
Answer · Adam Ingram: The funding package offered tolocal government, as part of the joint concordat between the Scottish Governmentand COSLA, contains adequate resources for local authorities to implement Getting it Right for Every Child inKinship and Foster Care.</p>
13 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the cost of implementation of Getting it Right for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care.
Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government and COSLAwill work together to implement Getting it Right for Every Child in Kinship and Foster Care, including the recommendations of the external referencegroup co-managed by BAAF and TFN once they are brought forward.</p><p>The fund…
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any ring-fencing of contracts for the 2014 Commonwealth Games for community businesses.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Procurement for the Glasgow 2014Commonwealth Games will be a matter for the Games Organising Company.</p><p>The Scottish Government is committedto launching a consultation on how to secure benefits from the Glasgow 2014 CommonwealthGames within 100 days of th…
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how social enterprises can be included on the lists of small suppliers bidding for contracts under £140,000 for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Procurement for the Glasgow 2014Commonwealth Games will be a matter for the Games Organising Company.</p><p>The Scottish Government is committedto launching a consultation on how to secure benefits from the Glasgow 2014 CommonwealthGames within 100 days of th…
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how members of the procurement business panel for the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be nominated and appointed and how social enterprise will be represented on the panel.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Procurement for the Glasgow 2014Commonwealth Games will be undertaken by the Games Organising Company and will followboth European law and Scottish Public Procurement guidelines.</p>
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why no social enterprises were invited to the recent meeting on commercial opportunities offered by the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: This event was hosted by theGlasgow Chamber of Commerce. The Scottish Government had no input into invitations.</p>
10 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage the involvement of social enterprises in accessing the commercial opportunities offered by the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government is committedto launching a consultation on how to secure benefits from the Glasgow 2014 CommonwealthGames within 100 days of the announcement that the bid was successful. This willinclude consultation on how best to ensure that social …
4 Dec 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been provided to the Cities Growth Fund in each year since its inception and how much has been transferred to each local authority for each of the next three years.
Answer · John Swinney: The following tabledetails how much has been provided from the Cities Growth Fund in each yearsince its inception:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Annual allocation (£000)</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>2003-04…
27 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take in response to the RNIB Scotland’s report, Make it count, on the election experiences of people with sight loss.
Answer · John Swinney: I welcome the RNIBreport into the experiences of blind and partially sighted people at the 2007 Scottishelections. The recommendations made in the report, in respect to the Scottish localgovernment elections, will be considered and taken forward alongside the…
26 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3O-1086 by John Swinney on 1 November 2007, when details of the Scottish Futures Trust initiative will be announced.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5903 on 7 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/web…
26 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-5502 by Stewart Stevenson on 19 November 2007, what funding has been provided under the Bus Route Development Grant in each year since its inception and how much has been allowed for in the local government finance settlement to enable local authorit…
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: In 2005-06, £15,783,393and in 2006-07 £11,256,026 was allocated under the Bus Route Development Grant schemeto provide funding for projects over the three year period 2005-06 to 2007-08. Thefinal funding allocations were made in March 2007.</p><p>In financial…
26 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is being given to supporting volunteers as a result of the strategic spending review.
Answer · Jim Mather: Our decisions in the Scottish Budget recognise the existing contribution of third sector organisations,including voluntary and volunteer-involving organisations, and the potential fortheir entrepreneurial dynamism to contribute to transformational change acro…
26 Nov 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide support to national youth work organisations to replace any volunteering input lost as a result of the termination of funding for Project Scotland.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Governmentwill continue to work towards the aims set out in the youth work strategy and willcontinue to support the national voluntary organisations in achieving this. the Scottish Government recently launched <i>Volunteering in the Youth Work Se…