Claire Baker

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP posts are being covered by locums due to (a) a permanent vacancy and (b) long-term sick leave in practices in Fife.

Answer · Shona Robison: This is a matter for NHS Fife. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The groundbreaking new GP contract for Scotland – jointly designed and agreed with the British Medical Association – will help ensure that GPs are able…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices in Fife have had vacancies for (a) between (i) three and six, (ii) six and nine and (iii) nine and 12 months and (b) more than a year.

Answer · Shona Robison: This is a matter for NHS Fife. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

15 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the Fife economy.

9 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the first payments of the carers allowance supplement will be made.

8 May 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with DF Barnes since the announcement of redundancies at BiFab on 4 May.

1 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Fife Health and Social Care Partnership since its decision to suspend overnight out-of-hours services in Dunfermline, St Andrews and Glenrothes.

26 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of deliberate fire raising have been recorded in each parliamentary constituency in the Mid Scotland and Fife region in each of the last five years.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publish annual incident statistics on deliberate primary and secondary fires (Tables 12-13b refer) on its website - http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/…

26 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle deliberate fire raising.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: As part of the Scottish Government’s wider agenda on anti-social behaviour, we support the excellent work being delivered by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other partners to develop programmes to target those groups with the potential to beco…

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to introduce the sexual history or sexual character evidence of a victim in a sexual offence or rape trial have been (a) requested, (b) unopposed, (c) granted in full, (d) granted in part and (e) rejected, in each year since 2002.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Data on the use of sections 274 and 275 Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 are not routinely collected by the Scottish Government. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16093 on 1 May 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are av…

19 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its report, Impact of Aspects of the Law of Evidence in Sexual Offence Trials, published in September 2007, what plans it has to conduct a further evaluation, including on the issue of sexual history or character evidence.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As the question notes, the operation of the law in the area of the use of character evidence and sexual history evidence was subject to a full and independent evaluation in 2007. The law in this area has not changed substantively since the 2007 evaluation. H…

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Aspiring Communities Fund opened for applicants at stage 1; how many applications were (a) received and (b) granted, broken down by (i) name of organisation and (ii) amount granted, and what criteria were used to determine whether to approve a grant.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Aspiring Communities Fund opened for Stage 1 applicants in February 2017. a) the total number of Stage 1 applications received was 108. b) The total number of Stage 1 projects approved was 60. Eligibility of organisations was determined through their c…

28 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Aspiring Communities Fund will open for applicants at stage 2; how many applications it expects; how much funding will be made available for this, also broken down by how much will be ring-fenced for applicants that have completed the stage 1 process, and whether any funding wil…

Answer · Angela Constance: The date for Aspiring Communities Fund applications for existing Stage 1 projects to progress to Stage 2 is still under consideration. The fund currently supports 60 Stage 1 projects and it is expected that the majority of these projects will apply for Stage …

20 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the Fife economy.

12 Mar 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Youth Theatre regarding its future.

6 Mar 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can provide to Cowdenbeath FC with its Club 135 campaign, Honour the Past, Ensure a Future, which aims to secure the future of the club.

31 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many responses it has received to each of its two consultations on proposals to classify 15 special protection areas (SPA) in the Scottish marine area, and when it expects to make a decision on formal classification.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage and Joint Nature Conservation Committee undertook the two consultations on 15 proposed SPAs on behalf of Scottish Ministers, and they received a total of 1356 responses. Scottish Ministers will make a decision on their classification…

17 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reports that 79 jobs at the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) are at risk because of restructuring plans, and what discussions it has had with NTS regarding (a) these plans and (b) staff numbers.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The National Trust for Scotland is an independent charity. As such it is for the organisation’s Trustees to make judgements about its operational structure.   The Scottish Government is aware of the proposed changes and we understand that the Trust will be en…

17 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many and what percentage of (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled children and young people have received support from (i) the youth music initiative programme and (ii) each Sistema Scotland project (A) in and (B) out of school in each of the last five y…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Creative Scotland administers the Youth Music Initiative (YMI) on behalf of the Scottish Government. YMI projects are required to complete an End of Project Monitoring Report on their activities and participants, with information submitted to Creative Scotlan…

17 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of report by the Arts Council England, Literature in the 21st Century: Understanding Models of Support for Literary Fiction, what analysis it has carried out on the state of the publishing sector in Scotland, including what information it has regarding how many full-time author…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland. In 2015 they published a Sector Review of Literature and Publishing in Scotland 2015, which contains the most comprehensive and up to dat…

17 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in response to each of the "issues for consideration" that were set out at chapter six of A Retrospective 2014/15 Evaluation of the Youth Music Initiative.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Creative Scotland administer the Youth Music Initiative (YMI) on behalf of the Scottish Government. Following the 2014-15 Evaluation Creative Scotland appointed consultants to work closely with key stakeholders, including Scottish Government officials, to hel…

16 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Fife and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Shona Robison: Ministers and Government officials regularly meet with representatives of NHS Fife to discuss matters of importance to local people.

19 Dec 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Fife College and what issues were discussed.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government regularly meets with Fife College on a number of matters in the general course of business. Ms Somerville recently met with the College in November, to mark their status as an accredited Living Wage Employer during Living Wage Week.

15 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of the four proposed Nature Conservation marine protected areas, identified to protect a host of marine species and habitats in Scotland and for which Scottish Natural Heritage provided formal advice in 2014 and what measures it is taking t…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Current work is focused on ensuring that the existing MPA network is well managed, and progressing protected areas for marine birds. The four locations are proposed for a range of biodiversity and geodiversity which are representative of Scotland's seas. The …

12 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-00813 by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2017 (Official Report, c. 8), on what date it received the Audit Scotland report.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Audit Scotland sent an electronic copy of the Auditor General for Scotland’s section 22 report on the 2016-17 Audit of the Scottish Police Authority, to the Scottish Government on 1 December 2017. The hard copy of the report was received from Audit Scotland o…

7 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Fife regarding Macmillan Cancer Support’s Transforming Care After Treatment pilot projects; what analysis it has made of the outcomes of the projects, and whether it plans to roll-out best practice from the pilots across the rest of the NHS.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with NHS Fife specifically regarding the pilot projects in the Transforming Care After Treatment (TCAT) programme. The TCAT Programme Board has begun a process of systematic evaluation of the pilot project…

20 Nov 2017 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland's review of the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes.

14 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Fife College and what issues were discussed.

1 Nov 2017 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what action it is taking to address sexual harassment in the Parliament.

1 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work Transport Scotland is undertaking regarding the Levenmouth rail link.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Now that I have received agreement from Fife Council to do so, I have instructed Transport Scotland to progress the transport appraisal work undertaken to date for the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study, in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance,…

18 Oct 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Transport Scotland and what issues were discussed.