John Pentland

7 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged over 55 have been unsuccessful in obtaining a loan from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and how many complaints it has received from these applicants.

Answer · Michael Russell: During 2010-11, the last complete academic session, SAAS received 135 student loan applications from students aged 55 or over. Sixty eight students were awarded a student loan because they were under 55 at the start of their course and 67 students were inel…

7 Dec 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people over 55 are in (a) higher and (b) further education. 

Answer · Michael Russell: The information requested is contained in the following table: Table 1: Students in Higher and Further Education aged over 55 years of age (2009-10) Further Education Higher Education Age In Colleges In Higher Education Institutions In Colleges High…

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether changes in the constitutions of registered social landlords should be supported by shareholders.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has responded to the consultation that the Scottish Housing Regulator undertook under the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. This response will be made public.

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the Scottish Housing Regulator’s proposal to prevent shareholders re-electing non-executive directors.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has responded to the consultation that the Scottish Housing Regulator undertook under the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. This response will be made public.

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many statutory interventions on registered social landlords are being carried out by the Scottish Housing Regulator.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Michael Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Housing Regulator is currently carrying out no statutory interventions on registered social landlords.

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) statutory and (b) other powers the Scottish Housing Regulator has to set mandatory maximum lengths of service of (i) committee and (ii) board members of registered social landlords.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Housing Regulator executive agency performs the statutory functions of Scottish Ministers under the provisions of Part 3 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. It has no non-statutory powers of the type described. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 est…

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) statutory and (b) other powers the Scottish Housing Regulator has to set the constitutional standards for registered social landlords.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Housing Regulator executive agency performs the statutory functions of Scottish Ministers under the provisions of Part 3 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. It has no non-statutory powers of the type described. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 est…

16 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) statutory and (b) other powers the Scottish Housing Regulator has to determine the payment of (i) committee and (ii) board members of registered social landlords.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Housing Regulator executive agency performs the statutory functions of Scottish Ministers under the provisions of Part 3 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. It has no non-statutory powers of the type described. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 est…

2 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to protect and improve animal welfare.

26 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the impact of the proposed increases in non-domestic rates on investment, jobs and output for businesses and on inward investment.

19 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning last met college principals and chairs and what was discussed.

5 Oct 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs has had with the directors of national museums and galleries in the last month.

7 Sep 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reintroduce the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme.

24 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the introduction of charges to companies who carry out roadworks on busy roads during peak times.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government has asked the Scottish Road Works Commissioner to consider the way in which utility works are currently completed. This will be considered as part of the National Roads Maintenance Review.

24 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S4W-01638 and S4W-01639 by Michael Russell on 10 August 2011, what assessment was made of the criteria that were used to decide which funding method would apply to schools in the programme, broken down by individual school.

Answer · Michael Russell: The government’s overarching objective was to maximise the number of school building projects that could be delivered from the available resources. The decision to fund the majority of the primary and special school projects with capital was driven by account…

24 Aug 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S4W-01638 and S4W-01639 by Michael Russell on 10 August 2011, what funding method has been agreed for schools in the programme, broken down by individual school.

Answer · Michael Russell: The information requested is as follows: Scottish Schools for the Future Building Project Capital Projects Name of School Authority Secondary Lasswade High Midlothian Eastwood High East Renfrewshire Dumbarton Academy West Dunbartonshire Mea…

15 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-00306 by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 June 2011, whether it will bring forward a bill on high hedges and, if so, what progress has been made with preparatory work on this and when will it be introduced.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: This government is committed to providing a legal framework for settling disputes related to high hedges, and it is our intention to introduce legislation in this parliamentary session. I know that good progress was made with stakeholders, including the camp…

12 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used to decide which of the projects in the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme would be switched from capital to revenue funding.

Answer · Michael Russell: The switch from capital to revenue funding for some of the projects in the Scotland’s Schools for the Future building programme was necessitated by the massive cut in the Scottish Government’s capital budget in the Westminster Government’s 2011-14 Spending Re…

12 Jul 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether work already undertaken with regard to (a) consultation and (b) procurement was taken into account when deciding which of the projects in the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme would be switched from capital to revenue funding.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the question S3W-1638 answered on 10 August 2011. 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/Apps2/MAQASearch/…

30 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards are known to have incomplete records of children being admitted to hospital with asthma symptoms.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.

30 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been recorded as being admitted to hospital with asthma symptoms in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table shows the number of patients aged 14 and under, who had a main diagnosis asthma recorded during a hospital admission for the financial years ending 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2010. NHS Board of Residence Main Diagnosis 2006-07 2007-08 …

30 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have developed a care protocol for children and young people with asthma.

Answer · Michael Matheson: On 27 June 2011, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published a report which noted that 5 NHS Boards reported that they have developed care protocols for children and young people with asthma. Those Boards are: NHS Lothian NHS Highland NHS Tayside NHS Grampi…

30 Jun 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have a register of children and young people with asthma.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In November 2008, Healthcare Improvement Scotland published a report on its review of performance in each NHS Board against its clinical standards for services for children and young people with asthma. On 27 June 2011, Healthcare Improvement Scotland publish…

29 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gives to the impact of lower subsidies for new social housing in areas of high deprivation.

8 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional funding will be made available to enable local authorities to meet collection of food waste and other Zero Waste Plan targets.

2 Jun 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average change in charges for council services has been for households since the introduction of the council tax freeze.