Bob Doris

27 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received support from the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme, broken down by local authority area of (a) applicant and (b) property purchased.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The following table sets out the number of sales under the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme by local authority as of 14 February 2014. The data available records properties purchased in each local authority area. Local Authority Number of Sales Aberdeen 22 …

27 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme has received, broken down by applicant's local authority.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The number of applications as at 31 January, were as follows: Local Authority Number of Applications Aberdeen 57 Aberdeenshire 128 Angus 12 City of Edinburgh 118 Clackmannanshire 16 Dumfries and Galloway 19 Dundee 35 East Ayrshire 36 East D…

6 Jan 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its small business bonus scheme supports businesses in Glasgow.

6 Jan 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on the Scottish economy of a reported additional £25 billion reduction in spending planned by the UK Government.

16 Dec 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it holds information on how many foodbanks there are and what assistance it can provide to reduce reliance on them.

9 Dec 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information is available concerning the use of discretionary housing payments in Glasgow to mitigate the effects of the so-called bedroom tax.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many general dental service dentists were employed by the NHS in September (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009, (e) 2010, (f) 2011, (g) 2012 and (h) 2013, and what the change was over this period expressed as a percentage.

Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the number of salaried general dental service dentists employed by NHS Scotland from September 2006 to 2013. The table shows the actual and percentage change for the whole period. Headcount Salaried GDS Dentists September 2006 27…

28 Oct 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it meets the health needs of asylum seekers.

21 Oct 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with Police Scotland to promote enhanced community policing in Glasgow.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Through reform, we have protected frontline services across Scotland, including the 1,000 extra police officers that have helped to cut crime to a 39-year low. We’re working very closely with Police Scotland, through our ambitious Building Safer Communities …

2 Oct 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Housing Association to replace poor quality social housing with new-build social housing.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding how kinship care would be resourced in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Independence would enable the Scottish Government to take spending decisions on a range of issues, including kinship care, which reflect the needs and desires of the Scottish people and allow us to prioritise the public services, policies and outcomes which b…

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide extra funding to support kinship care placements.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government will provide funding as set out in The Financial Memorandum page 75. This shows a lower estimated cost in 2015–16 of £1,433,512 and an upper estimated cost of £3,897,160.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there are barriers to the full implementation of the kinship care orders proposed by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill and, if so, what these are.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is currently taking submissions from stakeholders in relation to the Bill and this includes views on barriers to implementation. Evidence sessions are also being heard by Education and Culture Committee on Stage 1.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has commissioned research on whether there are barriers to the full use of the available legislation for the provision of kinship care placements.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has funded CELCIS (the Centre for Excellence for Looked after children In Scotland) specifically to address issues and improve practice for Looked After Children. Further, significant engagement has been undertaken with a wide range of…

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued guidance to local authorities on reducing the number of children receiving formal kinship care.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: No guidance has been issued to local authorities in relation to reducing the numbers of children receiving formal kinship care.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been given formal kinship care status in each of the last three years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Children Looked After Statistics for the last three years show the following numbers of children were looked after by family or friends, as at 31st July each year: 2010 – 3223 children 2011 – 3910 children 2012 – 4076 children.

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether priority access to specialist psychological and therapeutic services will be available to children subject to kinship care orders under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: All children in need are entitled to access services and those with a kinship care order will require to ask for a referral in the same way as families of other children. The therapeutic services introduced by the Bill will be available to all children and w…

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Department of Work and Pensions on the benefit entitlements for kinship carers proposed by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK government on a wide range of issues, including benefit entitlements for kinship carers.

23 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on increasing the number of teachers employed on permanent contracts.

Answer · Michael Russell: My answer to Angus MacDonald a few minutes ago covered this. We now have the strongest level of teacher employment in years, and the lowest level of teacher unemployment since the current Jobseekers Allowance time-series began in 2005. This constitutes treme…

28 Aug 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the Scottish economy will be of the recently reported record investment in the North Sea.

Answer · John Swinney: Oil and Gas UK expect capital investment in the North Sea to reach an all-time record of £13.5 billion this year. This will bring a significant boost to the Scottish economy. In 2012, oil and gas production was estimated to have contributed around £22 billio…

3 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to place an annual limit on the number of GP appointments that a person can have.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government will not restrict patient access to GPs. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to provide high quality health and social care to the people of Scotland and consider that any moves to restrict the number of visits a patient…

13 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to support vulnerable children and their families.

8 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with the Kurdistan Regional Government to strengthen links between Scotland and Kurdistan.

1 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the health and wellbeing needs of adults with learning difficulties are taken into account when service redesign is being proposed at a local level.

24 Apr 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

18 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government to provide an update on the progress to retender the franchise to operate rail passenger services in Scotland.

11 Mar 2013 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government seeks to ensure that all relevant medical information is available to support patients who appeal to the disability benefits tribunal system.

25 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance is available to help companies grow and identify new markets.

18 Feb 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is carrying out in partnership with the UK Government to support young people back into employment.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS dental (a) nurses and (b) technicians there were in September (i) 2007 and (ii) 2012.

Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the number of NHS dental (a) nurses and (b) technicians there were in September (i) 2007 and (ii) 2012 is available in the following table: Table 1: NHS Scotland dental nurses and technicians (WTE) Sept-07 Sept-12 Change Sept-07 to Sept-1…