Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11406 by Jamie Hepburn on 3 October 2017, how many care-experienced young people (a) are eligible for and (b) have a local authority activity agreement.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Every care experienced young person, aged between 16 and 19 years, is potentially eligible for an Activity Agreement (AA) – if it is assessed that it is the most appropriate route for them. Eligibility to participate on an AA is not determined by a young per…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11406 by Jamie Hepburn on 3 October 2017, how many additional needs assessments have been carried out for care-experienced young people in the last year, and what percentage of care-assisted young people this represents.
Answer · Maree Todd: Education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need can arise for any reason and be o…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11417 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, how it plans to centrally record how many and what percentage of care-experienced young people receive legal representation at children’s hearings.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Legal Aid Board to improve the information it collects on ‘looked after children’ who have received legal representation at children’s hearings. We regularly review the statistical information we collect an…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11423 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, how the Independent Care Review will take account of the views of young care-experienced offenders.
Answer · Maree Todd: This is a matter for the independent Care Review. For further information, please contact the Chair of the Review, Fiona Duncan on [email protected]
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11423 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, when the Independent Care Review will report its findings and recommendations to ministers.
Answer · Maree Todd: The independent Care Review is expected to last 2-3 years. The timescales and the method by which the Review reports its findings to the Scottish Government is a matter for the independent Care Review. For further information, please contact the Chair of the …
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11424 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, what measures are in place to support the rehabilitation of care-experienced young men leaving prison.
Answer · Maree Todd: A number of organisations provide services to young men leaving custody to support successful transition and rehabilitation back in to their communities. Tailored support is provided on an individual needs-led and trauma-informed basis. It will typically incl…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11424 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, how many dedicated through-care support officers are available to care-experienced young people in each prison.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Through-care Support Service has been running since April 2015. 42 Through-care Support Officers (TSOs) work across 11 SPS establishments. The TSO service is available on a voluntary basis to all adults leaving SPS establishm…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11424 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, what the (a) take-up rate is and (b) eligibility criteria are for projects that support the rehabilitation of care-experienced young people leaving prison.
Answer · Maree Todd: A number of organisations provide services to young people leaving custody to support their transition back to the community. These services are not restricted to care-experienced people. Instead, they seek to identify and respond to each person’s own needs i…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11419 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, what plans it has to set up a system to ensure that the causes of deaths in relation to looked-after young people are reviewed and learned from.
Answer · Maree Todd: There are currently a number of measures in place and in development which monitor and review child deaths, including deaths of looked after young people, in Scotland. Significant Case Reviews A Significant Case Review is a multi-agency process for establis…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11419 by Mark McDonald on 2 October 2017, apart from Continuing Care and GIRFEC, what plans it has to reduce the death rates of care-experienced young people.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer you to the answer to question S5W-11419 on 2 October 2017, describing a number of workstreams in place providing a wide range of support to young people with experience of care. These provisions look at the whole life experience of the child and young…
1 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11403 by John Swinney on 29 September 2017, what plans it has to address the issue that looked-after young people are seven times more likely to be expelled from school.
Answer · John Swinney: Exclusion should be used as a last resort, and should only be used as a proportionate response where there is no alternative, with the wellbeing of the child or young person being the key consideration. Local Authorities remain responsible for the provision o…
31 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow the community interest buyout by London Road Church in Edinburgh to be registered under the terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, and when it expects to announce its decision.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The application by InSpire East End Ltd. was rejected on 2 November 2017. Full details of the decision and all other documentation relating to the case can be found on the Register of Community Interest in Land, which is held by the Registers of Scotland. I…
31 Oct 2017 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, in light of recent reports regarding sexual harassment, how it intends to influence the gender composition of the Corporate Body and Parliamentary Bureau.
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposed closure of the Museum on the Mound in Edinburgh, and whether it has met, or plans to meet, Lloyds Banking Group to discuss this.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I welcome the recent decision by the Lloyds Banking Group to keep the Museum on The Mound open. I am delighted that the public, including many school children and young people, will continue to benefit from the Museum's important education programme.
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding and support it provides to initiatives that deliver financial education to young people.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is funding and supporting financial education for young people in a range of ways and is committed to doing so as part of its drive to ensure a fairer Scotland that educates and supports our young people to be responsible citizens, eff…
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its action fund to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness will specifically address the needs of care-experienced young people.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The ‘Ending Homelessness Together’ Fund of £50 million over five years has been created to support prevention initiatives and pilot solutions to drive faster change from 2018-19. The short term Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group is making recommend…
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the City of Edinburgh Council's draft budget proposal to close the Edinburgh Music School and, in light of the potential educational and cultural impact of any closure, what action ministers can take or plan.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government highly values the role of all six centres of excellence in Scotland, including the City of Edinburgh Music School. We note that the City of Edinburgh Council has now withdrawn proposals which would have affected the City of Edinburgh M…
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it had with care-experienced young people before allocating resources to its rough sleeping and homelessness action fund.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has regular engagement with young people who have experienced homelessness, including young people who have experience of care, and funds a national service user involvement co-ordinator to ensure the views of those that have experienc…
30 Oct 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date all work on the Queensferry Crossing will be completed and the bridge will be fully operational.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: It is anticipated that the Queensferry Crossing will be fully operational by the end of the year. We opened the bridge in August 2017 to deliver the benefits as early as possible and, as is normal for a project of this scale and complexity, final testing and …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to support the rehabilitation of care-experienced young people leaving prison.
Answer · Mark McDonald: As part of the Whole System Approach, we would expect the rehabilitation of under 18s to be supported as set out in the answer to S5W-11415 on 2 October 2017. A number of organisations are working together to provide support to young people both while in cus…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will reduce the rate of care-experienced young people who end up in the criminal justice system.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government is committed to keeping as many young people as possible out of the criminal justice system. Substantial progress has been made over the last 10 years in keeping young people, including care-experienced young people, out of the crimin…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fatal accident inquiries have been conducted following the death of care-experienced young people.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Statistics relating to Fatal Accident Inquiries are held not by the Scottish Government, but by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). COPFS do not, however, hold information centrally which identifies that a death relates specifically to a c…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) monitors and (b) records the cause of death of care-experienced young people.
Answer · Mark McDonald: If a local authority becomes aware that a child or young person who is looked after by them or is in receipt of advice, guidance or assistance from them has died, the local authority must, within 24 hours, notify the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate, …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will reduce the death rate of care-experienced young people.
Answer · Mark McDonald: In order to reduce the death rate of care-experienced young people, it is vital to address inequalities in their life chances and wellbeing. The Scottish Government is committed to improving outcomes for all care-experienced young people in Scotland and to ma…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many care-experienced young people receive independent advocacy.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government does not collect national data on the numbers of care experienced young people who receive independent advocacy to support them across a range of domains and experiences, including – additional support needs, mental health, children’s …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many looked-after young people have received legal representation at children’s hearings in the last three years.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has provided the Scottish Government with the following information regarding the numbers of looked after young people who received Assistance by Way of Representation (ABWOR). For the three year period from 1 September 20…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will implement statutory advocacy for care-experienced young people as provided for in the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government has been working with a number of advocacy providers and partners in the children’s hearings system to develop a sustainable model of advocacy provision for children and young people attending hearings. The Scottish Government is comm…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the processes are for accommodating a care-experienced young person who has left prison or secure unit.
Answer · Mark McDonald: All young people need support when returning to communities after periods of being accommodated or sentenced. Young people should have a package of support detailed in their Child’s Plan, delivered in partnership to meet assessed needs and risks, by age appro…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will reduce the number of care-experienced young people who end up in homeless accommodation through no fault of their own.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government recognises the particular vulnerability of those leaving care to homelessness. Numbers of young people recorded as leaving care and directly applying as homeless to local authorities are low and has been falling in recent years due to …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its new homelessness strategy will help encourage care-experienced young people to declare their housing status.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We have been working with our partners to prevent homelessness amongst care experienced young people in recent years and this will remain a priority as we develop the proposals around Programme for Government. The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group…