Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to victims of illegal money lending.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentaryb…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it funds the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit and, if so, how much it has given to the unit in each of the last five years.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentaryb…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it will provide to the Police Service of Scotland to enable it to tackle illegal money lending.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentaryb…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has given (a) directly and (b) indirectly to police forces to tackle illegal money lending.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether available statistics provide enough detail for it to assess the impact of illegal money lending on communities in Scotland.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects statistics on the number of (a) reports, (b) charges laid and (c) convictions of people believed to be illegally lending money and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentaryb…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of the suitability of measures that aim to tackle illegal money lending.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13774 on 11 April 2013. 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/parliamentaryb…
19 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact on communities of illegal money lending.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Illegal money lending is a blight on our communities, in particular for those areas that are most deprived and for individuals who are vulnerable. The actions of illegal lenders can lead to fear and distress as well as significant financial loss for those lea…
6 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it decided not to fund the Community Jobs Scotland scheme for a three-year period.
Answer · Angela Constance: The reason the Scottish Government decided not to fund Community Jobs Scotland for a three year period is because we are currently commissioning an evaluation of the current phase of the programme and will use the results of this to help form a view to extend…
6 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to the statement signed by the Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE (Scotland) and the SCVO in deciding to fund Community Jobs Scotland for one year only.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government did refer directly to the statement signed by the Scottish Government, COSLA, SOLACE (Scotland) and the SCVO, known as the Joint Statement on the Relationship at Local level between Government and the Third Sector. The Scottish Govern…
6 Mar 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government from which budgets the additional £6.3 million announced to support the Community Jobs Scotland scheme will come.
Answer · Angela Constance: The additional investment of £6.3 million for Community Jobs Scotland comes from the Opportunities for All budget.
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that all children receive financial education.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Financial education is part of a wider focus on numeracy within Curriculum for Excellence. The expectation is that all teachers seek to develop young people’s numeracy skills in all areas and at all levels. Support for financial education is provided by Educ…
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will set out the detail of its plans for a financial health service.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government set out proposals for a Financial Health Service, to support the provision of fair and just processes for debt advice, debt relief and debt management in its consultation paper, published on 24 February 2012. This is the first time in …
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its reasons were for discontinuing the money advice case management report and what information it no longer collects as a result.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The collection of the money advice case management report ceased when the 2008 concordat with Convention Of Scottish Local Authorities was introduced. A statistical framework remained in place but in practice the collection of statistics proved difficult. The…
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses the extent of and trends in payday loan debt.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The area of consumer credit, including pay day lending is currently a reserved matter; therefore the Scottish Government does not have the powers to collect this information from pay day loan companies. We currently rely on published data by the UK Governmen…
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data from the money advice services that it funds regarding the prevalence of debt problems and, if so, what categories it uses for different types of debt.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not directly fund money advice services. We provide third tier funding to the Money Advice, Training, Resources, Information and Consultancy Services (MATRICS) project. The purpose of MATRICS is to provide ensure there is a skille…
28 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what annual data reporting it requires of money advice services that it funds (a) directly and (b) indirectly.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not directly fund money advice services. We provide third tier funding to the Money Advice, Training, Resources, Information and Consultancy Services (MATRICS) project. The purpose of MATRICS is to ensure that there is a skilled m…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Governement what assessment it has made of the willingness of broadband operators to upgrade cabinets in the context of its exchange upgrade programme.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The willingness of broadband operators to upgrade cabinets will depend on the outcomes of ongoing discussions which are taking place in relation to the Scottish Government’s Step Change 2015 Programme. This programme is progressing through two procurement exe…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions regarding street level cabinet exchanges it has had with broadband operators who have received public money to upgrade exchanges.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: BT is the only broadband operator to have received public money to upgrade exchanges, through the Scottish Government’s 2005 Broadband for Scotland Project. Discussions regarding telephone exchanges and cabinets are likely to form part of the ongoing procu…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its broadband policy supports cabinet upgrades in (a) rural, (b) semi-urban and (c) urban areas.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government’s Step Change 2015 programme – which will deliver infrastructure capable of delivering next generation broadband by 2015 – is technology and supplier neutral. The extent to which the programme will involve upgrades to BT cabinets will …
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of Scottish Water’s operational budget is spent addressing pluvial flooding.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13351 on 11 March 2013. Scottish Water is named as a Responsible Authority under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. Amongst other duties, this requires it participate in efforts to assess and mitig…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports residents at risk of pluvial flooding.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Flood protection schemes are primarily a matter for local authorities, however the Scottish Government is committed to supporting work that helps protect the people of Scotland from the effects of flooding. That is why we introduced the Flood Risk Management…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of Scottish Water’s operational budget is spent addressing flooding events.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked Scottish Water’s chief executive to write to you to provide these details. For each regulatory period, the Scottish Ministers direct Scottish Water as to the improvements it must deliver. The imp…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how issues raised by Scottish Water’s customer forum will inform Scottish Water's work programme.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Customer Forum is already participating effectively in the on-going process of determining Scottish Water’s investment and service level priorities. The Forum is working with Scottish Water in scrutinising its customer research programme, analysing and in…
27 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Scottish Water’s customer forum will be established.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Customer Forum was established in Autumn 2011 with the task of bringing the customers voice to the table in determining future service levels, investment priorities, and how much customers should pay for water and waste water services.
27 Feb 2013 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what its position is on members paying their staff the living wage.
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce; who the members of the commission are; what their remuneration is, and how many staff the commission has, broken down by pay grade.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce does not have a specific programme budget. The costs of supporting staff and other costs such as travel & subsistence will be met from direct running costs. The members of the Commission are Sir Ian W…
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what methodology was used by Skills Development Scotland in its report, Modern Apprenticeship Outcomes 2012, and how the figures were weighted.
Answer · Angela Constance: This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I will ask the chief executive to write to you with the information you have requested.
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost of a modern apprenticeship has been in each year since 2006-07, broken down by gender of apprentice.
Answer · Angela Constance: This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I will ask the chief executive to write to you with the information you have requested.
12 Feb 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the modern apprenticeship programme in each year since 2006-07, broken down by gender of apprentice.
Answer · Angela Constance: This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I will ask the chief executive to write to you with the information you have requested.