Parliamentary questions
Kezia Dugdale
1,684 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings or discussions it has had with COSLA on the living wage and its roll-out across local authorities.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Local authorities are independent autonomous bodies and set the terms and conditions under which their staff are employed. The Scottish Government has had a number of discussions with COSLA on pay issues and welcomes the fact that a number of local authoritie…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) 16 and (b) 17-year-olds are in full-time education, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The information requested is contained in the following table. 16 and 17-Year-Olds in Full-Time Education by Local Authority: 2009-10 Local Authority Age1 Total 16 17 Aberdeen City 2,870 1,540 1,335 Aberdeenshire 4,635 2,540 2,095 Angus 2,085 …
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to move to an opt-out system of organ donation.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has no current plans to change to opting-out as the basis of organ donation in Scotland. We shall to continue to focus on the work currently in hand to implement the recommendations of the UK Organ Donation Taskforce. We remain confide…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) heart-beating and (b) non-heart-beating organ donations there have been in each month since August 2009 and what information it has on the figures for the United Kingdom.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information the member has requested is detailed in the following tables. Table 1: Donation after Brain Death: Solid Organ Heart-beating Donors UK Scotland August 2009 51 3 September 2009 54 5 October 2009 61 3 November 2009 52 3 …
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with its UK counterparts on the issue of welfare reform and its impact on devolved services.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish ministers would welcome an opportunity to meet their UK counterparts on the very important issues of welfare reform. Since the formation of the current government, no such meetings have taken place. Lord Freud, the UK Minister for Welfare Reform, spo…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget for organ donation advertising has been in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is available on the Scottish Government website, where details advertising spend from 2004-05 onwards is published. It can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Directorates/Communications/advertising-marketing/spend Rai…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that eastern European languages are offered financial support.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-651 on 22 June 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/Business/PQA/…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which of its directorates has lead responsibility for developing its Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Directorate for Employability, Skills and Lifelong Learning had lead responsibility for developing the Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland.
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of each meeting that ministers have had with UK Government ministers since May 2010 at which Scottish ministers have raised the issue of (a) child poverty or (b) welfare reform, showing the (i) minister involved, (ii) other attendees and (iii) location.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish ministers have regular meetings with UK minsters on a range of matters including welfare reform and child poverty. The then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing met with the Secretary of State for Works and Pensions on 22 September 2010. On 28 …
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, following publication of its Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland, when it will publish its action plan.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland sets out the key measures the Scottish Government intend to progress, and sets a framework for action by a range of partners across Scotland. Annual progress reports will be produced and laid in the Parliament.
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) 16 and (b) 17-year-olds are unemployed and seeking employment, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The official measure of unemployment based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition is not reliable for sub-groups of the population (such as age) at local authority level. However, an alternative measure of unemployment is the claimant count…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on the teaching of eastern European languages in higher education institutions.
Answer · Michael Russell: Our clear ambition is for Scotland to be a well connected, outward facing nation. It would however be wrong for Scottish ministers to intervene in decisions about what languages are taught by individual higher education institutions. The Scottish Funding Coun…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have volunteered for organ donation in each month since October 2009 and what information it has on the figures for the United Kingdom.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of registrations on the NHS organ donor register for each month since October 2009 is provided in the following table. UK Scotland October 2009 96,302 13,408 November 2009 110,566 16,444 December 2009 117,529 11,3…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on implementing the recommendations of the UK Organ Donation Taskforce.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS boards and others to implement the recommendations of the UK Organ Donation Taskforce. There has been significant progress in improving the infrastructure across NHSScotland, as part of the process of removin…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the teaching of eastern European languages strategically important, given the business links between eastern European nations and Scotland.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-651 on 22 June 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/Business/PQA/…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Transplant Group has met; who attended each meeting, and what was discussed since May 2009.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Transplant Group meets quarterly and its membership is drawn from the organ donation and transplant community in Scotland, including representatives of patients, the public and donor families, each of the transplant units in Scotland, NHS organis…
8 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the teaching of eastern European languages culturally important in Scotland's multicultural society.
Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-651 on 22 June 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/Business/PQA/…
2 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the (a) surveys, polling or data collection exercises being conducted by any departments, agencies or bodies under its control or that have been instigated since January 2010, (b) organisations employed to conduct such exercises and (c) regulations governing the tende…
Answer · John Swinney: (a) Information on Scottish Government statistics is held by output rather than by source and is published at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About/Products/Q/EditMode/on/ForceUpdate/on. An exercise to list all sources was carried out in 2009,…
2 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms exist for managing the pay policies of David MacBrayne Ltd, Quality Meat Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-456 on 10 June 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/Business/PQA…
2 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used to determine that David MacBrayne Ltd, Quality Meat Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust are not covered by the 2011-12 public sector pay policy.
Answer · John Swinney: David MacBrayne Ltd (DML) operates in a commercial environment providing ferry services under contracts won through competitive tendering. It is appropriate for DML to make pay arrangements that reflect this environment and the associated labour market. A dec…
2 Jun 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to meet City of Edinburgh Council officials to discuss the detail of the Skills Development Scotland School Leaver Destination Report 2009-10.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Scottish Government officials have met City of Edinburgh Council officials on three occasions between March and May 2011 to discuss the School Leaver Destination Report and how they can provide focused support to the authority to improve school leaver destina…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of its Welfare Reform Scrutiny Group are; on what dates the group has met, and what the objectives of these meetings were.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Along with CPSLA, the Scottish Government invited key stakeholders with an interest in welfare matters to participate in a Welfare Reform Scrutiny Group. These are: One Parent Families Scotland; Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform; Equality and Humans Righ…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the impact of changes to the child maintenance system proposed in the Welform Reform Bill 2011 on (a) families in Scotland, (b) its policies and (c) devolved services.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has not carried out a formal impact assessment of the proposed changes to the child maintenance system. However, the proposals in the UK Government’s Green Paper (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2011/strengthening-families.shtml) a…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it advertises internships externally.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-259 on 13 June 2011. All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many women were (a) eligible and (b) received vouchers for the healthy start scheme, broken down by NHS board in each of the last three years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As the healthy start scheme is administered by the Department of Health, the detailed information requested is currently being collated. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament In…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what grants and funding it provides to organisations who work to ensure that people receive all the benefits and social security measures that they are entitled to.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Responsibility for ensuring benefit and tax credit uptake lies with the UK Government, however the Scottish Government recognises that providing national and local services that support benefit uptake can significantly increase household income. Through the A…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to upgrade annually in line with inflation the living wage paid to its core staff.
Answer · John Swinney: All staff in the Scottish Government main bargaining unit (including staff in the core directorates) currently receive a salary above the Scottish living wage of £7.15 per hour. Any change to salary rates would be considered as part of the normal pay review p…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships it has offered in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) directorate (ii) agency.
Answer · John Swinney: Directorate-General 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Total DG Constitution and Corporate Change 3 0 3 DG Economy 5 5 1 11 DG Education 8 5 1 14 DG Environment 2 0 2 DG Finance and Corporate Services 5 3 8 DG Health 7 2 2 11 DG …
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it reaches out to disadvantaged groups when promoting its internship programme.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-259 on 13 June 2011. All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.…
25 May 2011 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether will introduce a Scottish equivalent of the Health in Pregnancy Grant and, if not, whether it will provide additional support for women who are pregnant.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Act 2010 removed the entitlement to the Health in Pregnancy Grant from 1 January 2011. This decision was taken by the UK Government because the payment was considered to be a poorly targeted use of limited pu…