Parliamentary questions

Clare Adamson

329 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

17 Sep 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact recent announcements by the UK Government in relation to the Green Deal will have on action to improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The UK Government’s recent announcement to cease funding for the Green Deal Finance Company and Green Deal Home Improvement Fund has caused further uncertainty in a sector still recovering from the sudden changes made to the Energy Company Obligation by the U…

14 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote scientific subjects to women and girls.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that both young women and men are encouraged to aspire to the full range of rewarding careers on offer to them in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sectors of the economy. We are takin…

7 Sep 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Governmentwhen the Ministerial Advisory Group on Child Poverty last met and what matters were discussed.

31 Aug 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland died between December 2011 and February 2014 shortly after a work capability assessment found them fit for work.

20 Jul 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the review of maternity and neonatal services announced on 26 February 2015.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Following a short period of consultation with key stakeholders and professionals, I have invited Jane Grant, Chief Executive of NHS Forth Valley to chair the review. Jane has accepted the appointment and will now invite key professionals and service user repr…

1 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the impact on families in Scotland of reducing the child element of child tax credit to its 2003-04 level.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26433 on 28 July 2015. 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…

30 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the expected overall impact on families in Scotland of changes to child benefit and tax credit rates between 2010-11 and 2017-18.

30 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of households in Scotland that will be affected by the proposal to freeze working age benefits for two years from April 2016 and what the (a) total cost to households and (b) average loss per household will be.

Answer · Alex Neil: The UK Government’s Summer Budget 2015 contained a number of reforms to the tax and benefit system, including a four year freeze to working age benefits. The Scottish Government published its initial analysis of these announcements on 11 July 2015 in the pape…

1 Jun 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote child safety.

26 May 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the measures in the Queen’s Speech will have on its ability to tackle poverty and inequality.

11 May 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact a further £12 billion reduction in social security spending across the UK will have on poverty in Scotland.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: As the Cabinet Secretary said in his answer to question S4O-04334, the UK Government has yet to outline where this reduction will fall. What we do know is that The Institute of Fiscal Studies has estimated that by 2020,100,000 additional children in Scotlan…

11 May 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how Scotland compares with EU member states on LGBTI equality.

20 Apr 2015 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to figures from the Trussell Trust suggesting that the number of people in the UK relying on foodbanks is expected to pass one million.

23 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote solar energy.

17 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of how increasing the work allowance for universal credit will impact on (a) the income of working households in the lower end of the income distribution scale and (b) incentives to work for claimants in Scotland.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Increasing the work allowances for universal credit would provide targeted support to low income households. This would allow households to retain more of their income as they enter work or increase their earnings and can therefore improve incentives to work.…

16 Mar 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is tackling severe and extreme poverty in Scotland.

2 Mar 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the handover of the ScotRail franchise.

2 Mar 2015 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the research commissioned by the Welfare Reform Committee, which suggest that parents and disabled people are being hit hardest by the UK Government's welfare reforms.

25 Feb 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to examine the delivery of maternity and neonatal services.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children in Scotland get the best possible start in life. The best quality maternity care and the best quality neonatal care are therefore crucial. We continue to make advances in care standards and st…

19 Feb 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing the independent commission to consider fairer systems of local taxation.

Answer · Marco Biagi: The Commission on Local Tax Reform will meet for the first time on Monday 23 February 2015 and report in autumn 2015. As Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment, I shall co-chair the commission with Councillor David O’Neill, the President of C…

9 Feb 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress since the most recent meeting of the opencast mining taskforce.

2 Feb 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase support for community-led regeneration.

Answer · Alex Neil: On 2 January 2015 I announced an additional funding of £5.6 million to our People and Communities Fund increasing support for community-led regeneration throughout Scotland. This increases the fund from £9.4 million to £15 million in 2015-16 and will be used …

29 Jan 2015 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to enhance the provision of unscheduled care.

Answer · Shona Robison: Today (30 January 2015) we are establishing new best practice guidance to be rolled out across Scottish health boards to help maintain and improve unscheduled care. This new approach, which has been developed in partnership with the Academy of Royal Colleges,…

26 Jan 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote the IT industry as a career choice.

17 Dec 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the new drink driving limits had over the festive period.

15 Dec 2014 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on devolving the power to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in Scottish parliamentary elections.

8 Dec 2014 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: On 28 November 2014, the twenty third meeting of the British-Irish Council was held in Douglas, Isle of Man. The summit was attended by ministers from all eight member administrations. The Scottish Government was represented by the First Minister and myself. …

4 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on the health of pregnant women, what estimate it has made of the financial impact of the discontinuation of the Health in Pregnancy Grant in 2011.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government analysis Impact of the UK Welfare Reforms on families – Autumn 2014 update, published on 13 October 2014, suggests that, if the Health in Pregnancy Grant had remained at its 2011-12 level, expectant mothers would be £190 worse off per …

4 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on employment, what estimate it has made of how much statutory maternity pay would be in 2015-16 if it had been uprated by Consumer Price Index inflation since 2011-12 and how this compares with the actual amount.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The move to uprating by 1% means that in 2015-16 statutory maternity pay is estimated to be £139.56 per week. If statutory maternity pay had been uprated by Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation it is estimated that it would have been in the region of £144.73.…

1 Dec 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle in-work poverty.