Jayne Baxter

7 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the modern apprenticeship programme is tackling occupational segregation.

Answer · Angela Constance: In 2013-14, 41% of all modern apprenticeship (MA)starts were women, however achieving a balanced workforce which reflects Scottish society as a whole is a challenge for the wider labour market and is not specific to the modern apprenticeship programme. Addre…

7 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of young people with long-term health conditions accessing modern apprenticeships.

Answer · Angela Constance: Achieving a balanced workforce which reflects Scottish society as a whole is a challenge for the labour market as a whole and is not specific to the modern apprenticeship (MA) programme. We appreciate, however, that we need to do more to ensure young people u…

7 Jul 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to employers in modern apprenticeship schemes to raise awareness of the importance of a safe working environment.

Answer · Angela Constance: The majority of modern apprenticeship (MA) places are allocated through a contracting process between our delivery body, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and training providers, rather than directly with employers. This means that contact between the Scottis…

17 Jun 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of its Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

20 May 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to community planning partnerships.

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will establish the youth employment initiative of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine; how it will engage young people with this; how much will be spent on it, and when it will be launched.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Time to Shine is being delivered by Creative Scotland, the national body which supports the development of the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland. I am advised by Creative Scotland that under their initial plans, they have allocated £100,000 fr…

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will establish the mechanism for direct financial support of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine; how it will engage young people with this; how much will be spent on it, and when it will be launched.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has allocated £5,000,000 from the Young Scots Fund to Creative Scotland to deliver Time to Shine, Scotland’s youth arts strategy. The first area of expenditure is the regional youth arts hubs, where Creative Scotland announced the nine…

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will establish the national mentoring programme of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine; how it will engage young people with this; how much will be spent on it, and when it will be launched.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The implementation of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine, is being carried out by Creative Scotland, our national body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries. I will ask their Chief Executive, Janet Archer to write to the member with detai…

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the strategic objectives of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine, will integrate with the curriculum for excellence.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The actions relating to Curriculum for Excellence are set out on page 17 of the strategy. The implementation of the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine, is being carried out by Creative Scotland, our national body that supports the arts, screen and creative in…

20 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what factors it took into account when determining that the funding for the youth arts strategy, Time to Shine, would be guaranteed for two years.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Funding for Time To Shine was set aside in the 2010-11 budget for the implementation of the youth arts strategy from the Young Scots Fund and the detailed timing and planning of the delivery of the £5 million fund followed a long consultation with the Youth A…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding will be made available to local authorities to pursue the local partnerships by means of which the See Hear framework will be implemented.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to Jackie Baillie’s question S4W-20941 on 8 May 2014. 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/p…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will "scope out the range of formal and informal training opportunities around sensory impairment awareness" as suggested in recommendation 2 of the See Hear framework published in April 2014.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government will, in the first instance, engage with NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council to scope out formal and informal training opportunities around sensory impairment awareness.

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will issue further guidance in relation to deaf children and young people in line with recommendation 7 of the See Hear framework published in April 2014 and what opportunity there will be for public engagement on this guidance.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Publication of statutory guidance is scheduled for spring/summer 2015. A formal consultation exercise will be undertaken in the early part of 2015.

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will conclude its work assessing the implications of the strategic review of learning provision for children and young people with complex additional support needs (Doran Review).

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government issued a response to the Doran Review report, ‘The Right Help at the Right Time in the Right Place’, in November 2012. The Doran Review provided 21 recommendations in total. The Scottish Government accepted 16 in full, 3 in part and 2 …

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in each year from 2007 on programmes that target or contribute to the reduction of the attainment gap between deaf children and children with no additional support requirements, also broken down by programme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: 2006-07   Scottish Sensory Centre – Core grant - £201,310 Scottish Sensory Centre - British Sign Language glossary - £25,375 2007-08 Scottish Sensory Centre - £215,550 Scottish Sensory Centre - Development of Early Support journal: Developmental journal…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which provisions of its See Hear framework will work to close the attainment gap between deaf children and children with no additional support requirements.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The See Hear sensory impairment strategy aims generally to achieve the seamless provision of assessment, care and support to children and adults with a sensory impairment. According to the strategy, children and adults with a sensory impairment should expect…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to review education provision for deaf learners to ensure that it is achieving the best possible outcomes.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: In November 2010, Education Scotland published the Review of the Additional Support for Learning Act: Adding Benefits for Learners which noted that children with sensory impairments continue to have their additional support needs identified and addressed at a…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the potential (a) 15% decrease in the number of teachers of deaf pupils and (b) 23% decrease in the number of qualified teachers of deaf pupils over the last two years.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government conducts an annual teacher workforce planning exercise, in consultation and discussion with all relevant stakeholders, to ensure that teacher supply and demand are kept broadly balanced at an all-Scotland level. It is for local author…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures and programmes it (a) has supported in each year from 2007 and (b) supports that address the education difficulties experienced by deaf pupils.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20974 on 19 May 2014. 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/parliamentarybus…

2 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the attainment gap for deaf learners set out in the National Deaf Children’s Society Scotland's report, Close the Gap, and whether it will commit to closing that gap.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with additional support needs, including those who are deaf, are provided with the support they need to reach their full potential. To support this commitment, the Scottish G…

2 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on the proposed Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill is due to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament before the end of this parliamentary year.

27 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much oversight the alcohol and drug partnerships have over the money used to place people with drug or alcohol problems in residential rehabilitation.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20426 on 7 April 2014. 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…

27 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who will administer the money that will be made available to each local authority in 2014-15 to place people with drug or alcohol problems in residential rehabilitation.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20426 on 7 April 2014. 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…

27 Mar 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money will be made available to each local authority in 2014-15 to place people with drug or alcohol problems in residential rehabilitation.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on how much money will be made available to place people with drug or alcohol problems in residential rehabilitation in 2014-15 is not held centrally. It is for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) to commission services to meet the needs of the l…

26 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the revised capital costs associated with the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Michael Russell: These costs will be provided to the Finance Committee at the very earliest opportunity and I have given a commitment to the Convener of the Finance Committee that I will give evidence on those costs once they are available. Subject to agreement of the final …

26 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its financial review of kinship care.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We expect to announce the findings shortly and I would be happy to write to the member to keep her informed.

29 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its response to the stage 1 report on the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, how many whole-time equivalent staff has been transferred into each health visiting category, broken down by area that they were transferred from, in each year since 2009.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Information is not centrally held. I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-19461 on 26 February 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://…

29 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its response to the stage 1 report on the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, how many (a) registered health visitors and team leaders on Agenda for Change bands 6 to 8, (b) nursing staff on Agenda for Change band 5 and (c) other nursing staff in health visiting teams …

Answer · Alex Neil: The information, as requested, is not centrally held, however the skills, knowledge and attributes required for public health, health visiting, and school nursing teams are interchangeable. While statistical information is available within each of these categ…

24 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers of non-looked-after children there have been in each year since 2007, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Data on the number of kinship carers of non-looked-after children is not held centrally.

24 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-looked-after children there have been in each year since 2007, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Number of Non-Looked After Children In Scotland by Local Authority 2007-2012:   Year  Local Authority 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Aberdeen City 40,137 39,985 40,566 39,920 39,087 39,337 Aberdeenshire 55,852 55,874 56,054 56,195 56,621…