Jayne Baxter

24 Jan 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers of 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 looked-after children is not held centrally.

24 Jan 2014 · Written Question

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

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Number of Looked After Children in Scotland from 2007-2012 by local authority: Year Local Authority 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Aberdeen City 583 650 701 690 642 605 Aberdeenshire 424 432 458 496 496 450 Angus 283 287 261 274 …

18 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on access to services of an additional tier of assessment as a result of self-directed support for people with substance use issues.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Under the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 (“the SDS Act”) the local authority will be required to offer four options to those who are eligible for care and support. The provision of self-directed support may be relevant to people with …

18 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with local authorities to implement self-directed support for people with substance use problems and, if so, within what timescale.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Under the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 (“the SDS Act”) the local authority will be required to offer four options to those who are eligible for care and support. The provision of self-directed support may be relevant to people with …

26 Nov 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with Police Scotland to ensure that police officers in Fife are deployed in frontline positions in the community and not elsewhere.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for Police Scotland, however the Scottish Government is fully committed to maintaining a visible police presence through our manifesto commitment to keep 1,000 extra police officers on the beat. The …

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) will provide an update on the implementation of the community nursing workload measurement tool and (b) can provide information on what the average caseload is for health visitors dealing with 0 to 5-year-olds.

Answer · Alex Neil: All NHS boards have been mandated to use the nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools to inform nursing and midwifery workforce planning. The community nursing workload assessment tool became available for use by NHS boards in May 2012. It …

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the implications of any interaction between the children’s services planning processes proposed in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill and the provisions in the (a) Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 and (b) proposed Commu…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The delivery of health services to children and young people will be a key element in the development of children’s services plans, which is why health boards will have joint responsibility for children’s services plans. The Scottish Government’s national sel…

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the implications of any interaction between the children’s services planning processes proposed in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill and the integration planning and functions proposed in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The relationship between children’s services planning (as set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill) and integrated partnership arrangements (as set out in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill) would be complementary. The children’…

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to how children’s services would interact with the new structures proposed in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill provides a framework for the integration of health and social care services specifically, whilst the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill requires planning for children’s services across the whole range o…

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to children’s rights in drawing up the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill provides the framework for the integration of adult health and social care. The Bill provides for the inclusion of other services such as children’s health and social care services, where health boards and loc…

5 Nov 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Scottish Water and other bodies about improvements to drainage infrastructure in urban areas.

29 Oct 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role it considers health visitors have in making Scotland the best place in which to grow up.

30 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on the proposed community empowerment and renewal bill.

19 Jun 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to the conclusions on childcare and early years education in the Equal Opportunities Committee's report, Women and Work. 

12 Jun 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by its cities strategy.

5 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the number of fallen stock on farms.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is helping to reduce fallen stock numbers on farms in a number of ways, for example by ensuring the welfare needs of livestock in Scotland are met; by ensuring the provision of an effective animal health and disease control infrastruct…

5 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fallen stock have been recorded on farms in each of the last five years.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

29 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance is available to people who want to pursue legal action when they have experienced a material loss as a result of a home report.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Where an individual wants to pursue a claim from losses thought to be sustained as a result of a home report then advice and assistance (A&A) could be used to investigate any potential claim and to try to settle the matter without recourse to court. A&A would…

29 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of the home report system and, if so, when.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Prior to the introduction of the Home Report Scottish Ministers agreed, at a Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee meeting (30 January 2008), to carry out a full policy review of the Home Report after five years of operation. This is …

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland includes adherence to the Register of Qualified Steelwork Contractors Scheme for Bridgeworks in its procurement processes and, if so, when it introduced this and for what reason.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland does include adherence to the Register for Qualified Steelwork Contractors Scheme for Bridgeworks or equivalent in its procurement processes. This was introduced progressively during 2010 as part of continuing dialogue and specification dev…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many temporary and agency workers have been employed on the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Keith Brown: Recruitment and conditions of employment are an operational matter for the contractors. This information is not held by the Scottish Government. No agency or temporary workers are employed by the Transport Scotland led Employer’s Delivery Team.

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any incidences of so-called bogus self-employment among construction workers employed on the Forth Replacement Crossing project and, if so, what steps it has taken to prevent this.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is not aware of any incidences of so-called bogus self-employment on the Forth Replacement Crossing Project.

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the value is of each (a) contract and (b) subcontract awarded as part of the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Principal Contract to build the new bridge and connecting roads was awarded to the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium with a successful tender price of £790 million. The contract to install elements of the project’s Intelligent Transpor…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed on the Forth Replacement Crossing project, also broken down by (a) contractor and (b) subcontractor.

Answer · Keith Brown: (a) The average number of staff on site in April 2013 was 737. The number of staff on site varies depending on the stage of the works and is expected to reach the previous peak of 1200 later in 2013. (b) The staffing of all subcontracts for additional supply…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what national agreements are in force for workers on the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14837 on 28 May 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/parliamentarybus…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all workers on the Forth Replacement Crossing project are employed according to nationally agreed terms and conditions.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Principal Contractor is contractually obliged to pay wage rates and observe conditions of labour, which are not lower than those established for the trade or industry where the work is carried out. Recruitment and conditions of employment are an operatio…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether minimum employment standards were included in the invitation to tender process for the Forth Replacement Crossing project and, if so, what standards.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Principal Contractor is contractually obliged to pay wage rates and observe conditions of labour, which are not lower than those established for the trade or industry where the work is carried out.

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeships have been created as part of the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Keith Brown: As of 31 January 2013, the Forth Replacement Crossing project has delivered 46 vocational training positions including 14 modern apprenticeships, 44 professional body training places and 70 long term unemployed positions. These opportunities and the scope for…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what key performance indicators have been built into the procurement contracts used for the Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Answer · Keith Brown: There are 26 key performance indicators in the Forth Replacement Crossing Principal Contract. These are grouped as follows: Embodied Carbon-1 Project Planning and Compliance-5 Supervision and Quality Control-5 Record Keeping-5 Training-5 Wider Social Re…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what community benefit clauses have been implemented as part of the Forth Replacement Crossing project. 

Answer · Keith Brown: The Forth Replacement Crossing is the first contract in Scotland to include a requirement for subcontracts to be tendered to be advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland website and requires all positions to be advertised in local job centres. The Principa…