Parliamentary questions
Siobhan McMahon
301 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Feb 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed camping management by-laws for the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
1 Feb 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy considers that the draft budget for 2016-17 provides adequate resources for general practice.
26 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing plans on delivering indoor smoke-free prison facilities.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: “A ‘National Tobacco Strategy Workstream’ has been convened to provide strategic leadership in the development of a joint action plan detail…
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting time is in each NHS board for people with dementia to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29301 on 25 January 2016. 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/parliamentary…
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for people with dementia to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29301 on 25 January 2016. 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/parliamentary…
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with dementia are on a waiting list to receive the one year of post-diagnostic support outlined in the national dementia strategy.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: This information is currently being validated by NHS National Services Scotland (NHS NSS). Performance data will be published by NHS NSS later in 2016 and will report on performance between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2016. This will include aggregated data on …
13 Jan 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many link workers are in post in each NHS board to deliver the commitment in the national dementia strategy for one year’s post-diagnostic support for people with dementia.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: This information is not held centrally.
11 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Water report into the contamination incident in North Lanarkshire in June 2015 that affected 6,000 households will be published.
5 Jan 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason total expenditure on the Legal Aid Fund in 2014-15 fell by 8% compared with the previous year.
17 Dec 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its funding plans are beyond 2017 for grant-aided schools for children with additional support needs.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: We do not yet know the outcome of the strategic commissioning process and therefore, at this point in time, cannot confirm what funding arrangements will be for the current grant-aided special schools (GASS). However, there is a commitment that no child curre…
17 Dec 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the seven grant-aided schools for children with additional support needs that are implementing the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs (the Doran Review).
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government and the Doran project board are working closely with all of the seven grant-aided special schools (GASS) to ensure they receive the support to help them with the transition to the strategic commissioning model. To ensure that happens, …
17 Dec 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs (the Doran Review).
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The strategic commissioning of national services was proposed in The Right Help at the right time in the right place. The independent Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs was conducted by P…
17 Dec 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often each of the three working groups examining the Strategic Review of Learning Provision for Children and Young People with Complex Additional Support Needs (the Doran Review) have met; when they will next meet; whether they work independently of each other, and how their work is …
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Workstream 1, which provides support to those current national grant recipients, have met with the seven grant-aided special schools (GASS) collectively one to two times a year on request (this is an open invitation so GASS can request additional meetings if …
30 Nov 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review will have on its capital budgets.
8 Oct 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Lord Advocate plans to publish further guidelines on the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.
Answer · Frank Mulholland QC: The Lord Advocate’s guidelines on the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 were recently updated in August 2015. That update clarified that it may be deemed appropriate to offer alternatives to prosecution, in cer…
28 Sep 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the recent reforms to the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme are sufficient.
21 Sep 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide to residents in East Falkirk and West Lothian that affected communities will be fully consulted on any further proposals for an additional flight path at Edinburgh Airport before any decisions are taken.
Answer · Keith Brown: As the Minister for Transport and Islands explained in the recent ‘Edinburgh Airport Flight Path Trial’ Member’s debate, the Scottish Government has no decision-making role in this issue which is reserved to the UK Government. Such a role is a matter for the …
17 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent changes to EU rules on measuring state spending, how much additional borrowing will be required for all Scottish Futures Trust hub projects that have already been built or have been authorised.
Answer · Keith Brown: There will be no impact on hub projects which have completed or are under construction.
17 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator has approved the proposed private company charity model.
Answer · John Swinney: The charitable body proposed by the Scottish Futures Trust, which will form part of the hub programme delivery arrangements, is still being considered by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
17 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on Scottish Futures Trust hub projects arising from recent changes in EU rules on measuring state spending, whether each 20% stake previously held by public sector partners will be transferred to a new private sector charity resulting in private contractors having…
Answer · Keith Brown: A 20% stake will be held by a charitable foundation with a corresponding reduction in the relevant public sector participants’ stake from 40% to 20%. Relevant private sector development partners will have a 60% stake. There will therefore be no change as a re…
17 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it or (b) the Scottish Futures Trust will pay compensation for the estimated £10 billion of future unitary charges on local authorities, colleges, NHS boards and Transport Scotland until 2048 as a result of delays to publicly funded building programmes arising from recent cha…
Answer · Keith Brown: The quoted figures relate to estimates of the total unitary charges attached to revenue funded projects being delivered through government programmes. Current activity to address classification issues has no bearing on these estimates.
17 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the non-profit distribution method of using private contractors to fund new buildings and roads increases (a) overall costs, (b) public-sector debt and (c) private-sector control of the schemes for the lifetime of every project.
Answer · John Swinney: The non-profit distributing model is delivering additionality in the infrastructure programme at a time when conventional capital budgets have been significantly reduced as a result of the UK Government’s approach to the public finances. All projects are subj…
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all outstanding claims for solicitors who assist clients through legal aid will be paid in 2015-16.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s (SLAB) target is to pay 97% of accounts submitted within their service standards. For 2015-16 (to August) its performance is exceeding this. The average time (excluding discussions) that it takes SLAB to make a payment to solic…
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the value is of outstanding claims for solicitors who assist clients through legal aid.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: As outlined in the answer to S4W-27451 on 25 September 2015, ‘outstanding’ has been interpreted as grants of legal assistance which have had an account submitted and are under consideration (action with the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB)). Although a claim h…
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether and, if so, for what reason solicitors who assist clients through legal aid are not being paid for their work.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) paid solicitors £107.7 million pounds in legal aid fees in 2014-15. SLAB can only make payments for work that falls within the boundaries of legal aid legislation approved by Parliament. This forms a key part of SLAB’s dut…
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many legal aid cases are outstanding and how this compares with previous years since 2007.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: When a payment can be made by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) for work carried out will depend on the lifecycle of the case and the time it subsequently takes for the solicitor to submit an account to SLAB. This is not in SLAB’s control and the solicitor …
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by how much it will reduce the legal aid budget in 2015-16.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The administration and Legal Aid Fund budget provision for 2015-16 will increase by £3.6 million. The published budget for 2015-16 is as shown in the following tables: Proposed Budget 2014-15 2015-16 Total Operating Capital Total (£ million) (£ mil…
10 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the Scottish Legal Aid Board in each year since 2007.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is a non-departmental public body. Its work is funded by the Scottish Government in two ways. An administration budget funded through grant-in-aid is provided to cover the running costs of SLAB such as its staff and accomm…
31 Aug 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is delaying publishing details of the draft budget.
16 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many care assistants there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council. The information requested is not held centrally.