Anne McTaggart

20 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the introduction of the tenancy deposit scheme, how it will address the reported practice of private landlords retaining tenants' deposits without cause, and what further support it will provide to Citizens Advice Bureaux to promote an increased uptake of the deposit scheme …

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government continues to work with the scheme providers and other stakeholders such as Citizens Advice Scotland and Shelter Scotland to encourage compliance with the law. The Scottish Government recently introduced the Tenant Information Pack whi…

20 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent work it has carried out in partnership with the Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector.

14 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it will provide to HMYOI Polmont and Education Scotland, following the decision to increase access, quality and consistency of teaching for inmates as a result of the report on HMYOI Polmont in February 2013.

10 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support people of a central and eastern European Roma background living in Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is fully committed to supporting our most vulnerable communities. To this end we are delivering several measures to support people of a central and eastern European Roma background living in Scotland. During 2012-15 we are providing f…

7 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had discussions with Camelot regarding (a) how a national lottery could operate and (b) whether people in Scotland could participate in national lottery games for the rest of the UK if Scotland became independent.

Answer · John Swinney: To date there have been no discussions with Camelot about the operation of the National Lottery. An independent Scotland would continue to have a lottery and lottery infrastructure. Decisions about any changes to the national lottery following independence wo…

3 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects it is funding to promote social, cultural and business links with Poland.

1 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what its position is on and (b) whether it plans to review the defence of provocation in relation to adultery.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Law Commission has begun a review of the law of homicide, which will encompass a general review of the defences of provocation, self-defence, coercion and necessity as well as a comprehensive examination of the required mental element for the cri…

1 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects it is funding to tackle racism in schools, broken down by funding amount.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We are providing £400,000 over financial years 2012-15 to Show Racism the Red Card and Youth Development and Employment Support, however, the specific amounts for work in schools cannot be identified as the work of these organisations cut across many areas.

1 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to write off the student debt of graduates of universities in Scotland.

Answer · Michael Russell: Access to student loans is a key part of how students in Scotland support themselves. The Scottish Government has no plans to change that, however we are committed to ensuring that the amount of debt accrued remains manageable and that we do not, for example,…

19 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect young carers from any negative impact of the recent welfare reforms.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We are doing all we can to mitigate the worst impacts of these reforms on people and organisations across Scotland. This includes: providing £7.9 million for organisations to give advice and support to those affected; an additional £9.2 million for the new Sc…

8 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote equal pay across the country.

Answer · John Swinney: One of the strategic aims of the Scottish Government’s public sector pay policy is to ensure that pay is fair and non-discriminatory and to protect jobs and services. All public bodies covered by this policy are expected to review their pay systems annually …

3 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the legal status is of a home report.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The legal requirement for a Home Report is set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008 set out what the Home Report must contain. The Home Report legislation also makes local authorit…

3 Apr 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage of social housing in Glasgow.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: A three-year delegated housing supply budget (through to March 2015) of £181.138 million was issued to Glasgow City Council through the Transfer of Management and Development Funding. This enables Glasgow City Council to take the lead in devising a locally le…

19 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions for domestic abuse have been for a repeat of the same offence in each of the last five years.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of individuals convicted of an offence with a domestic abuse aggravator along with the number of those individuals with at least one previous conviction (also with a domestic abuse aggravator) is recorded in the following table. Fin…

18 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional investment it will provide to Glasgow City Council in order to further regenerate the most deprived areas of the city by summer 2014.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: It is the responsibility of the Council and the Community Planning Partnership to deliver local economic development and local regeneration, based on their understanding of local needs and circumstances, from their local government settlement. In 2013-14 Gla…

14 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the level of support offered to Diploma in Legal Practice students.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is carrying out a review of postgraduate student support arrangements in Scotland including the support provided for Diploma in Legal Practice.

13 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has achieved its aim of providing 600 hours of free nursery education per year to each family. 

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Children and Young People Bill, which includes proposals to increase the current level of 475 hours of funded pre-school education per annum for three and four year olds, to a minimum of 600 hours of funded early learning and childcare for three and four …

12 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many successful requests for Ivacaftor (Kalydeco) have been funded by the Rare Conditions Medicines Fund.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many successful requests have been made for Ivacaftor. NHS boards have been advised that clinicians should progress applications for Ivacaftor for patients suffering from cystic fibrosis who have not h…

12 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation are not being prescribed Ivacaftor (Kalydeco).

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards have been advised that clinicians should progress applications for Ivacaftor for patients suffering from cystic fibrosis who have not had a lung transplant and who have the G551D gene mutation on the basis that the costs of associated with the medi…

11 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on improving mental health services for prisoners.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Responsibility for providing mental health services in prisons transferred to the NHS in November 2012. NHS chief executives established the National Prisoner Healthcare Network to support delivery of a high quality, safe, effective and consistent service to…

7 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gave to events that marked World Book Day 2013.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: World Book Day is one of a range of initiatives supported by partner bodies engaged in literacy work, in this case specifically Scottish Book Trust, supported by Education Scotland. I attended the Scottish Children’s Book Awards with Scottish Book Trust in D…

6 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on external legal advice and advocacy since May 2011.

Answer · John Swinney: The total spent on external legal fees since May 2011 is £6,065,037.27 (exclusive of VAT). The total spent on Counsel fees since May 2011 is £2,352,906.94 (exclusive of VAT).

6 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial support it has provided to each organisation tackling homophobia in schools in each year since 2007.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: We want all children and young people in Scotland to grow up in a society which is free from discrimination. To support this aim, the Scottish Government has provided financial support to the following organisations involved in tackling homophobia since 2007:…

6 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will assist working parents with the costs of childcare, in light of the report by the Daycare Trust that the cost of full-time nursery places has risen by 6% since 2011.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Daycare Trust’s report Childcare Costs Survey 2013 reported that “during the last 12 months, nursery costs have increased in all parts of Britain except from Scotland”. Changes in Childcare Costs in 12 Months December 2011 to December 2012 Region/Nation…

4 Mar 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont to implement recommendations arising from the full inspection carried out in October 2012.

1 Mar 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the Minister for Transport and Veterans has had with the business community in Glasgow on whether there is a need for a Glasgow Airport rail link.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Minister for Transport and Veterans has not met directly with members of the business community in Glasgow to discuss their perceived or actual need for a Glasgow Airport Rail Link. However, representatives of the business community were invited to a rang…

25 Feb 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address the issues identified by the report of the Commission on Women Offenders.

19 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects it is funding to tackle sectarianism in 2012-13, broken down by (a) project and (b) funding amount.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In the financial year 2012-13 £2.5 million has been allocated to allow the organisations listed in the following table to deliver a range of projects and initiatives to tackle sectarianism across Scotland: Organisation and Project Location Funding Amount …

18 Feb 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to promote the work of community councils and ensure that every community has support and resources to establish its own local decision-making and campaigning body.   

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government and Convention Of Scottish Local Authorities are currently considering how to strengthen the role of community councils, alongside other measures to empower Scotland’s communities, as part of the development of the proposed Community E…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it will not fund the Older Peoples Advice Service from March 2013.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government funded the Older People’s Advice Service from May 2009 as part of commitments and investment attached to the publication of Achieving our Potential. Over the period 2009–2013 a total of £1.15 million (£250,000 in 09-10, £450,000 in 10-…