Anne McTaggart

6 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will maximise the economic benefits of the European Cheerleading Championships, to be hosted by Glasgow in June 2013, and how it will involve (a) young people and (b) the wider community in the event.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government congratulates Glasgow City Council, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Scotcheer on attracting the European Cheerleading Championships to Glasgow in June 2013. Building on this and other successes, partners continue to promote Scotland …

5 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to Strathclyde Police to assist in its efforts to catch the perpetrator of sexual assaults on three women in Glasgow between 24 January and 3 February 2013.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The allocation and deployment of officers and the arrangements for the day-to-day policing of an area are the operational responsibility of the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has confidence in the ability of the police to respond to incidents and is…

5 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to mitigate the effects of the underoccupancy penalty on families in Scotland.  

Answer · Margaret Burgess: SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT WRITTEN ANSWER 28 February 2013 Index Heading: Governance and Communities Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to mitigate the effects of the underoccupancy penalty on fam…

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported budget restraints facing local authorities, what action it is taking to support the voluntary sector in delivering high-quality services.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government will be providing local government in Scotland with over £9.7 billion in revenue funding in 2013-14. The vast majority of this funding, including any funding to support the voluntary sector will be provided by means of a block grant. I…

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that (a) schools are equipped with the latest technology and (b) young people are given the opportunity to develop skills relevant to future careers in (i) information technology, (ii) social media and (iii) communications.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Individual local authorities are responsible for the provision of technology in their schools. To support schools and local authorities, the Scottish Government is in the final stage of establishing a national procurement framework that leverages the complete…

21 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the Lord Advocate’s position is on the legal validity of the agreement between the UK and Scottish governments on an independence referendum.

15 Jan 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions there have been under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, broken down by (a) financial year and (b) procurator fiscal area.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The question asks for figures on the number of ‘convictions’ under Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act. However, the figure that is normally counted in the statistical bulletins on criminal proceedings is ‘offences with a charge proved’. This is…

18 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what projects or initiatives to provide legal advice to people facing property repossession or homelessness in Glasgow the Scottish Legal Aid Board has funded from its 2012-15 budget.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not hold those details centrally. Information from the Scottish Legal Aid Board shows that the organisation funds legal assistance for people facing repossession and/or homelessness via both the civil legal assistance scheme and g…

19 Nov 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of the proposals in the Public Service Pensions Bill on pension schemes for which it has responsibility.

Answer · Derek Mackay: As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney made clear in his statement to Parliament on 28 November 2012, that the Scottish Government has engaged in extensive correspondence with the UK Government on this matter in …

12 Nov 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to the UK in June 2012, what representations it has made to China regarding the treatment of the Tibetan people.

29 Oct 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to offer access to training and education to the 21,280 people reported in The Herald on 27 October 2012 as being on college waiting lists.

22 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will support and develop the voluntary sector in light of local authority budget reductions.

Answer · John Swinney: Despite the financial pressures faced by this government, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the development of a capable, sustainable and enterprising third sector. We are therefore maintaining levels of investment in the third sector and wil…

24 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs will have with Glasgow City Council regarding the 2018 Youth Olympic Games under the major events strategy.

17 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to train medical professionals to identify signs of human trafficking.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government issued guidance to health boards in June 2012 for healthcare staff on human trafficking, which encompasses how to identify and respond to victims of trafficking. The guidance, and covering CEL letter 19(2012), can be accessed on the Sc…

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what domestic abuse programmes it is funding from the £34.5 million that it has announced to tackle violence against women.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A breakdown of the £34.5 million that we have committed for 2012-15 for work to tackle violence against women, including domestic abuse, is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/violence-women/VAWFund2012-15.

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what housing provision it has put in place for victims of domestic abuse.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: In May this year (2012), three-year resource planning assumptions (through to March 2015) were issued to local authorities. This will enable each council to take the lead in devising a locally led programme of social and affordable housing developments, based…

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has allocated for Scottish Women’s Aid beyond 2012.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Women's Aid will receive a total of £1,110,000 of Scottish Government funding for the period 2012-15.

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has put in place to support local authorities with any additional staff and administration costs incurred by the implementation of the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Local authorities will be expected to meet any costs of implementation from existing budgets.

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish details of the empty homes scheme that it announced on 27 March 2012.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Empty Homes Loan Fund was launched by the First Minister on 13 July, with £4 million being made available. This represents a doubling in value of the fund from the £2 million which had been allocated when it was announced back in March. The additional £2 …

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure the collection of non-domestic rates proposed in the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Non-domestic rates for all properties, including empty properties, will continue to be billed and collected by local authorities after the proposed reform of empty property rates relief.

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has undertaken with each NHS board regarding the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09456 on 24 September 2012. 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/parliamentar…

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has undertaken with local government in England and Wales regarding the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has not consulted local government in England and Wales directly regarding the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill as the bill only impacts on local government in Scotland.

7 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has conducted with each local authority regarding the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has consulted, met and listened to a range of stakeholders in the public and private sectors and business organisations in developing the Local Government Finance (Unoccupied Properties etc.) (Scotland) Bill. That process will continue…

3 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many neonatal deaths there have been since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The numbers of neonatal deaths in each NHS board area in each year since 2007 have already been published by the National Records of Scotland (and its predecessor the General Register Office for Scotland), and can be found on the web site via the following ad…

3 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it records and monitors the level of neonatal deaths.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Neonatal death rates in each NHS board have been published by the National Records of Scotland since 2007 (and its predecessor the General Register Office for Scotland), and can be found at: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/vital-events/gener…

17 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has allocated to the Football Coordination Unit for Scotland for 2012-13.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-08770 on 14 August 2012. 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…

17 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £3 million to tackle sectarianism in 2012-13 has been allocated, broken down by (a) organisation and (b) amount.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I have already made a series of announcements on funding for work to tackle sectarianism. Specifically, on 31 May 2012 I announced £272,000 for four anti-sectarian organisations. Information on this announcement can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News…

3 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions there were in 2011-12 under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, broken down by procurator fiscal area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Information for 2011-12 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2011-12 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in November 2012. The dates of all Scottish Government Official and National Statistics publica…

3 Jul 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £230,000 to tackle sectarianism announced on 25 June 2012 will be awarded to each of the six communities and when the awards will be made.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A total of £157,404 will be provided directly to six community organisations detailed in the following table: Community Organisation Funding Getting Better Together, Shotts £24,368 Community Links, Blantyre £24,928 Yipworld, Cumnock £24,741 Twechar C…

19 Jun 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish a centre of excellence for the research and treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates funds high quality research of direct relevance to the NHS in Scotland. CSO would be happy to receive applications on the subject of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. These w…