Mary Fee

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many adults have epispadius, and what (a) specialist and (b) support services are available to them, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: It is not possible to determine the total number of adults with epispadias in Scotland from centrally held statistics. There were 11 adults admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of epispadias in NHS Scotland in the five years from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 20…

13 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultants specialise in treating adults who have epispadius, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information requested on how many consultants specialising in treating adults who have epispadias by each NHS board is not held centrally. Table (a) shows the headcount of consultant urologists from at September 2013. The available data does not indicate whe…

9 Dec 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 supports carers.

2 Dec 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what services will transfer from the Royal Alexandra Hospital to the new Southern General Hospital.

25 Nov 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the closure of police stations in West Scotland will have on community safety.

4 Nov 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will promote the culture of Greater Glasgow and West Scotland before and during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to (a) meet its target of having at least 70% of all waste being recycled by 2025 and (b) design avoidable waste out of the economy by 2050.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Through our Zero Waste Plan, we have already taken bold action to ensure we meet our 70% recycling target. The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 are transforming the availability of recycling services to households and business. This is accompanied by the int…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to shift people from cars to public transport by 2030 and whether it will put forward proposals to help with the cost of using public transport.

Answer · Keith Brown: Our low carbon aspirations to see significant progress in the decarbonisation of road transport by 2030 are currently focussed on technology change and voluntary behaviour change, with considerable investment of around £1 billion per annum in public transport…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its plans to have more electric cars and vans in use by 2030, what action it is taking to install electric vehicle power points across the country; how much this will cost, and what the timescale is.

Answer · Keith Brown: Plans to create a high powered interoperable network of charging facilities are well underway, with over 500 charge points already installed through over £6.7 million of investment since 2011-12. As stated in Switched On Scotland: A Roadmap to Widespread Adop…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what materials will be used in constructing the power source for the electric cars and vans that it plans to be adopted by 2030; where these materials will come from, and how much carbon dioxide will be produced in obtaining them.

Answer · Keith Brown: The materials used in constructing the power source for electric vehicles, the source of those materials and the associated CO2 produced will be a matter for individual manufacturers.

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to achieve a "wholesale adoption of electric cars and vans" by 2030 as laid out in paragraph 1.5.2 of Low Carbon Scotland: Meeting our Emissions Reduction Targets 2013-2027.

Answer · Keith Brown: The measures that will be taken to achieve almost complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050, with significant progress by 2030 through wholesale adoption of electric cars and vans, are set out in Switched On Scotland: A Roadmap to Widespread Adoption…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has bought or sold carbon offset credits under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and, if so, to or from whom.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has not, to date, bought or sold carbon units under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. As outlined in Low Carbon Scotland – Meeting the Emissions Reduction Targets 2013-2027, while it remains an option for consideration, th…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue funding the 10% gap in Council Tax Reduction funding in 2013-14.

Answer · John Swinney: Our draft budget includes a commitment to roll forward the Scottish Government’s contribution of £23 million in 2014-15 to continue to mitigate the estimated £40 million gap in funding from the UK Government for council tax benefit successor arrangements. COS…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have (a) been admitted to hospital with and (b) died from winter seasonal illnesses since 2007, broken down by (i) NHS board and (ii) age.

Answer · Alex Neil: The specific information requested is not available centrally as there is no commonly agreed definition of winter seasonal illnesses. Some illnesses, such as influenza and norovirus, are relatively more prevalent during the winter period but the illnesses are…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its target of making Scotland 100% reliable on renewable energy sources by 2050 will have on energy prices.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government’s target is to generate the equivalent of 100% of Scotland’s gross annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020, as part of a wider, balanced, low carbon energy mix. In the future, we would see far greater energy pri…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households have received support under the Green Deal Scotland.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Up to the end of October 8602 households in Scotland had had a Green Deal assessment. Of these, 1224 sought Green Deal finance: 131 of those households have installed measures using Green Deal finance. Another 400 have a Green Deal plan with a “pending” p…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 and how it is monitoring progress.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-18027 on 13 November 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/parliamenta…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households will go into fuel poverty as a result of the recently announced increase in energy prices.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government will only know the impact of the recently announced increases in fuel prices on fuel poverty once results of the 2013 Scottish House Condition Survey are known. This is because estimates of household incomes and the energy efficiency o…

1 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to help mitigate the effects of the recently announced increase in energy prices for vulnerable households.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has invested £220 million on fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes since 2009. That is an estimated total net saving to household incomes over the lifetime of the measures of more than £1 billion. We will spend nearly a quarte…

28 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will tackle discrimination toward the Gypsy/Traveller community.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recognises the extent of discrimination against the Gypsy/Traveller community and the need to have a co-ordinated approach to improving outcomes and life-chances. We are developing a strategic overview and action plan building on exist…

28 Oct 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme will stimulate the house-building industry and help people become homeowners.

2 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that homes not connected to mains gas will receive funding to replace inefficient heating systems under stage 4 of the Energy Assistance Package.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Customers of the Energy Assistance Scheme (which replaced stage 4 of the Energy Assistance Package in April 2013) requiring gas connections as part of the installation currently get any gas connection costing less than £2,022.25 for free (as this is funded by…

2 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it requires local authorities to comply with to ensure that rural communities receive support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Among other criteria, to access HEEPS funding local authority area-based schemes should: clearly target fuel poor areas beginning with those households in most need of assistance; be designed to maximise carbon reductions; and support the local economy and…

2 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in rural areas not connected to mains gas or the electricity grid it expects to receive support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We do not hold information on the number of homes in rural areas expected to receive support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS). The method agreed with COSLA to distribute HEEPS funding for area-based schemes includes a needs-bas…

30 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its small business bonus scheme has helped businesses in West Scotland.

23 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that looked-after children who have been in multiple placements have access to a stable education.

20 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what stages a crime report goes through before it is sent to a procurator fiscal for consideration.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: A crime report is raised when a crime is reported to or discovered by the police. Crime reports are used to assist investigative work and to provide statistical information. A crime report would not be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. The police provide t…

20 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many charges have been dropped by police crime managers in each year since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

20 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who were subsequently convicted have had previous charges against them dropped since 2007.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

20 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many charges of alleged assault on police officers have been dropped in each year since 2007.

Answer · Frank Mulholland: The following figures reflect the number of charges which have been discontinued in each year since 2007 in relation to section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967. The figures relate to assaults on police officers as opposed to resisting, obstructing,…