Parliamentary questions

Mary Fee

672 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

23 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement each of the recommendations regarding simplifying the funding of childcare for (a) parents and (b) providers that were set out in Meeting Scotland's Childcare Challenge: The Report of the Commission for Childcare Reform.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our “Blueprint for 2020 Action Plan 2017-18”, published in March 2017, sets out our policy vision and framework for delivering the expansion of funded early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours by 2020. The Action Plan committed us to introducing…

23 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost per place is to (a) public and (b) private childcare providers of offering 600 hours of free childcare each year, and what the impact on this would be of increasing the level to 1,140 hours.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government's Financial Review of Early Learning and Childcare published in September estimated the unit cost of ELC provision (cost per child per hour) in local authority settings as £7.74 per hour for two year olds and £5.45 per hours for three …

16 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment made in its written response to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee report, Hidden Lives - New Beginnings, on 21 July 2017, what progress it has made in developing an anti-destitution strategy focused on people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF); wha…

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government welcomed the Equalities and Human Rights Committee’s report, Hidden Lives – New Beginnings, and has committed to take forward work on its recommendations. We are currently undertaking scoping work for an anti-destitution strategy cove…

14 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11742 by Michael Matheson on 31 October 2017, what information is recorded for reported cases of parental child abductions to countries that are not subject to the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980.

Answer · Michael Matheson: These data are not held centrally. The Scottish Government does published annual statistics on abduction recorded by the police as part of the Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin (the statistics for 2016-17 are available here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the process of appointing the new national coordinator for child bereavement services.

Answer · Shona Robison: We have commissioned Children in Scotland to help refine how our Programme for Government commitment to establish a childhood bereavement coordinator can best be taken forward. This approach will help ensure that the work of the coordinator is engaged with th…

27 Feb 2018 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what information it collects on the use of the Parliament crèche, and whether there has been any analysis of its use.

21 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the health and wellbeing of pupils in (a) nursery, (b) primary and (c) secondary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Good health and wellbeing is essential for successful learning and happy lives for children and young people. Curriculum for Excellence recognises this. It emphasises the importance of nurturing learners to help them develop the knowledge and skills they need…

24 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the voluntary and third sector in promoting healthy and active lifestyles.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government works closely with a number of organisations across the Voluntary and Third Sector to help realise our ambition of a Scotland where people are more active more often. In particular we invest over £1m annually in our delivery partner Pa…

16 Jan 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how schools identify and support children with mental health problems.

16 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise its Guidance on Health Assessment for Looked After Children and Young People in Scotland.

Answer · Maree Todd: We have no plans to revise the Guidance on Health Assessments for Looked After Children in Scotland.

16 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children are given a comprehensive health assessment within four weeks when taken under the care of a local authority, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not held centrally.

16 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of children are identified as having a mental health condition at the initial comprehensive health assessment when they become looked after.

Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not held centrally.

16 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children were looked after by local authorities in each of the last five years, also broken down by their residential status.

Answer · Maree Todd: Data on numbers of looked after children are published annually by the Scottish Government as part of the Children's Social Work Statistics Scotland publication. Table 3.3 (in the additional tables of the publication) includes figures for each category of ac…

20 Dec 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of its new strategy for engagement with China.

20 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to engage with sports governing bodies, local authorities and sports clubs to promote greater LGBTI inclusivity.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Active Scotland Outcomes Framework sets out our ambitions for a more active Scotland, and is underpinned by a commitment to equality and should be no barriers at all to participating and enjoying sport. As a Government, we work with partners including s…

8 Nov 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Gypsy/Traveller Strategy and Action Plan.

5 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which registered social landlords lease accommodation to SERCO, broken down by the number of properties leased by each.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Government. This includes the provision of asylum accommodation, which is delivered under a Home Office contract.

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that a parent from England or Wales suspected of child abduction could not be prosecuted if it was established that they departed from Scotland; what information it has regarding whether any such departures have been recorded at Scotland's (a) airports and…

Answer · Michael Matheson: Depending on the circumstances of the case, someone suspected of child abduction could be charged with an offence under section 6 of the Child Abduction Act 1984 or the common law offences of Abduction or Plagium. Information regarding departures from airpor…

2 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of international parental child abduction have been reported in each year since 2007.

13 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase the use of alternatives to prison.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government's Vision and Priorities for Justice in Scotland, launched in July of this year, focuses on the development of a more progressive, evidence-based justice system. That evidence shows that robust community sentences have lower reconvictio…

11 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many children start primary school with little or no fluency in English, and what support it provides to schools with a high proportion of such pupils.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government carries out a census of school pupils every September. The results of the 2016 pupil census show the following for pupils with English as an Additional Language: Number of P1 Pupils with English as an Additional Language by level of E…

11 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many children start primary school with English as their second language, and what support it provides to schools with a high proportion of such pupils.

11 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on making the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programme available to primary schools.

Answer · John Swinney: English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in Scotland is delivered by colleges, community learning and development and third sector providers to adults. It is offered as a subject in secondary schools giving young people the chance to achieve a…

7 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many carers in the last year used short break respite care services.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There is no centrally held data for the number of carers benefitting from short break respite care services for the last year. The Scottish Health Survey for 2012-2015 shows that around 2% of carers aged 16 and over said they received support through a short…

7 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has explored the feasibility of extending the concessionary travel scheme to all young carers.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: At present, young carers aged between 16 and 18 can benefit from the young people’s concessionary travel scheme, which provides discounts on bus and rail travel for all young people living in Scotland aged 16 to 18. On 20 September the First Minister announc…

7 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support services are available in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools for young carers.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) places duties on education authorities and other agencies to provide support to children and young people who have an additional support need which is causing a barrier to their …

7 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific schemes are in place to ensure that young carers have access to respite care.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has provided £2.3m in 2017-18 to the Better Breaks and Creative Breaks programmes, which are accessible to adult and young carers. Time To Live micro-grants are also available locally to access short breaks that meet the carer's indivi…

6 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its newly announced Innovation Fund will impact on air pollution and climate change targets in West Scotland.

28 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to implement the recommendations in the repory by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland, Who Cares? The Lived Experience of Older Prisoners in Scotland's Prisons.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Following publication of the Health and Sport Committee’s report of its Inquiry into Healthcare in Prisons, published on 10 May 2017, we established a Health and Justice Collaboration Improvement Board to ensure closer collaboration between health and justice…

28 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the Scottish Prison Service in dealing with the health and social care needs of prisoners aged over 60.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises that this is a new, emerging and pressing issue which will require careful consideration of the implications. We recognise the need to address this and that is one of the reasons why we have established a Health and Justice …