Neil Bibby

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 45,000 students it expects to receive a minimum income of £7,250 from 2012-13 will receive (a) the maximum bursary and (b) any amount other than the maximum bursary.

Answer · Michael Russell: The new funding package will be available from academic year 2013-14 and all of those receiving the minimum income of £7,250 will receive the maximum bursary available to them as either a young or an independent student.

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria will apply in deciding how much of the annual minimum income for students of £7,250 from 2013-14 will be provided in the form of a bursary.

Answer · Michael Russell: The household income will be the criteria applied in deciding how much of the annual minimum income for students of £7,250 from 2013-14 will be provided in the form of a bursary. The maximum bursary will be payable to those students with a household income be…

12 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the maximum bursary amount for students will be in the annual minimum income of £7,250 from 2013-14.

Answer · Michael Russell: The maximum bursary amount for young students will be £1750 and for independent students will be £750. The remainder of the £7,250 minimum income will be available through a student loan. Students will have the option to take some, all or none of the student …

3 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what type of restraint techniques should be used when restraining (a) children and (b) young people in residential units.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Physical restraint should only be used when absolutely necessary and when in the best interests of the child or young person. Restraint techniques vary according to the system used. The national guidance Holding Safely (www.sircc.org.uk/library/practicepape…

3 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) guidance and (b) training is given to care providers on restraining (i) children and (ii) young people in residential units.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: In 2005 the Scottish Government published extensive guidance “Holding Safely” (www.sircc.org.uk/library/practicepapers/holding_safely_complete), used across all residential child care services in Scotland. Holding Safely informs best practice and helps to ens…

3 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times restraint techniques have been used on (a) children and (b) young people in residential units in each of the last two years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We do not hold this information centrally, however, this information is collected in individual organisations for their own monitoring purposes. An annual return for each establishment is completed and returned to the Care Inspectorate for inspection purposes…

6 Jun 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to assist care leavers into further and higher education.

31 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the potential impact on public health, which organisations it has met since February 2012 to discuss how to deal with asbestos in schools.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: All matters relating to health and safety at work, including managing asbestos in buildings, are reserved and advice is provided to relevant authorities by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/632) p…

31 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will compile a register of schools that have asbestos.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/632) places a duty on the owners or leaseholders of all non-domestic public buildings, including schools, to manage the risk from asbestos. In the case of publicly funded schools, this duty rests with local au…

17 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the national parenting strategy will be published.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We aim to publish the first part of the national parenting strategy this autumn. We will set out our aspirations for our approach and support to those with a parenting role and will include commitments to a programme of further work to follow.

17 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what groups and organisations working with parents have been consulted on the national parenting strategy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government have consulted with a wide range of groups and organisations working with parents. The following groups and organisations responded.   Additional Support Needs Forum, Outreach Team, Stirling Council Amina the Muslim Women’s Resource…

17 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive from which budget the cost of using partner organisations in the consultation on a national parenting strategy is being met.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There is no specific budget as there is no cost to the Scottish Government of using partner organisations to feed in their views to the development of a national parenting strategy.

17 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of using partner organisations in the consultation on a national parenting strategy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There is no cost to the Scottish Government of using partner organisations in this consultation.

17 May 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of partner organisations is in the consultation on a national parenting strategy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The role of partner organisations is to feed in their views, including those of parents, to help shape our approach going forward.

29 Feb 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the latest State of the Economy report, which reported that female unemployment is higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK.

23 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its procurement policy ensures that suppliers of its internet related services have a policy of blocking web pages that depict child sexual abuse.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has incorporated a compliance and information assurance stage into the process for procuring its ICT and internet related services. The purpose of this is to ensure that regulatory requirements and content standards are met. The Scott…

22 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to tackle the reduction in the number of foreign language assistants in schools and what progress it has made since the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages met consuls general and consulate education officers from France, Germany, Italy, Spai…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is taking several measures to tackle the reduction in the number of foreign language assistants (FLAs) in schools including continuing to fund British Council Scotland to recruit and support FLAs, promoting the use of FLAs through vide…

7 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met Renfrewshire Council to discuss action to reduce the number of empty retail units in Paisley town centre.

Answer · Alex Neil: We have not been approached by Renfrewshire Council to discuss this issue.

7 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to reduce the number of empty retail units in Paisley town centre.

Answer · Alex Neil: This is a matter for the local authority which is responsible for local economic development and regeneration. The wider issue of empty retail units and their impact on town centres was highlighted by a number of respondents to our Regeneration Discussion Pap…

2 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools in Scotland contain asbestos.

Answer · Michael Russell: The information is not held centrally. The control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006 place a duty on those responsible for buildings to manage the risk from asbestos. In the case of publicly funded schools that is the local authority, for independent schoo…

2 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish its response to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, which stated that more than 75% of Britain’s state schools contain asbestos.

Answer · Michael Russell: Occupational health and matters relating to health and safety at work is a reserved issue on which the Scottish Government receives advice from the Health and Safety Executive. The Scottish Government would expect the Health and Safety Executive to consider t…

25 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the responses to the consultation on the proposed Rights of Children and Young People Bill.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The consultation responses were published by the Scottish Government on 1 February 2012.

25 Jan 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in meeting its targets for reducing emissions by 2020.

14 Dec 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what value it places on access to sporting facilities in relation to improving young people’s health and fitness.

7 Dec 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding public consultation on the future of the children’s ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

16 Nov 2011 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many fewer nurses and midwives are working in the NHS than in 2009.

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise is reviewing its CCS Cluster Investment Plan and any shared usage of infrastructure in relation to the existing proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects, in light of the cancellation of the Longannet CCS demonstration project.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The UK Government decision not to proceed with the CCS demonstration competition funding for the Longannet project does impact on the infrastructure development scenarios in the CO2Transport Infrastructure Options study by Scottish Enterprise. The study is …

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 will be reviewed in light of the decision not to proceed with the Longannet carbon capture and storage demonstration plant and the potential impact on the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to my answer to question S4W-03392 on 16 November 2011. 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/parliamentaryb…

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much extra is being allocated to the International Development Fund in the 2012-13 budget to allow targeted support for people in developing countries.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The International Development Fund has been maintained at £9 million in 2012-13, despite a reduction in the overall Scottish budget. This is an increase from a baseline budget of £3 million in 2007-08 and from £6 million in 2008-09, reflecting our determinati…

10 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it continues to engage with the European Commission and partner countries to support policy development and secure project funding for Scottish carbon capture and storage projects through the Scottish European Green Energy Centre and what progress has been made since the carbon ca…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Yes, we continue to engage with the European Commission and other member states on the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy and the Scottish Government continues to support prospective Scottish CCS projects to access EU funding, through co-o…