Kevin Stewart

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the delivery of local authority autism strategies.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government officials engage individually with local authorities and health and social care partnerships alongside accessing feedback on autism strategies via the Social Work Scotland Learning Disability and Autism Subgroup meetings and the National A…

29 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to allow people who are currently funeral celebrants to officiate at weddings.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The current arrangements for religious and belief celebrants, and civil registrars, to solemnise marriage and register civil partnership allow couples to choose from a wide range of options for their ceremony to satisfy both the requirements of the law, and o…

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many care experienced students (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland have received bursary support.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Data on the Care Experienced Bursary for Higher Education (HE) students for 2023-24 academic year (AY) is not yet available. In the 2022-23 academic year 75 HE students with addresses in Aberdeen City local authority received the Care Experienced Bursary. In …

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new schools have been built (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland since the start of the Scottish National Party administration in 2007.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Between April 2009 and March 2023 a total of 14 schools were built in Aberdeen and 399 across Scotland. Prior to 2009 the school estate data made no distinction between newly built and substantially refurbished schools - between 2007 and 2009 one school in Ab…

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many people (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of free personal and nursing care.

Answer · Maree Todd: The latest statistical release for Free Personal and Nursing Care is for the period 2022-23 and was published on 05 September 2023. Two published excel files accompany the publication, for people aged between 18 – 64 and for people aged over 65. These can be …

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many people (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of a free bus pass.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: By 31 August 2023, there were 84,660 cardholders in Aberdeen City within the National Concessionary Travel Schemes. In Scotland, there are a total of 2,263,403 cardholders. This includes cardholders in the free bus schemes for those aged 60 and over, those ag…

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland will receive free university tuition in the 2023-24 academic year.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Data on tuition fee support for academic year 2023-24 is not yet available as students have up until 31 March 2024 to apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for their financial support package. In the 2022-23 academic year 5,855 full-time Higher …

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many children (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare.

Answer · Natalie Don: Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland provides census data on numbers of registrations for funded early learning and childcare (ELC) at the local authority level as of September 2022. These figures are shown in the following table. The census does not cu…

28 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, according to the latest data, how many children (a) in Aberdeen and (b) throughout Scotland are in receipt of Scottish Child Payment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Scottish Child Payment applications, payments and the number of children actively in receipt of the payment. As of 30 June 2023, 316,190 children aged 0-15 years were actively benefitting from Scott…

28 Aug 2023 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any impact on Scotland of its reported plan to introduce controls on imported goods and produce entering the UK, in particular those from the EU, as a consequence of Brexit.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I can advise Parliament that the UK Government has today published the Target Operating Model (TOM) for the UK which interacts with areas of devolved responsibility, this model is intended to set controls on imported goods entering the UK from the EU. It is a…

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of Baby Boxes that have been distributed since the scheme began, broken down by local authority, NHS board or any other local area breakdown for which figures are available.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government’s universal Baby Box programme, the only one in the UK, opened for registration on 15 June 2017. Nationwide delivery of Baby Boxes began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland. We are unable to give the number …

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making adaptations to the Baby Box for mothers whose babies are born prematurely.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Many items within the Baby Box such as thermometers, play mat, changing mat, books, and the box itself are all suitable for a premature baby, and the clothing will be suitable as the baby grows. The Scottish Government seeks to deliver best value by purchasin…

27 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of poverty rates in Aberdeen.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19512 on 17 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

27 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of fuel poverty rates in Aberdeen.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government usually publishes local authority analysis using a three year pooled data set to ensure sufficient sample sizes. As set out in the most recent Scottish House Condition Survey 2021 Key Findings Report, (available at Scottish House Con…

27 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of food poverty rates in Aberdeen.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Health Survey , which is commissioned by the Scottish Government, asked respondents whether they were worried about running out of food. The most recent data was published on 8 November 2022 and found that in Aberdeen City 10% of people were wo…

27 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of child poverty rates in Aberdeen.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Official statistics on poverty rates in Scotland come from the Family Resources Survey. This is a sample survey which does not allow breakdowns at a sub-Scotland level. However, the Department for Work and Pensions publish children in low income families l…

26 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of increased mortgage rates on the Scottish economy.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Forecasts for the Scottish economy are produced by the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission. They published their most recent forecast in May 2023. The Scottish Government has not made any formal assessment of the impact of increased mortgage rates on th…

26 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of increased mortgage rates on rent levels in the private rented housing sector.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government fully recognise the seriousness of the ongoing cost of living crisis and, through the emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act, are helping tenants, who we know are at risk of being financially vulnerable and less ab…

26 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of increased mortgage rates on fuel poverty.

Answer · Gillian Martin: We have not undertaken an assessment of the impact of recent increases in mortgage rates on levels of fuel poverty among Scottish households. National Statistics on fuel poverty use data on mortgage costs collected through the Scottish Household Survey, with…

26 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of increased mortgage rates on first-time buyers.

Answer · Paul McLennan: No formal assessment has been carried out on the impact of increased mortgage rates on First Time Buyers (FTB’s), however we are aware that an increase in mortgage rates will make it more difficult for many FTB’s to obtain mortgage lending or in fact access i…

22 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specialist support Skills Development Scotland provides to learning disabled, autistic or neurodiverse people to help them into training or employment.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) works closely with schools across Scotland to support young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN), as set out in its school partnership agreements. SDS take a person-centred approach, offer support to transition planning…

22 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government to ensure that the benefits system UK-wide does not impede learning disabled, autistic and neurodiverse people in Scotland from going into training and employment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the UK Government on this issue. The Scottish Government is in discussion with the DWP about the proposed reforms set out in the Health and Disability White Paper published by the UK Government on 15 March…

22 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that learning disabled, autistic and neurodiverse people can enter into training and employment.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is working to improve opportunities and choices to work for autistic people and people with learning disabilities through Towards Transformation , our autism and learning disability plan, published in March 2021. As stated in this pl…

20 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Aberdeen City Council about regenerating Aberdeen’s beachfront.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government’s Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Gateway was involved in managing the statutory correspondence between Aberdeen City Council and the consultation authorities (Scottish Environment Protection Agency), NautreScot and Historic E…

20 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to help ensure that large blocks of housing in mixed ownership, such as the city centre multi-storeys in Aberdeen, meet Scottish Housing Quality Standards.

Answer · Paul McLennan: There are currently different standards to meet depending on tenure. All housing must meet the Tolerable Standard, Private Rented Sector homes must meet the Repairing Standard with only social homes required to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Lo…

20 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to help the Our Union Street campaign in achieving its aims.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) expects city and town centres to be at the heart of place-based strategies.NPF4 wants planning to help town centres adapt and be vibrant, healthier, creative, enterprising and resilient places for people to live, learn, wo…

20 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any aspect of the plans for regenerating Aberdeen’s beachfront might be eligible to apply for resources from the Just Transition Fund.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: There are currently no planned funding rounds for the Just Transition Fund in 2023-24. In addition to the Fund’s £50 million multi-year capital programme announced for the region in 2022, we have allocated £25 million to the Scottish National Investment Bank…

20 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the white paper from the Our Union Street campaign, which was released in June 2023.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government welcomes the Our Union Street white paper and the range of ideas it captures. The Scottish Government recognises that our cities and towns are a national asset and is pleased to see that many of the aims in the Our Union Street white …

19 Jun 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis on people across Scotland.

15 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested to support its hydrogen strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has an ambition of at least 5GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and 25GW by 2025. The Hydrogen Policy Statement (2020) and the Hydrogen Action Plan (2022) set out how we will work collaboratively with the energy sector to drive…