Parliamentary questions
Cara Hilton
136 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much financial assistance it has provided to people aged 16 to 24 in (a) Dunfermline and (b) Fife who have started businesses and what average (i) grant or (ii) loan it awarded, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally nor available in the format asked and could only be collated from the range of public sector organisations funded through the Scottish Government and through local authorities providing start up support to young…
25 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many 16 to 24-year-olds have (a) been employed on zero-hours contracts, (b) been registered as self-employed, (c) registered as sole traders and (d) registered a limited company in (i) Dunfermline and (ii) Fife, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: (a) Official estimates for the number of employees on zero-hour contracts come from the Labour Force Survey. Estimates for 16 to 24 year olds at local authority area level on zero-hours contracts are not available as the sample sizes for this group are too sm…
25 Sep 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the constituency of Dunfermline are in receipt of the small business bonus scheme.
Answer · John Swinney: Published official statistics, collected at a local authority level, estimate that 5,995 properties in Fife paid zero or reduced rates under the small business bonus scheme in 2014-15, which will include business premises in Dunfermline.
21 Sep 2015 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent report by Action for Children that one in every six foster children in Scotland moves homes two or more times a year.
7 Sep 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Fife regarding maternity services.
14 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there are no Scotland-wide regulations in relation to woodwork activities in nurseries.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: There are no Scotland-wide regulations in relation to woodwork activities in nurseries. The Care Inspectorate, as the body responsible for inspecting standards of care in Scotland, including day care of children services, have a remit to ensure that nurseries…
14 Jul 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many injuries were sustained in nurseries in 2014-15 as a result of woodwork activities.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Care Inspectorate is the body responsible for inspecting standards of care in Scotland, including day care of children services. This includes ensuring that nurseries provide safe environments for young children, particularly where there are opportunities…
15 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Fife College regarding the future of lifelong learning.
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of children referred to children’s panels have been diagnosed with a mental health issue.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration publishes statistics for all referrals made to the reporter and the number of those children then referred for a children’s hearing to consider compulsory supervision. This national data does not include whet…
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools employ a counsellor to provide mental health support to pupils.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: This information is not held centrally. Under Curriculum for Excellence, all adults who work in schools have a responsibility to support and develop mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. It is for the local authority and schools to decide how to d…
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the NHS boards that did not meet the new 18-week HEAT targets improve their performance.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Boards have made progress towards meeting the target and it is encouraging to see an increase in the number of people being seen. We are determined that boards continue working towards the 90% target we have set and a range of supports are in place to assist …
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what provisions are in place in (a) schools and (b) nurseries to identify children who may have undiagnosed mental health issues.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Within an education setting the named person will in most cases be a health visitor from birth until the age of 5 (or starting school) and then a head, deputy head or guidance teacher until the age of 18. Acting as the central point of contact for any wellbe…
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of under-18s have been diagnosed with mental health issues.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Data on the proportion of under-18s who have been diagnosed with a mental health issue is not provided to the Scottish Government as a matter of course.
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what effect delays in treatment for mental health issues for under-18s have had on educational attainment.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Information on what effect delays in treatment for mental health issues for under 18s have had on educational attainment is not held centrally. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is a priority of the Scottish Government and is one of the fou…
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take in relation to the average waiting times for mental health appointments for under-18s in Lothian, which are reported to be three times longer than in Glasgow.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: On 24 May 2015 I announced £85 million over five years for mental health. This is in addition to the £15 million over three years announced in November 2014 for the Mental Health Innovation Fund, £100 million in total. The funding will further improve Child a…
28 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in mental health treatment for under-18s in each year since 2007-08.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The information is not held centrally. The majority of spend on mental health treatment for under-18s will be made by NHS boards and local authorities from the overall resources they receive from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government has invested …
27 May 2015 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all treatments approved for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium are made available by the NHS.
13 May 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not been able to provide substantive answers to questions S4W-24696, S4W-24697, S4W-24698 and S4W-24699 regarding its position on underground coal gasification, which received holding answers on 13 March and 29 April 2015, and when it expects to provide substantive…
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is continuing to take a cautious, evidence-based approach to all issues relating to underground coal gasification. Within this context, my officials are currently gathering further information and facts on these issues, and the Scottis…
28 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will help those households that are connected to fibre optic broadband but continue to have very slow internet speeds.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-25391 on 12 May 2015. 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/parliamentarybusi…
28 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to invest in broadband each year in Fife.
Answer · John Swinney: The Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme is a £409 million investment to rollout fibre technology throughout the country. The programme is split between two projects, one covering the Highland area, the second covering the rest of Scotland, of which…
28 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme to provide superfast broadband to households where fibre optic cabinets are too distant to deliver sufficiently fast internet speeds.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government continues to encourage broadband suppliers to design their networks in a way that allows their customers to access superfast speeds. The £412.3 million investment that the Scottish Government and our partners are making through the Dig…
27 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often it receives updates from the lead contractor regarding progress with the Forth Replacement Crossing project; when the last update was provided, and whether this indicated that there might be (a) a delay in the opening of the crossing and (b) an increase in the cost of the proje…
Answer · Keith Brown: As part of the overall monitoring and management of the Forth Replacement Crossing project and in line with contract requirements, the lead contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, provides progress reports to Transport Scotland on a monthly basis. The…
13 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) three and (b) four-year-olds eligible for the 600 hours of free early education and childcare attend nurseries that are (i) in partnership with the local authority but have no funded places available and (ii) not in partnership with the local authority.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: (i) The Scottish Government does not collate or hold data on the amount of eligible three and four-year-old children who attend nurseries that are in partnership with the local authority but have no funded places available. (ii) The latest published figure…
13 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) three and (b) four-year-olds eligible for the 600 hours of free early education and childcare are not in receipt of it.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Scottish Government Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Census collects information on the number of registrations within centres only and not on the number of individual children. However, a registration level of 98.5% of three and four-year-olds is a str…
13 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a formal mechanism for reciprocal funding arrangements across local authority boundaries to ensure that parents who work in a different council area from where they live have accessible access to the 600 hours of free early education and childcare.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Scottish Government has discussed with COSLA how best to establish or support formal mechanisms for reciprocal funding arrangements across local authority boundaries. This will be discussed further with local authorities and the Early Learning and Childca…
13 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure effective and independent national oversight of the 600 hours of free early education and childcare.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: As set out in the First Minister’s letter to Fair Funding for Our Kids, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Angela Constance MSP, is responsible for overseeing the delivery of this policy. In addition, the chief statistician acts ind…
13 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning have met the Fair Funding for Kids campaign, as indicated in the First Minister’s letter to the member of 4 March 2015, and what action it has taken to address the concerns raised by the campaign.
Answer · Fiona McLeod: The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning have arranged to meet Fair Funding for our Kids campaign representatives on 28 May 2015. Following the First Minister’s letter to Jenny Gorevan of Fair Funding for Our Kids, the …
31 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend the moratorium on fracking to include underground coal gasification.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24475 on 8 October 2015. 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…
31 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide substantive answers to questions S4W-24696, S4W-24697, S4W-24698 and S4W-24699 regarding its position on underground coal gasification, which received holding answers on 13 March 2015.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-24475 on 8 October 2015. 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…
31 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to protect hospitality apprenticeships from the impact of the reduction in Skills Development Scotland’s budget.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Government funding for modern apprenticeships (MA) is a contribution towards the cost of training the apprentice with employers retaining liability for the apprentice’s wages as well as any balance of training costs. Having co-invested in the development of t…