Cara Hilton

23 Mar 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how successful it has been in implementing the extension of 600 hours of free early education to eligible two-year-olds.

9 Mar 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce cancer treatment referral waiting times for NHS Fife patients.

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent comment from Friends of the Earth Scotland that "underground coal gasification is the most experimental and frightening method of unconventional gas extraction".

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…

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the moratorium on fracking does not 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…

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports of serious groundwater contamination and large carbon emissions being associated with 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…

27 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending 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…

11 Feb 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many consensual stop and searches have been carried out in the Dunfermline area each month, broken down by the (a) age of the person searched, (b) number of times a person has been searched more than once and (c) outcome, including (i) how many subsequent (A) prosecutions and (B) con…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is a matter for Police Scotland. I have alerted the Chief Constable to your question and I have asked him to reply to you direct.

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the key findings reported in the second survey of Children in Scotland's Parent Participation Project.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Scottish Government welcomes the survey undertaken and will consider its findings carefully. We take a human rights based approach in the development of The Getting It Right for Every Child framework that is designed to improve the delivery by all service…

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a child rights impact assessment should be included in all legislation.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: Consistent with ministers’ responsibilities within Part 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, once commenced, child impact assessment screening will be undertaken in relation to all proposed new Government legislation and policies. Full chil…

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that adequate service provision is allocated to ensure equality of provision for disabled and non-disabled children.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and provide auxiliary aids and services to avoid substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled children. In addition, service providers have a d…

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the suggestion in the second survey of Children in Scotland's Parent Participation Project's that disabled children should be asked about their views of the services that support and engage with them.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Act 2014 puts into Scottish law the requirement under the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to seek the views of children in services planning. The Children's Rights and Services Planning W…

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the suggestion in the second survey of Children in Scotland's Parent Participation Project that "disabled children and their parents and carers frequently find it very difficult to access services that could enable the children to lead fulfilling lives, achieve th…

Answer · Fiona McLeod: The Scottish Government is committed to equality of access to support and services for disabled children and young people in line with our responsibilities under the Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Act 2014 to take steps in support of the United Nation…

28 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the statutory guidance accompanying the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 will include reference to the specific needs of disabled children.

Answer · Fiona McLeod: Draft statutory guidance on parts 4, 5 and 18 (section 96) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 contains references to the specific needs of disabled children. We discussed the developing draft statutory guidance with key stakeholders and laun…

12 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has allocated an additional £10 million next year for cycling and walking infrastructure as announced in the budget speech on 9 October 2014 (Official Report, c. 43) or £5 million as maintained by Spoke, the Lothian Cycling Campaign.

Answer · Derek Mackay: We have allocated an additional £10 million in 2015-16 to support the delivery of improved cycling and walking infrastructure, and to support its use and help people make smarter travel choices. We will make further announcements on this funding in due cours…

3 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to Fife Council in 2014-15 for the provision of free school meals, and how much will be provided in each of the next five years.

Answer · Angela Constance: Revenue funding of £70.5 million over two years has been agreed and confirmed to deliver the commitment to free school meals for p1-p3 and in September 2014, we were pleased to agree with COSLA capital funding for local government of £24.8 million in 2014-15.…

27 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that every child is taught the Andrew Carnegie story as part of the school curriculum.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The school curriculum in Scotland is non-statutory and decisions about what topics are covered and how they are covered, are left to the professional judgement of teachers and not government ministers. Education Scotland provides support for teachers and scho…

3 Nov 2014 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what resources it provides to allow members to scrutinise the Scottish Government's budget.

22 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it used in selecting projects to receive support from the Emergency Food Fund in the recent allocation round.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The application form for the Emergency Food Fund set out five criteria, which were: Projects which will help respond to immediate demands for emergency food aid and help address the underlying causes of food poverty; Projects which can demonstrate a partner…

22 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of its Emergency Food Fund was allocated to (a) Fife and (b) Dunfermline.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Emergency Food Fund is supporting one project in Fife. That project is run by the East Neuk Recovery Group Initiative and has been allocated £10,000.

22 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16783 by Fergus Ewing on 21 August 2013, what its position is on the Australian Government's decision to ban underground coal gasification.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: It is the Scottish Government’s understanding that no decision has been taken by the Australian Government to ban underground coal gasification developments.

22 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16783 by Fergus Ewing on 21 August 2013, what its position is on the reported concerns regarding a possible link between underground coal gasification and water contamination.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is clear that the deployment of new energy technologies like underground coal gasification can only happen if they are in line with our environmental objectives and regulatory requirements. Protection of the environment is of prime imp…

22 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-16783 by Fergus Ewing on 21 August 2013, what its position is on whether the issuing of underground coal gasification licences is in the best interests of the population.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The UK Coal Authority is the licensing authority for underground coal gasification in Scotland and the UK. The Scottish Government will take a cautious, responsible, evidence-based approach to the development of new energy technologies, such as underground c…

9 Jun 2014 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it is taking to ensure that it maximises the benefits of digital working.

3 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) public meetings and (b) other public consultation took place regarding the proposal to move accident and emergency services from Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, and how many people participated.

Answer · Alex Neil: The relocation of Accident and Emergency services to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy was agreed in 2002, as part of NHS Fife’s Strategic Plan ‘Right For Fife. As part of the ‘Right for Fife’ process, an extensive public consultation exercise was undertaken…

3 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, if a major disaster was to be declared in or around the Dunfermline area, what contingencies are in place to cope with any increased (a) pressure on the emergency services and (b) need for hospital admissions.

Answer · Alex Neil: Major Incidents can happen anywhere and at anytime and will inevitably lead to additional pressures on hospitals and the emergency services. Should a major incident be declared anywhere in Fife, NHS Fife and its emergency services partners have well-developed…

3 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much moving accident and emergency services from Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy has cost the Scottish Ambulance Service in additional fuel.

Answer · Alex Neil: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service, the information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

3 Apr 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients travelling by ambulance from Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy have been pronounced "dead on arrival" since accident and emergency services were moved from Dunfermline to Kirkcaldy.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Ambulance Service advised that 1814 patients were transferred by ambulance from Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy between 1 January 2012 and 7 April 2014. Based on an interrogation of their local managem…

19 Mar 2014 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what plans it has to promote access to parliamentary proceedings for people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment.

18 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional children it expects to receive free school meals under its free school meals policy, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ranking of local authority.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The following table shows the estimated number of children in primary 1 to 3 in each local authority who are not currently registered for free school meals (FSM) under the national eligibility criteria. This is broadly equivalent to the numbers who will becom…

18 Feb 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost of a school meal is, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The following table shows average expenditure per school meal by local authorities in Scotland in financial year 2012-13: Local Authority Average expenditure per school meal (£:p) Aberdeen City 2.56 Aberdeenshire 3.20 Angus 2.25 Argyll and Bute 4.1…