Monica Lennon

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will provide in (a) real and (b) cash terms to the Scottish College for Educational Leadership in each of the next five years to support the "aspiring, new and experienced teachers" referred to in the Programme for Government.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the Scottish College for Educational Leadership in providing a range of high-quality professional learning opportunities for all teachers and currently gives SCEL up to £1.3 million per year while also suppor…

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full- and (b) part-time college students there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by gender.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The latest available data on students at college in Scotland are Scottish Funding Council data for 2014-15. Table 1 shows the number of full-time and part-time students at college in Scotland in each year since 2006-07, broken down by gender. Table 1: Number…

19 Sep 2016 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the teaching practice placements for teacher training students at the University of Strathclyde, which were due to have started on 19 September.

14 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the impact of Brexit on Scotland's tourism industry.

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its response to each of the 11 recommendations for improving young people's mental health information, support and services that was put forward by the Scottish Youth Parliament as part of it's "Speak Your Mind" campaign and "Our Generation's Epidemic" report.

Answer · Maureen Watt: As in the answer to question S5W-02149 on 8 September 2016, the Scottish Government welcomes this report from the Scottish Youth Parliament, and will carefully review the recommendations that are for us. We will consider these as part of our public engagement…

13 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29137 by Michael Matheson on 13 January 2016, what progress has been made on its commitment to amend legislation to extend planning controls on changing premises into betting shops.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Amendments to the Use Classes Order in this regard are being considered in the context of the current programme of work to bring forward further reform to the planning system.

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-00177 by Nicola Sturgeon on 8 September 2016 (Official Report, c. 13), what action it is taking in response to the NSPCC annual review of Childline, which showed that 1,973 children in Scotland called the helpline for suicide and self-harm counselli…

Answer · Maureen Watt: We take the mental health and wellbeing of our young people very seriously. NHS boards have put a lot of effort into reducing waiting times for access to psychological therapies and to child and adolescent mental health services and the government is committ…

5 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out an assessment of the impact of the affordability of feminine hygiene products on the health of women and girls.

14 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the (a) development and (b) publication of its updated mental health strategy.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We will shortly begin a further phase of public engagement to inform the next Mental Health Strategy. This will involve a series of public events, together with the publication of an engagement paper on which we will seek comments. Following this public engag…

14 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will produce its final report on the outcomes of the Mental Health Strategy for Scotland 2012-15; what progress it has made toward meeting each of the 36 commitments in the strategy, and when each commitment (a) has been and (b) will be fulfilled.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Progress updates on the last Mental Health Strategy are available on the Scottish Government’s website at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Services/Mental-Health/Strategy We will publish a new ten-year Mental Health Strategy later in …

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the recent incidence of misogynistic hate crime; whether it will publish all relevant data, and whether it considers that Police Scotland has sufficient powers to identify and act against such crimes.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, which includes ensuring a strong Justice response to protect victims and tackle perpetrators. Women and girls are protected from harassment and abuse through …

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to assess the affordability of feminine hygiene products and the cost of periods to women and girls; whether it considers feminine hygiene to be a health issue; what action it is taking to tackle the stigma around periods, and whether it plans to introduce…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has done no specific work to assess the costs of periods to women and girls. However there are undoubtedly genuine costs for women and girls associated with feminine hygiene and over an entire lifetime these could be significant.Femini…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many asthma nurses have been employed each year since 2010, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible to centrally quantify the number or contribution of nurses across Scotland that are involved in the provision of care to asthma patients.Asthma care services are delivered in a variety of settings in both primary and secondary care, and nur…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prescribed omeprazole in each year since 2010 and at what cost, and what projections it has made for each of the next five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01436 on 9 August 2016. All answers to Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.asp…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00691 by John Swinney on 21 June 2016, whether it will provide a breakdown of the figures by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of practising trained educational psychologists (full time equivalent), broken down by local authority and year since 2010, is shown in the following table: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Aberdeen City 16 20 22 22 20 15 Aberdeenshire…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support children and young people affected by bereavement.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government recognises the impact bereavement can have on people’s lives, whether young or older, and where children and young people in particular are concerned it is supporting a broad programme of action to improve services including: Work acro…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support Hamilton Business Improvement District and what financial support it will provide to Hamilton town centre in the short to medium term.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Hamilton Business Improvement District (BID) has received £75,525 in funding from the Scottish Government. This consists of: A BID Seedcorn Development Grant of £20,000 in 2011 to develop the BID’s business proposal and prepare it for ballot. Funding fr…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to reduce violence in prisons.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: The reduction in violence amongst prisoners remains an on-going priority for the SPS. Attempts to prevent violence are reviewed throug…

13 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce guidance to ensure that the needs of children in mainstream schools requiring toilet assistance are satisfactorily supported, as recommended by the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government is in the final stages of developing guidance on the provision of healthcare in schools. This guidance provides advice to NHS Boards and education authorities on a range of issues including intimate care. The guidance has been develope…

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address the impact of poor air quality on health inequalities in Central Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports a number of measures, both local and national, to successfully tackle air pollution and its impacts on health. These measures, which are applied across the country, include the establishment of a statutory framework and clear …

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what mental health professionals and organisations were invited to the Education Summit on 15 June 2016.

Answer · John Swinney: Driving up attainment levels across Scotland’s schools is this government’s priority, and we will seek out and listen to all new ideas and innovative approaches to deliver results in education for all young people. The summit brought together a small group o…

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils, on average, each educational psychologist has supported in each year since 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. Educational psychologists are employed directly by education authorities; it is for authorities to take decisions around the numbers they need and employ, and how they fulfil their duty to provide an educational psychol…

5 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students have been offered a place for an MSc in Educational Psychology in each year since 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of students offered a place for an MSc in Educational Psychology in each year since 2010 is shown in the following table. Intake Year University Number of Places Offered 2016 Dundee 19 2015 Strathclyde 12* 2014 Dundee 24 2013 Strath…

22 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to reviewing the planning guidelines on the proximity of waste management facilities to residential areas and community facilities.

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support language development in pre-school age children.

Answer · Mark McDonald: Curriculum for excellence is setting higher standards than ever before in literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing. Results from a recent Growing Up in Scotland study show improvement in three-year-olds’ vocabulary but our ambition is to close the attainment …

16 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many teachers or graduates with speech and language expertise are employed in nurseries in each local authority area, and what support it can provide to increase this.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The Scottish Government does not collect this data centrally. All practitioners working within the early learning and childcare sector are required, as part of their training, to gain knowledge and understanding about speech and language development and are e…

13 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the "downward trend" in the take up of cervical screening that was reported in its news release of 6 June 2016, Women urged to go for smear test.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We fully support the objective of increasing uptake in the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme and work has been taking place to help address the fall in cervical screening uptake rates. Scottish Government officials meet cervical screening coordinators …

10 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trained educational psychologists are currently practising and how this compares annually since 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of trained educational psychologists practising in Scottish local authorities since 2010 is shown in the following table. Year Full Time Equivalent (FTE) 2015 370 2014 405 2013 407 2012 411 2011 390 2010 401 Source: Teachers in Scotl…

10 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had or will have with Clic Sargent in connection with the closure of the children's cancer home, Malcolm Sargent House.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has been in contact with CLIC Sargent regarding its proposal and has received a briefing on the reasons behind its decision. We await the outcome of the consultation however we have no remit to intervene in decisions taken by third sec…

10 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) has taken or will take to assess the impact of the closure of the children's cancer home, Malcolm Sargent House, on child cancer patients and their families and (b) will take to address any identified gaps in patient care and support.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government understand that this is currently a proposal on which CLIC Sargent is consulting. We are confident from discussion with CLIC Sargent that it has alternative support in place to provide an invaluable service to children and young people…