Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to each of the findings of the report by the British Red Cross and the Co-op Rise Network, Barriers to Belonging: An exploration of loneliness among people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, and what action it is taking to implement each of the recomm…
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government welcomes the valuable work that Red Cross and COOP are undertaking in tackling these issues. We note the recommendations within the report and will consider these further as we take forward the implementation of ‘A Connected Scotland’ …
21 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its commitment to deliver 50,000 affordable homes in the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are making excellent progress towards our target of delivering 50,000, affordable homes, 35,000 of which will be for social rent, backed by a record investment of £3.3 billion. The most recently published Quarterly Housing Statistics show that since April…
21 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the objectives of the Detect Cancer Early Programme, what steps are being taken to increase the proportion of people with lung cancer who are diagnosed at stage 1.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23920 on 9 July 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…
21 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with lung cancer in each of the last five years have been diagnosed with the condition at stage (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3 and (d) 4.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The information requested is publically available in ‘Cancer Incidence in Scotland 2017’, published by Information Services Division in April 2019. This is available via the following link: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2019-04…
19 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in each of the last five years on awareness-raising regarding the appropriate use of disabled car parking spaces; when it last ran a major campaign on this issue; what analysis it carried out regarding the effectiveness of that campaign, and what plans it has for fu…
Answer · Michael Matheson: In 2015 the Scottish Government undertook an advertising campaign at a cost of circa. £65,000 to highlight the misuse of disabled persons parking places and blue badges; no other spend has been recorded in the period 2014 to 2019. Analysis was undertaken to g…
18 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23555 by Aileen Campbell on 5 June 2019, by what date in June 2019 it will provide the update.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: A Ministerial statement on the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, First Year Progress Report, was provided to Parliament on Wednesday 26 June. The progress report is available on the Scottish Government's website, https://www.gov.scot/publications/tackli…
18 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23553 by Kevin Stewart on 7 June 2019, for what reason it does not collect any further information regarding what the "Other (known)" outcomes are and whether it plans to collect them in the future.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government does not collect further information regarding the “other (known)” outcome category. We plan to consult with users via the Homelessness Statistics User Group, which has a provisional meeting date of September and will explore whether …
18 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22646 by Kevin Stewart on 1 May 2019, what steps it is taking to record and classify the outcomes for the category "Not known".
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Of the cases reported in the outcome category “Not known”, a large proportion are cases where contact has been lost prior to duty discharge. Of the cases reported in S5W-22646, 51% of “not known” outcomes of those with no local connection in 2015-16 had lost …
18 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23552 by Kevin Stewart on 5 June 2019, whether it will provide details of the first meeting of the working group convened by the Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection on 20 May 2019.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: I can confirm that a working group, chaired by CELCIS, met on 20 May to start a time-limited process aimed at developing an improved pathway to prevent homelessness for people with experience of care. As a result of this meeting, the group is in the process o…
18 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23552 by Kevin Stewart on 5 June 2019, what scoping work has been carried out in relation to people experiencing domestic abuse.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Policy officials have started preliminary work to understand the experience of people who are homeless as a result of domestic abuse, alongside a wider piece of work on equalities across the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan. A number of internal meeti…
17 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the claim in The Herald of 17 June 2019 that Scotland's care sector is "facing a crisis" as a result of council cutbacks and the third sector pulling out of contracts.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are continuing to invest in social care. Over the past decade a significant amount of work and investment has gone into supporting older people and people with disabilities to live well in their own homes for longer. Integration authorities manage £9 bill…
17 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with care providers to ensure that the social care sector receives adequate funding and resources.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) and Scottish Care on a range of issues, including contracting, and they have had a central role in shaping the work that is required to improve …
17 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the article in The Herald of 17 June 2019 claiming that Scotland's care sector is facing a crisis as a result of council cutbacks and the third sector pulling out of contracts, how many contracts commissioned by public authorities, including councils and NHS board partnershi…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This information is not held by Scottish Government but is held locally by integration authorities and local government who are responsible for commissioning and procuring local social care services. The Scottish Government is in regular dialogue with the Coa…
17 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on social care spend per head in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The gross expenditure on social care per person for the last five years is shown in the following table. The figures reflect social care services for all client groups and comprise public expenditure as well as contributions by individuals towards their care.…
17 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken, and is taking, to tackle zero hours contracts in social care, in light of reports that a third of the Coalition of Care and Support's member charities have handed back at least one contract in 2018.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the inappropriate use of zero hour contracts. Our Fair Work Action Plan commits us to work with partners to consider and respond to the recommendations set out in the Fair Work Convention’s Social Care Inquiry Re…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) model should be used to guide the support offered to individuals and to make predictions about people's abilities or life outcomes, or to inform family policy.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23798 on 26 June 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has regarding the efficacy of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screening, and what its position is on whether such screening has potential to be distressing or harmful for those involved.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23801 on 27 June 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to tackling Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in schools through the pupil equity funding scheme.
Answer · John Swinney: Pupil Equity Funding was introduced in 2017 as a new way of working to close the attainment gap, by providing money directly to the schools, and head teachers, that know their young people best, giving schools the power to choose where to target support and i…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screen/assessment would result in services being made available to the individuals concerned.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23801 on 27 June 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a programme of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) screening/scoring, and, if so, whether this would be relevant to the child population.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has population surveys underway to understand the prevalence of childhood adversities in the adult population (with inclusion of ACEs questions in the current 2019 Scottish Health Survey) and in the child population (with information o…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the standard Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) model risks focusing on individual resilience, while overlooking poverty, gender inequality, discrimination and other socio-economic factors that have a significant impact for children and families.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is determined to do all that it can to prevent childhood adversity and to support children and adults affected by adversity. As part of the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach, we are progressing actions to better preven…
14 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers that the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) model could be misused in ways that could not be described as a trauma-informed approach.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-23798 on 26 June 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…
10 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the freight capacity of Scotland’s railways.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises that rail freight supports sustainable, inclusive economic growth and contributes to the wider climate change targets and has, therefore, worked closely with the rail freight industry to understand the capacity of the rail n…
10 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Department of Transport regarding the integration of HS2 into the Scottish railway system.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The North of HS2 to Scotland Working Group (comprising representatives from Transport Scotland, the Department for Transport, HS2 Ltd and Network Rail) was set up in 2016 to deliver the Scottish and UK Governments' joint commitment to identify potential infra…
10 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to mitigate accidents and fatalities involving cyclists and pedestrians on tram tracks.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the safety of cyclists and pedestrians as set out in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework. All roads authorities have a duty of care to ensure that infrastructure installed is safe and fit for purpose, and we are …
7 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on directly elected Lord Provosts and mayors in Scottish local authorities, and whether it has any plans to introduce such a policy.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government jointly launched the Local Governance Review with COSLA to consider how powers are shared across national and local government, and with communities. Engagement extended beyond local government to consider all public services. Summary …
6 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent Royal College of General Practitioners report, From the Frontline, how it plans to develop an information campaign that informs the public of changing care models and supports GPs and their teams to deliver more effective care to patients.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As I stated in Parliament on 24 April 2019, the Scottish Government is currently working with the RCGP and others to consider how this proposal might best be taken forward.
6 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statement in the recent Royal College of General Practitioners report, From the Frontline, that the spectrum of recruitment for GPs must be widened.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The SG agrees that access to the medical profession, including GP, must be widened. That is why we are taking forward a number of actions that will contribute towards a more secure and sustainable medical workforce which is more representative of the communi…
6 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent Royal College of General Practitioners report, From the Frontline, what its position is on the need to substantially increase monitoring of GPs’ physical and mental wellbeing through the overhaul of appraisals and the development of dedicated health services for d…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Appraisal support To support GP’s in preparing for appraisal the Scottish Government (SG) has funded a series of workshops delivered by NHS Education for Scotland (NES). They have been available across Scotland free of charge with reimbursement of backfill c…
6 Jun 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statement in the recent Royal College of General Practitioners report, From the Frontline, that practices in deprived areas must be more adequately represented in undergraduate teaching and postgraduate training for GPs.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We agree that practices in deprived areas must be adequately represented in undergraduate and postgraduate training for GPs. That is why the SG offers 20K GPST bursaries for “hard to fill” posts. “Hard to fill” includes areas of socio-economic deprivation. 10…