Parliamentary questions
Jeremy Balfour
489 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19059 by Jenni Minto on 22 June 2023, what actions it is proposing or considering to examine and address the underlying causes of the 19% increase in terminations.
Answer · Jenni Minto: There is no single reason behind the increased rates of terminations of pregnancy shown in the 2022 Public Health Scotland statistics. Scottish Government is working with NHS Boards to explore this further. Whilst the Scottish Government believes that all wo…
6 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding in total it has provided to the Progress Educational Trust.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has, since 2016 to the present day, provided funding to the Progress Education Trust of £276,494.75. The funding has been provided for Progress Educational Trust to produce educational reproductive events in Scotland.
21 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the potential impact of increasing the number of centres that offer magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment on the NHS in Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all people living in Scotland with neurological conditions, such as Essential Tremor, are able to access the best possible care, support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put peo…
20 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the UK Dolphin and Porpoise Conservation Strategy will be finalised and adopted, and what it is doing to safeguard cetaceans in the meantime.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Scottish waters are home to a diverse range of cetaceans (e.g., whale, dolphins and porpoise) and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government. The developing UK Dolphin and Porpoise Strategy will play an important role in identifying acti…
8 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent abortion figures published by Public Health Scotland, which show that there were 16,584 terminations in 2022, representing a 19% increase on 2021.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of the abortion statistics for 2022. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with NHS Boards to help improve access to abortion services for those who wish to have a termination. ?In particular, …
6 Jun 2023 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide continuity in education for children leaving the MS Victoria in the coming weeks.
30 May 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the next regular review of the Sentencing young people guidelines is due to take place.
23 May 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to people recently diagnosed with disabilities.
16 May 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many eligible people have yet to receive the Winter Heating Payment.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: A first release of Official Statistics on Winter Heating Payment will be published on 6 June 2023. This will provide information on Winter Heating Payment, including the number of eligible clients and number of payments issued, up to 30 April 2023. The Offi…
9 May 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to roll out universal free school meals.
2 May 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has put in place to support the palliative care sector, in light of reports that the number of people needing these services is estimated to rise by an additional 10,000 by 2040.
27 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered what action can be taken to increase take-up of pension credit amongst older people who are living on a low-income in Scotland.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Pension Credit is reserved to the UK Government, therefore any take-up campaigns should be UK Government led. However, in 2023-24 we will allocate at least £11 million to support the provision of free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice. This includ…
27 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to taking action to reduce the number of older people living in poverty in Scotland.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical and interdependent missions for this government. We recognise the pressure on household budgets which is why last year and this, we have allocated almost £3 billion to support policies …
27 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress being made in developing the pension age disability payment.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17686 on 19 May 2023 which sets out the delivery timetable for Pension Age Disability Payment. The Scottish Government continues to make progress in the development of Pension Age Disability Payment. Officials…
27 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to delivering the pilot of pension age disability payment in autumn 2024, and the national launch in 2025.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As set out in our refreshed social security programme business case, published on 7 February 2023, the Scottish Government plans to introduce Pension Age Disability Payment with a pilot and phased approach in Autumn 2024 and national launch in early 2025.
25 Apr 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour on public transport.
20 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all of the responses to its consultation on the mobility component of the Adult Disability Payment will be presented to those undertaking the independent review of the Adult Disability Payment later in 2023.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: All respondents to the consultation were asked if they consent to their response being published, either anonymously or with their name attached. Where a respondent has given consent, their response will be published and shared with the independent review. …
19 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to further promote the Scottish Welfare Fund to older people, in light of a higher proportion of older people not being online.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the Member to answers S6W-15324 on 9 March and S6W-16168 on 24 March 2023. As stated in answer S6W-15324, the Statutory Guidance for the Scottish Welfare Fund sets out the responsibilities for Local Authorities in their administration of the Fund, in…
18 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to any appeals under the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 considered by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals from January to March 2023, how many were (a) dismissed as "no remit" and (b) decided upon and (i) referred to the 2019 guidance and its requirement …
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: High hedge appeals are delegated to appointed reporters to make decisions on Scottish Ministers behalf. DPEA received 8 high hedge appeals from January to March 2023, of which 2 were dismissed as "no remit" and 6 were decided upon by independent reporters. …
12 Apr 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether older people and social security are priority policy areas, in light of the decision not to include these in ministerial titles in the recent round of ministerial appointments.
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to Freedom of Information request FOI/202100264794, which stated that, at the end of September 2021, only 41 out of 1,478 Social Security Scotland staff had returned to the office on a regular basis, whether it will provide updated figures for how many Social Sec…
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland directly employed 3,976 staff (headcount) as at December 2022. There were 3,566 directly employed staff who work in Social Security Scotland's central buildings in Dundee and Glasgow. Social Security Scotland has adopted hybrid worki…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to downsize the Social Security Scotland headquarters, in light of the reported increased number of people working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland operates three buildings, forming its headquarters in Dundee: Agnes Husband House, Enterprise House and a part of Dundee House. Social Security Scotland analysis has determined that estates capacity could be reduced, providing a savin…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Social Security Scotland staff are currently employed on (a) fixed-term and (b) permanent contracts.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland directly employed 3,976 staff (headcount) as at December 2022. Of this amount, 69 were fixed term, fixed term student placements and modern apprentices. The remaining 3,907 staff were permanent. Information on Social Security Scotlan…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently still to be transferred from the Personal Independence Payment to the Adult Disability Payment, and what its position is on whether the target of full case transfer by 2025 is still achievable.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As of January 2023, there were around 319,000 people in Scotland receiving Personal Independence Payment according to the Department for Work and Pensions. Case transfer is a joint programme with the Department for Work and Pensions. We are relying on DWP t…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to begin liaising with the Department for Work and Pensions to gather data for the Winter Heating Payment for winter 2023-24, in light of the Winter Heating Payment for 2022-23 being paid at the end of winter in March 2023.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Engagement between the Scottish Government and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in relation to the timing of Winter Heating Payment next winter is already underway. That includes discussion on the transfer of client data to Social Security Scotland. As…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking in response to reported statistics stating that 86% of redeterminations for the Child Disability Payment have been made in favour of the client.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland’s priority is to get decisions right first time and an extremely low number of re-determinations are carried out. The re-determination request rate for Child Disability Payment decisions made by Social Security Scotland is 4.6%, which…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what key performance indicators it uses to measure the performance of VoiceAbility in assisting with Scottish Social Security claims.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) used in monitoring the performance of VoiceAbility are provided below: No Key Performance Indicator 1 All requests for support received must be processed and allocated to appropriate advocacy representation within 2 wo…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average time is for claimants to receive a decision following an application for the Adult Disability Payment.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Official statistics covering processing times for Adult Disability Payment are published as a part of the regularly scheduled quarterly publication. The latest Adult Disability Payment statistical publication was published on Tuesday 14 March 2023 and the nex…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for the Scottish Child Payment that have been submitted since it expanded to children under 16 in Nov 2022 are currently yet to be processed.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Official Statistics covering the number of Scottish Child Payment applications received and processed are published as part of the regularly scheduled quarterly publication. The latest Scottish Child Payment statistical publication was released on 28 February…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it plans to have with (a) the UK Government and (b) energy suppliers regarding the potential impact in Scotland of the introduction of a discounted energy tariff for families with disabled members to help mitigate the cost of lifesaving equipment at home.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Although energy retail policy is reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government remains concerned at the disproportionate impact the high cost of energy prices combined with inflation is having on vulnerable consumers, including those living with disa…