- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many eligible householders received free central heating, insulation and other benefits worth around £3,000 per household by March 2006 from the Executive’s 2005-06 budget of £57 million for its central heating programme and Warm Deal scheme.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
In 2005-06, it is estimated thataround 14,000 central heating systems and almost 15,500 Warm Deal measures wereinstalled by the managing agent.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland in respect of a request from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for £20 million of additional funding to support front-line services.
Answer
The Executive has not receivedany representations from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland in respectof additional funding for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on non-offence grounds will peak.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29846 on 22 November 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how regularly it monitors the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on (a) care and protection and non-offence grounds and (b) offence grounds and how many referrals there were in each category in the last six months, also showing how these figures compare with the corresponding six months in 2005.
Answer
The SCRA publish data quarterlyas well as an annual report which are analysed by the Scottish Executive to informaction.
The information requested onthe number of referrals for the six months in 2005 can be found in the ScottishChildren’s Reporter Administration Annual Report for 2005-06 which was publishedon 16 November. A copy is available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number 40988).
As regards data for the lastsix months, this information is not yet available. We expect the SCRA to publishthe second quarterly performance monitoring report in respect of 2006-07 early inDecember, thereafter it will be laid in Scottish Parliament Information Centre in the normalway.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on possible sales of children’s hearing centre premises by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to address a financial shortfall resulting from the decision of Scottish ministers to refuse a request for £20 million of additional funding to support its front-line services.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is unawareof any such proposal.
The SCRA is being resourced bythe Scottish Executive to upgrade and, where necessary, replace hearings centres.
Where a centre is no longer fitfor purpose and has been replaced by new premises, the Executive may agree to thereceipt from the sale of the old building being retained by the SCRA.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive when it estimates that the number of referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration on offence grounds will peak.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has madeno such estimates for either offence or non-offence grounds, nor are we in a positionto do so.
The multi-agency MinisterialTask Group, which was set up in the summer, has been developing a new way of workingfor the referrals process. The new model will help referring agencies to identifywhen compulsory measures might be needed and, when they are not, help agencies todeliver services for children much more quickly without a referral to thereporter.
We are primarily concerned thatchildren who offend or are at risk get an appropriate, proportionate and timelyresponse so that positive outcomes are secured. Where that may entail compulsorysupervision in an individual case, then the matter should be referred to theprincipal reporter.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children, who would previously have been dealt with by a children’s hearing panel, it estimates will not now be dealt with as a result of the decision by the Principal Reporter of the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to prioritise cases by risk, in light of the decision of Scottish ministers to refuse a request for £20 million of additional funding to support its front-line services.
Answer
We are not in a position to providesuch an estimate.
While there has been a steepincrease in the number of referrals in the last year in particular, the percentageof those going to a hearing has remained proportionately similar. At present only10% of referrals to the Children’s Reporter go to a Children’s Hearing.
That is why the multi-agencyMinisterial Task Group was set up in the summer. The new model being developed bythe group will help referring agencies to ensure that children receive the helpthey need when they need it without having to await the outcome of a reporteror hearings decision. It will also help agencies to identify when compulsory measuresmight be needed to ensure appropriate referrals are being made.
The SCRA plans to introduce itscase filtering tool because of the increasing number of referrals where there isno need for compulsory measures of supervision. The tool is intended to help reducethe risk to children by ensuring reporters and hearings can focus on those mostin need of compulsion.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its external consultants will be used to validate offence ground referral datasets produced by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Robert Brown on 22 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has to link the number of offence referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration to children living in the 10 most deprived communities, as determined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-27307 on 2 August 2006 which stated that the Scottish Children’sReporter Administration (SCRA) does not hold information on children referred asdefined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 21 November 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can commission any medal in respect of the Scottish Arctic convoys and, if so, whether it will consider commissioning such a medal.
Answer
Matters concerning the commissioningof medals for military service are reserved, initially, to the Ministry of Defence,and Scottish ministers have no locus to intervene in the these decisions.
In recognition of service inthe Arctic during the Second World War, the UK Government has specially commissionedthe Arctic Emblem to commemorate the service of Merchant Seamen and members of theArmed Forces in the Arctic Region between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945.
