- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what funding plans are in place to implement and begin construction of the Clyde Metro.
Answer
Clyde Metro will be transformational for the region. It is likely to be a programme which will be delivered over a number of years, with the scale and capital costs required making it one of the largest programme of works Scotland will have ever seen.
It is too early to comment on the longer term funding of Clyde Metro, however, it is envisaged that the funding model for implementation of Clyde Metro will be determined as part of the next stage of development.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support care home services that are at risk of closure due to the reported loss of funding in the National Care Home Contract Fee, in light of reported concerns that the provision of care for older people is increasingly complex.
Answer
The National Care Home Contract sets the rate for publicly funded care home placements and is negotiated annually between COSLA, Scottish Care and Scotland Excel. The Scottish Government is not a contractual party to it. We are pleased Scottish Care members voted to accept the 6% uplift offer from COSLA to agree the contract for 2023-4.
The Scottish Budget for 2023-4 provides record funding of over £19bn for health and social care, providing new investment of over £1bn and supporting recovery and reform to secure sustainable public services.
However, we recognise the challenges facing social care services such as energy costs, the costs of living and Brexit which has impacted the recruitment and retention of staff.
We continue to engage with the sector and other partners regularly to build a more sustainable workforce that feels truly valued and properly rewarded for their work.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2023
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that Scottish Water has issued bonus payments to executives in excess of public sector pay rules.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2023
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards reaching a
resolution to the ongoing dispute with the Fire Brigades Union.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that landlines installed in prison cells are not being used for criminal purposes.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Permanent In Cell Telephony means individuals in prison can maintain purposeful family contact, including with children, which we know is important for good mental health and wellbeing, and for reducing the risk of reoffending upon return to communities.
The hard-wired in-cell telephones are subject to the same robust security, which governed the use of mobile phones and hard-wired telephones in all residential areas. Those in our care can only call numbers from a pre-approved list, and SPS maintain the ability to monitor and record calls.
Where it is suggested that a criminal act has been committed, this will be reported to Police Scotland.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 26 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any of the women's organisations that it funds provides help and assistance to women fleeing abusive family situations, rather than intimate partner violence and abuse, and if this is the case, whether it can provide a list of those organisations.
Answer
Equally Safe is Scotland’s strategy to take action on all forms of violence against women and girls. By this, we mean violent and abusive behaviour directed at women and girls precisely because they are women and girls. We know that VAWG can have a devastating impact on victims, and we are committed to eradicating VAWG in all its forms.
This is why, through our Delivering Equally Safe Fund, we are supporting 121 projects from 112 organisations that focus on early intervention and prevention, as well as support services. Included are organisations that support victims fleeing from family abuse. Inspiring Scotland manage DES on behalf of the Scottish Government. A full list of all the DES projects can be found on Inspiring Scotland's website.
Additionally, we fund Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline which is there to support anyone experiencing domestic abuse or forced marriage.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding a potential congestion charge for drivers not resident in Glasgow.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the Council regarding specific congestion charging schemes including charging for drivers not resident in Glasgow. The Scottish Government has had discussions with the Council in the context of local measures to support delivery of the 20% car km reduction target, and the Government’s commissioned research on equitable options for car demand management.
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 established the discretionary power for local authorities to implement road user charging schemes, and they are best placed to determine whether a local road user charging scheme supports the objectives set out in their local transport strategy and the amount of charge that supports these local objectives.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 19 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on how many prison estates it estimates were built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Based on our knowledge of the SPS estate, we do not believe that RAAC is present within the prison estate.
SPS is however conducting a further evidence based scoping exercise to identify any buildings that cannot be categorically ruled out as containing RAAC. Any buildings identified will require further investigation and may need more intrusive testing/inspection by specialist consultants.
The initial scoping exercise should be concluded by 30 September 2023.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 19 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the impact of the reported funding reduction of between £550,000 and £650,000 to the women's justice service, and specifically the reported reduction of capacity from 12 to eight beds in the Turning Point Scotland 218 service.
Answer
Decisions about the commissioning of individual community justice services, such as the 218 Service in Glasgow, are a matter for local authorities.
Community justice funding is primarily based on a local model, with the Scottish Government providing funding to local authorities which then provide or commission services according to local needs. Even where aspects of that funding are targeted at more specific needs, the commissioning and management of those services - including any re-tendering exercises - is a matter for the relevant local authority.
The Scottish Government has not reduced the overall funding available for community justice services across Scotland nor asked local authorities to reduce any specific funding within that.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 19 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on expanding the Caledonian System, since January 2022.
Answer
Since January 2022, the primary focus of the Caledonian System has been on reaccreditation with comprehensive material provided to the Scottish Advisory Panel on Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR) earlier this year. Accreditation is an important step in independently re-checking the current programme design prior to further roll out. There has also been work servicing demand for training from existing delivery sites with a series of training events now set through to 2024. An Outcomes Monitoring Report has been compiled and will be published shortly which will look at: change in men’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviour; change for women who engage with the programme around safety, empowerment, and wellbeing; and the extent to which the wellbeing of children improved and the risk of harm to children reduced.
Since January 2022 there has also been work within the Scottish Government to conclude a procurement exercise to secure a licence arrangement for use of the SARA-V3 risk assessment tool. This tool is embedded in the Caledonian System and is also used by justice social work and other professionals in assessing the risk posed by domestic abuse offenders across all of Scotland. For the first time this has been procured on a long-term (5 year) basis, providing certainty for ongoing delivery and securing savings on the annual cost of the licence. Conversation is also continuing direct with individual local authorities about readiness for any further roll out of the Caledonian System to new geographical areas.
