Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-02985

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to bring empty homes back into use.

Bringing empty properties back into use is primarily a matter for individual local authorities. Where there are significant issues locally the Scottish Government would expect authorities to address these in their Local Housing Strategies.

In order to support local authorities, the Scottish Government is funding the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, which is run by Shelter Scotland. The partnership supports local authorities and other parties to work with owners to reduce the number of empty homes with a specific, but not exclusive, focus on them being made available for affordable rent or sale. In its first year, the partnership has developed a range of guidance material and run training and awareness raising sessions focussed on tackling empty homes.

The Scottish Government will be consulting shortly on its proposals to enable local authorities to charge a council tax levy on long term empty properties. This will aim both to encourage owners of empty homes to make their homes available for rent or sale and to raise additional revenue to fund affordable housing.

Question reference: S4W-02986

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce the proposed levy on long-term empty homes.

The Scottish Government will be consulting shortly on its proposals to enable local authorities to charge a council tax levy on long term empty properties. This will aim both to encourage empty homeowners to make their homes available for rent or sale and to raise additional revenue to fund affordable housing.

We expect to introduce the legislation to parliament in 2012. Subject to the progress of that legislation, this should enable local authorities to start charging a levy from April 2013.

Question reference: S4W-01208

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to eradicate fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government’s Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency programmes have made good progress in helping some of the most vulnerable households reduce their energy consumption. The programmes statistics can be found at:

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Scotland-Welcome-page/At-Home/Home-Energy-Scotland/Energy-Assistance-Package/Programme-Statistics

It is a disgrace however, that in energy rich Scotland, rising energy prices are limiting the programmes impacts in reducing fuel poverty.

Question reference: S4W-01209

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish an action plan on how it will meet its target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016.

Question reference: S4W-01207

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it remains its target to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.

Question reference: S4W-01205

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 5 October 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the role is of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum.

Question reference: S4W-02530

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have implemented clinical standards for neurological health services since the publication of the report, Clinical Standards - Neurological Health Services in 2009.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland launched its Clinical Standards for Neurological Health Services on 21 January 2010, along with a two-year implementation and improvement plan, detailing tools and techniques for improvement.

We have provided NHS boards with funding of around £1.2 million over two years, to assist them in developing local neurological improvement networks as the main vehicles for driving improvements in neurological services. All boards have established local multidisciplinary networks, which include a clinical lead and an improvement lead to help take this work forward.

Since the programme was established, all boards have completed a self assessment of the generic standards which has helped to identify national and local priorities. During March, May and June, Healthcare Improvement Scotland also organised a series of events to support the implementation of the condition specific standards. Each event focused on either epilepsy, headache, motor neurone disease (MND), multiple sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson’s disease and helped inform local improvement plans.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has conducted an interim evaluation of the first year of the programme to evaluate its success at this stage. The interim evaluation can be viewed at:

http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/programmes/long_term_conditions/neurological_health_services/working_with_nhs_boards.aspx.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has said that it will conduct a peer review evaluation of the Clinical Standards and that all 14 territorial boards will participate in this process. The findings of the final evaluation will be published in a report in the summer of 2012 and the results will be used by the boards to drive future improvement.

Question reference: S4O-00199

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is doing all within its power to boost economic activity.

Question reference: S4W-02022

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 13 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scotland Rural Development Programme rural priority applications were or have been received from each project assessment committee area in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

The following table shows the number of committed applications in each year since the introduction of the rural priorities scheme.

RPAC Region	2008	2009	2010	2011	Total
Argyll	91	332	235	66	724
Ayrshire	51	181	206	44	482
Borders	89	322	274	115	800
Clyde	15	121	166	22	324
Dumfries and Galloway	75	407	400	120	1002
Forth	55	241	252	62	610
Grampian	293	894	697	186	2070
Highland	83	534	485	193	1295
Northern Isles	88	260	175	84	607
Outer Hebrides	16	125	129	87	357
Tayside	91	345	293	80	809
Total	947	3,762	3,312	1,059	9,080

Of these 9,080 full applications made, 204 have been withdrawn in advance of approval, and a further 980 are still within the application process at various stages.

Question reference: S4W-02020

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 13 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scotland Rural Development Programme payments awarded in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011 were (i) one week, (ii) two weeks, (iii) three weeks, (iv) four weeks, (v) one month, (vi) two months, (vii) three months, (viii) four months, (ix) five months, (x) six months and (xi) more than six months late.

The following tables provide detail on capital payments for the Rural Priorities element of the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

This table shows the total number of claims paid, plus the proportion within and beyond 90 days of the claim being received.

Year

Within 90 days

Beyond 90 days

Total

	<30	30-60	60-90	Total	%	No.	%
2009	185	567	286	1,038	69%	456	31%	1,494
2010	416	783	453	1,652	71%	667	29%	2,319
2011	368	471	283	1,122	76%	347	24%	1,469

This table provides a breakdown of claims paid more than 90 days from receipt.

Payments >90 Days from Receipt	2009	2010	2011
one week	44	77	43
two weeks	36	53	37
three weeks	49	60	30
four weeks	34	42	40
one month	6	25	6
two months	132	152	119
three months	59	99	67
four months	41	62	5
five months	17	42	0
six months	10	14	0
over six months	28	41	0

Notes:

1. In interpreting the data on late payments it is important to note that the data above shows the time taken between the claim being received and the date of payment. Not every claim received is valid. Under the covering EU legislation, payments can only be made on fully validated claims.

2. There are a large number of administrative and regulatory checks which must be made before a claim can be validated and legally progress to payment. Requirements include the provision of properly-receipted invoices and any required consents such as planning approval, electrical certificates and Controlled Activities Regulations licences. In addition, we are required to inspect at least 5% of claims. A number of the claims paid beyond 90 days of receipt could not be validated within 90 days, due to issues being identified when administrative checks were undertaken. There is a 90-day target period for paying valid Rural Priorities claims, i.e. from the date on which all the necessary supporting documentation is in place.

3. The tables do not include claims whose eligibility for payment is still being checked and/or where information is awaited from the claimant.

4. There is a small proportion (<1%) of payments to which a timescale cannot be attributed because of the way they were recorded on the central payments system. These also have not been included in the tables.