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: S3W-25974

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the new drive by the Training and Development Agency for Schools to increase the number of male teachers in schools in England.

Question reference: S3W-25977

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether research has been conducted into why there are fewer male, compared with female, primary school teachers in Scotland and what the conclusions of any such research have been.

Question reference: S3W-25694

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 3 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to measure the equality impact of public funding sponsorship for minority ethnic award ceremonies facilitated through private consultants.

Such award ceremonies acknowledge and highlight the valuable contribution made in Scotland by ethnic minority communities and individuals whose efforts may otherwise go unrecognised. By acknowledging these contributions we are promoting race equality for all and promoting good relations within our communities.

Contributions provided in support of awards ceremonies are one-off payments in support of the delivery of a single event to recognise the achievements of minority ethnic individuals and communities. As such there are no structured mechanisms to measure the equality impact of such contributions in place.

However, the Scottish Government does receive feedback from attendees and organisers on the overall impact of these events.

Question reference: S3W-25696

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 3 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what post event monitoring exists for stakeholders, including itself, as to the effectiveness of minority ethnic award ceremonies, facilitated through private consultants, in overcoming barriers for diverse communities and in ensuring financial prudence over public money.

Award ceremonies acknowledge and highlight the contribution made by ethnic minority communities and individuals whose efforts may otherwise go unrecognised. By acknowledging these contributions we are promoting race equality for all and promoting good relations within our communities.

Contributions provided in support of awards ceremonies are one-off payments in support of the delivery of a single event to recognise the achievements of minority ethnic individuals and communities. As such there are no structured mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of such contributions in place.

However the Scottish Government does receive feedback from attendees and organisers on the overall impact of these events.

Question reference: S3W-25695

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 3 August 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to concerns raised by Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS) on the commercialisation of the race equality agenda through award schemes driven by private business ventures.

The Scottish Government is committed to achieving race equality and works closely with partners such as BEMIS towards this goal.

The Scottish Government''s focus in achieving race equality has always been, and will continue to be, on supporting the contribution of the voluntary sector and driving to achieve change in the public sector. The Scottish Government does not wish to see this agenda commercialised.

Question reference: S3W-25973

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of public (a) primary and (b) secondary schools has no men on the teaching staff.

Question reference: S3W-25377

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the recommendation in the Review of Sheltered Housing in Scotland, published in 2008, that “very sheltered housing would benefit from a wider national evaluation in the Scottish context” and, whether it will undertake an evaluation.

Work on older people''s housing is now being taken forward through the Wider Planning for an Ageing Population workstream of the Reshaping Older People''s Care programme. This workstream seeks to strengthen the role of housing in enabling older people to live independently for as long as possible and consider the implications of the demographic changes ahead.

As part of this work, we are commissioning research to establish the feasibility of developing a modelling tool to help assess need, demand and supply for housing and related care services for older people at a local level, in the light of demographic change. This will cover the full range of housing and service options, including very sheltered housing, which can help older people to remain safely and independently in their own homes.

Following the initial scoping research for the modelling tool and discussions with stakeholders as part of the Wider Planning for an Ageing Population workstream, we will consider whether separate research evaluating very sheltered housing is required.

Question reference: S3W-25379

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to the provision of very sheltered housing.

As part of the Scottish Government''s Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) we fund a range of provision for clients with particular housing needs. These include the provision of sheltered and very sheltered housing, the provision of supported accommodation and adaptations to allow people to stay in their own home when circumstances change.

When housing associations are allocated funding from AHIP to build new homes these homes are generally required to meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, which ensures that the housing is designed to allow it to continue as far as possible to meet the changing needs of the occupant.

Scottish Government also supports the Telecare initiative to enable people to live at home for longer as their needs change, and the Supporting People Demonstrator projects (through the Scottish Government Joint Improvement Team).

Question reference: S3W-25378

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 21 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive which recommendations of the Review of Sheltered Housing in Scotland, published in 2008, it has implemented.

We have taken forward a number of follow-up actions to the Review of Older People''s Housing (ROOPH), although not all were direct recommendations of the Review of Sheltered Housing. Follow-up actions have included:

Establishment of three housing demonstrator projects for older people in Highland, Inverclyde and West Lothian. The projects promote joined up and preventative work across housing, health and social care services.

Publication of new guidance on Local Housing Strategies (LHS) in June 2008, providing advice on the integration of physical housing planning and development, with support for people to maintain their housing. The guidance emphasised the need for LHS to be consistent with other strategies in relation to different groups, including older people.

Preparation of new housing investment guidance on the funding of accommodation for people with particular needs which will shortly be subject to consultation, prior to publication.

Development of the House Key website, including transfer to the Scottish Government website, promoting greater use of the site and its directories of sheltered housing and support services.

Further work on older people''s housing is being taken forward through the Wider Planning for an Ageing Population workstream of the Reshaping Older People''s Care programme. This is a wide-ranging programme which aims to develop sustainable models of care and support for older people, in the context of demographic change.

Question reference: S3W-24848

Asked by: Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 July 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that more affordable housing is available in rural Scotland.

The Scottish Government supports increases in affordable rural housing in a number of ways:

In 2009-10, £145.82 million of the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will be spent in rural Scotland. This is a 20% increase from 2008-09 and will provide 1,464 affordable new homes in rural Scotland.

This will be complemented by £3.03 million that has been awarded to local authorities to kick-start a council house building programme, providing a further 121 new affordable homes in rural Scotland.

In addition, the Home Owners'' Support Fund and Shared Equity Open Market Pilot are also available in rural Scotland. As these are demand led programmes the locations are not predetermined.

The Scottish Government has also undertaken a review of rural housing grants. Proposals are now being developed for an improved and enhanced suite of grants, and announcements on the proposed changes will be made later this year.