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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1334 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-14713

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14615 by John Swinney on 2 May 2013, whether the £10 million additional funding for the further education sector that it announced on 6 February 2013 (Official Report c. 16478) will no longer be spent in that area and, if so, where this will now be allocated.

The commitment to provide an additional £10 million funding for the college sector has been maintained. As set out in response to S4W-14615, rather than funding this from Barnett consequentials in 2013-14, an additional £10 million in funding has been passed to the Scottish Funding Council in 2012-13 for deployment in the college sector in 2013-14. This enables the Government to address the £54.8 million cut the UK Government has made to the Scottish Government’s resource budget in 2013-14 whilst still delivering in full the commitment to the £522 million funding floor for the sector announced on 6 February.

Question reference: S4W-14712

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14615 by John Swinney on 2 May 2013, on what it will spend the £12 million reduction in the level of planned switch between the resource and capital budgets in the housing portfolio.

Question reference: S4W-14714

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14615 by John Swinney on 2 May 2013, for what reason there is an “emerging 2012-13 underspend to the college sector” and what correspondence the Cabinet Secretary for (a) Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and (b) Education and Lifelong Learning has had with the Scottish Funding Council regarding this.

Question reference: S4W-14717

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 15 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14615 by John Swinney on 2 May 2013, on what it will spend the “accumulated police reserves" and what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding their allocation.

Accumulated police reserves in the region of £20 to £30 million will accrue to the Scottish Government Resource Department of Employment and Learning(DEL) budget. As set out in response to S4W-14615, this will help the Scottish Government to minimise the impact of the £54.8 million reduction in its 2013-14 Resource DEL budget. The reallocation of police reserves is part of an agreement between the Scottish Government and COSLA around the sharing of uncommitted resources which have been generated as a result of accumulated underspends by the former police joint boards. The agreement also provides that funding for any commitments that carry forward to the Scottish Police Authority in 2013-14 will be met in full so there will be no impact on the budget of the new body. Discussions around the treatment of reserves have been held with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-02098

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports bus services.

Question reference: S4F-01345

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2013

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the European Commission regarding an opt-out from pensions regulations should Scotland become independent.

Question reference: S4W-13924

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how the Deputy First Minister’s reported assertion that welfare spending in Scotland will be reduced by £4.5 billion was calculated.

Question reference: S4O-02009

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S4W-13570

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages employers to recruit (a) people with learning difficulties and (b) care leavers through the modern apprenticeship programme.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all young people with additional support needs who want to work, and it is our ambition that with the right support, they are able to find work in mainstream employment, taking account of their specific needs, and in line with their skills.

In support of this, the Scottish Government has:

Made a specific commitment to all 16 – 19 year olds seeking a place in education or training through Opportunities for All. This is supported by £30 million new investment;

Updated our Post 16 Transitions Policy and Practice Framework which includes specific guidance on how to support the transitions of young people with additional support needs from school into post-school education and employment;

Provided £1.5 million over three financial years in support of an Employer Recruitment Incentive for 1000 young people within disadvantaged groups, this incentive is available to Modern Apprenticeships;

Extended the Community Jobs Scotland programme to help vulnerable young people who face additional barriers to entering into employment by increasing the age criteria for these young people from 16-19 to 16-24;

Published our Supported Employment Framework In 2010, “A Working Life for All Disabled People”. The aim of the Framework is to provide the mechanisms necessary to support a disabled persons move to paid employment in the open labour market in a systematic and effective way; and

Held a series of regional youth employment action forums in Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Lothians, Dumfries and Galloway and West of Scotland. We now plan to hold an action forum to focus on young people with additional support needs. The format for the event has been decided and officials are working towards delivery of the event at the end of April.

Question reference: S4W-13566

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 28 March 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to standardise the definition of “looked-after children”.

The definition of “looked after children” that the Scottish Government adheres to is as provided in Section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995:

“Any reference in this chapter of this part to a child who is “looked after” by a local authority, is to a child:

(a) For whom they are providing accommodation under section 25 of this Act;

(b) Who is subject to a supervision requirements and in respect of whom they are the relevant local authority;

(c) Who is subject to an order made, or authorisation or warrant granted, by virtue of Chapter 2, 3 or 4 of this Part of the Act, being an order, authorisation or warrant in accordance with which they have responsibilities as respects the child;

(d) Who is subject to an order in accordance with which, by virtue of regulations made under section 33(1) of this Act, they have such responsibilities; or

(e) In respect of whom a permanence order has, on an application by them under section 80 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 4), been made and has not ceased to have effect.”

This definition will be amended by Schedule 5 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011. This Act introduces Compulsory Supervision Orders and Interim Compulsory Supervision Orders. The new definition will substitute the reference to supervision requirements in paragraph (b) with the new orders and paragraph (c) will be repealed.

The amendments will come into force on 24June 2013.