- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 22 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many more debtors will receive advice as a result of the #3 million additional funding for new debt advice services; how much earlier than at present debtors will now be able to access free and independent debt advice and what support will be available for front-line advisors.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22872.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 21 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost would be of providing (a) free bus travel, (b) free rail travel and (c) free domestic fuel for pensioners throughout Scotland.
Answer
The information on bus and rail travel is not available in the form requested. The Scottish Executive Concessionary Fares Study Report (November 2000) indicated that providing free off-peak bus and rail travel across Scotland for pensioners and disabled people would cost in the region of £96 million per annum. That figure did not take account of potentially very large additional operating costs. The report is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 12085). The information required to estimate the cost of providing free domestic fuel for all Scottish pensioners is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what formula it uses to distribute financial support to local authorities and whether it has considered using a formula based on needs and deprivation similar to the Arbuthnott scheme applied to health expenditure.
Answer
The local government revenue grant is already distributed by a needs based system that takes account of the impact of deprivation on the costs of service delivery. There are 13 assessments within the formula - mainly those for social work and education - that include deprivation adjustments. In addition, a number of important social work assessments are influenced by health indicators which reflect deprivation. The Scottish Executive and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities together carried out a thorough review of the account taken of deprivation in the local government finance system last year. As a result we have redistributed an additional £16 million to help councils tackle the effects of deprivation in schools. We have also made available through the Better Neighbourhoods Services Fund an additional £90 million to help improve services within the most deprived neighbourhoods.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 18 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive when the report on its review of the diligence system will be available for consultation.
Answer
The work on the review of the law of diligence is almost complete and the Executive hopes to publish a consultation paper within the course of the next few weeks.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 14 February 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether (a) any major landscape problems and (b) any subsidence connected to any such problems have been identified in respect of the Holyrood Project.
Answer
I have been informed by the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that there have been no landscape problems or problems associated with subsidence in respect of the Holyrood Building Project.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 12 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of assaults on hospital staff have been recorded in each hospital in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02 to date; what initiatives it is taking to address the issue of assaults on hospital staff across Scotland, and what priority it is giving to addressing this issue.
Answer
Data on violence and aggression towards staff is not available centrally for 1999-2000. Information for 2000-01 is currently being collated as part of the occupational health and safety minimum dataset and should be available at the end of March this year. Information for 2001-02 will be collected in late spring and is expected to be available in the autumn.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 11 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20755 by Ms Margaret Curran on 14 January 2002, what specific arrangement has been made between it and Her Majesty's Treasury in relation to Glasgow City Council's housing debt, should tenants vote in favour of wholesale housing stock transfer.
Answer
The revised arrangements for dealing with local authorities' residual housing debt following stock transfer were set out in the answer to question S1W-18180 on 28 September 2001.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 11 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20755 by Ms Margaret Curran on 14 January 2002, whether it plans to pay off Glasgow City Council's capital housing debt should tenants reject wholesale stock transfer and, if not, how much of the #415 million allocated to the Council for re-provisioning and demolition costs following such a transfer would still be available to the council if the wholesale stock transfer were rejected.
Answer
There are no plans to pay off Glasgow City Council's housing debt if tenants reject the stock transfer proposal. As was made clear in the answer to question S1W-20755 on 14 January 2002, if the whole stock transfer does not proceed the funds for re-provisioning and demolition will not be available.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 11 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20755 by Ms Margaret Curran on 14 January 2002, why the #415 million allocated to Glasgow City Council for re-provisioning and demolition costs will not be available to the Council should tenants vote against wholesale stock transfer in the forthcoming ballot.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20755 on 14 January 2002 on 14 January 2002.
- Asked by: Tommy Sheridan, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish all correspondence between it and Her Majesty's Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and any other individuals or departments concerning the loss of Attendance Allowance to Scottish pensioners resulting from the implementation of free personal and nursing care for pensioners.
Answer
Correspondence relating to discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government is not published, in accordance with Exemption 2 of Part ll of the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information.
