- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Lord Sutherland’s review of the policy of free personal and nursing care will consider the effect of the policy on other services delivered to older people in Scotland and, in particular, whether resources have been diverted from general services for older people to pay for free personal and nursing care services and what action will be taken to prevent any such diversion.
Answer
The Independent FundingReview of Free Personal and Nursing Care, chaired by Lord Sutherland, will investigatethe level and distribution of resources to local authorities in implementing thispolicy. Local authorities arerequired to meet their statutory responsibilities for the assessment and deliveryof services to older people in their area. It is for each individual local authorityto determine the most appropriate allocation of the total resources available toit to meet these and it’s other responsibilities.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the reasons for pre-school closures and make the findings available to the Parliament.
Answer
Theresponsibility for planning and delivering pre-school education lies with localauthorities. Authorities need to take population projections into account toensure that there is enough pre-school education provision available in theright areas. Over time this may involve opening new provision and closing othercentres in line with patterns of demand.
The Scottish governmenthas no plans to undertake an investigation into the reasons for the closure ofindividual pre-school education settings.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many telephone calls have been handled by the National Child Protection Line in each month since its launch in February 2007.
Answer
The Child ProtectionLine has answered the following calls since February 2007:
| Feb 2007 | 98 |
| March 2007 | 82 |
| April 2007 | 40 |
| May 2007 | 36 |
| June 2007 | 44 |
| July 2007 | 27 |
| Total | 327 |
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-school providers are at risk of imminent closure, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) type of provider.
Answer
This informationis not held centrally.
Statistics on thenumber of pre-school education providers by local authority and type ofproviders are available in the pre-school and child care statistics 2006 availableat http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/13155926/0.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the recent announcement on the role of the private sector will have on the provision of audiology services in NHS Scotland.
Answer
The Cabinet Secretaryfor Health and Wellbeing has publicly made clear the Scottish Government’s oppositionon the use of public money to assist the private sector compete with the NHS.
The national private sector call-off contract, put in place underthe audiology modernisation project to support NHS boards in reducing waiting times,recently ended. In the meantime, the Allied Health Professionals contract, whichruns until May 2008, allows NHS boards to employ temporary locum audiologists toassist in reducing waiting times.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the operation and effectiveness of the National Child Protection Line.
Answer
The operation of theChild Protection Line is under review and development through a national workinggroup, whose membership includes representatives from Child Protection Committees(including police and social workers) and out-of-hours and phone-based child protectionservice providers. See
www.scotland.gov.uk/childprotectionfor further information.
We plan to commissiona rigorous independent evaluation of the service after it has been operational for18 months, in August 2008.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase public awareness of the National Child Protection Line.
Answer
We are currently consideringhow best to increase public awareness of the national Child Protection Line andwill be discussing proposals with the national working group for this project andwith Child Protection Committees.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total estimated cost is of meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015 in respect of local authority owned housing stock, also broken down by local authority.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
Local authoritiesthat have submitted Standard Delivery Plans (SDPs), setting out how they will achievethe Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), plan to invest approximately £1.94billion by 2015. This figure is in 2004-05 prices and is based on individual localauthorities’ interpretations of the Standard and assessment of investment needs.
The breakdown of plannedSHQS investment by local authority is as follows:
| Local Authority | Total Expenditure to Meet SHQS (£000) |
| Aberdeen City Council | 210,752 |
| Aberdeenshire Council | 115,084 |
| Angus Council | 10,405 |
| Clackmannanshire Council | 15,307 |
| Dundee City Council | 133,760 |
| East Ayrshire Council | 91,759 |
| East Dunbartonshire Council | 38,019 |
| East Lothian Council | 131,485 |
| East Renfrewshire Council | 40,191 |
| Falkirk Council | 124,796 |
| Fife Council | 200,420 |
| Midlothian Council | 34,534 |
| Moray Council | 7,382 |
| North Ayrshire Council | 147,474 |
| North Lanarkshire Council | 237,317 |
| Orkney Islands Council | 5,066 |
| Perth and Kinross Council | 53,729 |
| Shetland Islands Council | 6,777 |
| South Ayrshire Council | 65,712 |
| South Lanarkshire Council | 213,000 |
| West Lothian Council | 55,350 |
| Total Expenditure | 1,941,328 |
Local authoritiesthat have transferred their stock to housing associations (Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Eilean Siar and Argyll and Bute),or that are in the process of doing so (Inverclyde) are not required to submit anSDP. Stirling, Renfrewshire, Highland, Edinburgh and West Dunbartonshire Councilsare currently developing their SDPs which will include details of their plannedSHQS related investment.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the terms and conditions of staff working for voluntary sector public service contractors.
Answer
Voluntary sector organisationsare independent of government.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 4 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the implementation among local authorities of the principle of full cost recovery for voluntary organisations delivering public services.
Answer
Ministers are clearthat all costs for providing a service should be met, and that the third sectorshould not subsidise, or be expected to subsidise, public services.
We are committed toworking with the sector and local government to ensure all are aware of the consequencesof not providing for full cost recovery.
