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: S5W-00566

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to the Fair Food Fund in each of the last four years.

Question reference: S5W-00560

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with voluntary organisations regarding the criteria that must be met prior to providing support from the Fair Food Fund.

Question reference: S5W-00453

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the application period for the Volunteering Support Fund.

Question reference: S5W-00454

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether funding for the Volunteering Support Fund will continue at the same level, increase or decrease over the next four years.

Question reference: S5W-00452

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications were received for the Volunteering Support Fund for 2016-17, broken down by (a) Scottish parliamentary constituency, (b) UK parliamentary constituency, (c) Scottish parliamentary region and (d) local authority area.

Question reference: S5W-00451

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out an impact assessment of support provided by the Volunteering Support Fund for 2016-17.

Question reference: S5W-00449

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of awards from the Volunteering Support Fund is for 2016-17, broken down by (a) Scottish parliamentary constituency, (b) UK parliamentary constituency, (c) Scottish parliamentary region and (d) local authority area.

The Scottish Government has allocated £1.1 million per annum to the Volunteering Support Fund in each of the last four years. Details of the value of awards under each category and number of applications are as follows:

	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Grants to individual organisations	£731,657	£956,969	£1,003,538	££1,102,994
Grants to clusters of organisations	£293,150	£236,430	£149,580	£0
Number of applicants	143	194	228	296

Information is not held for the break down by (a) Scottish parliamentary constituency, (b) UK parliamentary constituency; (c) Scottish parliamentary region and (d) local authority area.

Question reference: S5W-00233

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the basic cost of having a child.

Question reference: S5W-00232

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of applicants expected in respect of its replacement for the Sure Start Maternity Grant in each of the next four years; what information it has on how many applications were made in Scotland for the grant in each of the last five years, and what the estimated annual cost of these payments was.

Estimates of the number of applicants expected for the Maternity and Early Years Allowance will depend on decisions yet to be taken about the rollout of this benefit and the eligibility criteria that will be used.

For the purposes of policy development, we have estimated that, if current Sure Start Maternity Grant take-up rates and eligibility criteria were maintained, around 40,000 awards would be made each year. If full take-up were achieved and all eligible families received a grant we estimate that somewhere in the region of 85,000 awards would be made each year.

These figures are estimates of the total numbers of awards that would be made in a year and so combine payments on birth, upon a child starting nursery and upon a child starting primary school.

Source: Scottish Government analysis based on Department for Work and Pensions figures.

Information on the number of applications and the annual cost of these payments is held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Question reference: S5W-00231

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to change the eligibility criteria in its replacement for the Sure Start Maternity Grant in the current parliamentary session.