- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to honour its commitment to social justice and social inclusion improvements with regard to disabled people.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentwill take forward its commitment to improved social inclusion for disabled peoplethrough the delivery of its five strategic objectives and overarching purpose, whichcommit all public services to creating a fairer Scotland with opportunities for all Scots to flourish through increasing sustainableeconomic growth.
A number of policiesand programmes act to deliver this commitment in relation to disabled people. Forillustration, disabled people mare a priority group for all seven of the targetareas for the Workforce Plus employability framework, and the Scottish Governmentdirectly supports a programme run by the Child Poverty Action Group to enhance theprovision of high-quality advice on the tax credits and benefits to families affectedby disability.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is planning to improve current levels of consultation with disabled persons’ groups when making future decisions that shape relevant policy areas.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis committed to consultation and engagement with disabled people. We currently funda number of national disability led organisations to assist us with this. We regardthis as an important feature of our work and will want to continue to provide support.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures performance in respect of the promotion of independent living for disabled people.
Answer
The public sectorduty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, which came into forcein December 2006, provides an opportunity for public bodies to focus on the needsof disabled people and develop work on independent living. The duty also provides a reporting frameworkfor progress towards disability equality with the first annual reports due in December2007. This may provide some measure of the progress being made towards independentliving.
However, the ScottishGovernment is also considering what further steps need to be taken to advance independentliving in Scotland, and how performance can be measured mosteffectively, and we will announce our plans later in the year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the lack of explicit structures in public policy to consider independent living for disabled people is hampering efforts by it, NHS boards and local authorities to implement the ideal of independent living.
Answer
The public sectorduty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, which came into forcein December 2006, provides an opportunity for public bodies to focus on the needsof disabled people and develop work on independent living. Other recent initiativesalso support independent living such as the new national guidance on self-directedsupport, which was issued in July, and tasks local authorities with developing localinfrastructures in order to increase uptake.
However, the ScottishGovernment recognises the specific references to independent living in work carriedout by the Disability Rights Commission and by the Scottish Parliament’s Equal OpportunitiesCommittee and is currently considering what further steps need to be taken to advanceindependent living in Scotland and we will announce our plans later in the year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to develop a package of national measures to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis aware of the calls for national measures to promote positive attitudes towardsdisabled people which were made in the Equal Opportunities Committee’s DisabilityInquiry Report Removing Barriers and Creating Opportunities (November2006), in the Disability Working Group’s report (November 2006). These reportswill inform our consideration of what steps need to be taken to further promotedisability equality and advance independent living in Scotland and we will announceour plans later in the year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will help to address income inequality between disabled and non-disabled people.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis committed to creating a fairer, wealthier Scotland and will work towards this end through delivery of its five strategic objectivesand overarching purpose. It will help to address income inequality between disabledand non-disabled people through the provision of a number of policies and programmes,from the promotion of disability equality to the Workforce Plus employability framework,which seeks to maximize opportunities to access good quality sustainable employmentfor the most disadvantaged in relation to the labour market, including disabledpeople.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publicise more widely the funding resources available for disabled individuals and representative groups.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis committed to equality of opportunity for disabled people and is keen to ensurethat disabled people and disability organisations receive support and informationthat meets their needs.
Wecurrently support the work of a number of national disability organisations to helpus to improve the flow of information to disabled people and disability organisations.For example, the Scottish Government funds a number of organisations to publicisethe availability of direct payments for self-directed support including UPDATE,(Scotland’s National Disability Information Service), the Scottish Personal AssistantEmployers Network (SPAEN) which provides information and support to those individualsinterested in employing personal assistants, the Scottish Consortium of Direct PaymentSupport Organisations (SCDPSO) which provides a forum for direct payments supportorganisations throughout Scotland to work together, and Contact a Family Scotlandfor a direct payments information service.
We are happy to lookat how we further improve the flow of information and will continue to explore thiswith disabled people and disability organisations.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering improvements to the legislative rights of disabled people so that they receive essential services, in order to make independent living a realisable goal for them.
Answer
Some legislative rights,for example, those relating to employment and benefits, are contained in legislationreserved to Westminster.
In the Scottish context,Scottish ministers are considering what steps need to be taken to advance independentliving in Scotland and we will announce our plans later in theyear.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 5 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to increase the total funding available for the Humanitarian Health Fund.
Answer
The Humanitarian Health Fund is part of the International Development Fund. The Fund and Policy are presently under review as a conversation takes place to assess the most strategic way forward for Scotland’s investment in international development. Decisions as to the nature and totality of the funding for future grants will be made in accordance with the review outcomes.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Linda Fabiani on 4 September 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the announcement by the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture on 23 August 2007 regarding the level of the overseas aid budget fulfils the commitment outlined in The First 100 Days of an SNP Government that the aid budget would be increased by 100% in its first budget as distinct from announcing an intention to increase the budget by 2011.
Answer
Our commitment states We will convene a meeting of Scotland''s aid agencies to ensure Scotland''s overseas aid policy meets the needs of those in greatest need of support and in our first Budget for Scotland the SNP will increase Scotland''s International Development budget by 100%. That is exactly what I announced on 23 August 2007.
