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: S5O-02574

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information sheriffs are given regarding the availability of secure unit places when disposing of a case involving a young offender.

Question reference: S5W-19127

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support for (i) loft, (ii) cavity wall, (iii) room in roof, (iv) solid wall and (v) other forms of insulation from area-based energy-efficiency schemes in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government only holds information about the area-based energy efficiency schemes that it has funded since 2008.

Copies of the detailed information requested for the HEEPS Area Based scheme and Warmer Homes Scotland have been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 60121).

We do not hold complete information about the number of households that may have applied for these schemes. Eligibility usually reflects the areas targeted for project delivery by local authorities as part of their Area Based Schemes, as well as individual households circumstances and ability to self-fund improvements.

We do not hold detailed information about the number of households benefitting from each of the five insulation measures identified. Local authorities provide returns about the number of measures provided under the scheme, some households benefit from more than one of these measures. Due to the accrual financing of our Area Based Scheme with local authorities the 2017/18 report is not yet available.

The number of households applying for a loan through the HEEPS Area Based scheme is published on the Energy Saving Trust website. This information is not available for each of these measures by individual local authority.

Information about the Home Insulation Scheme (HIS) and the Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS), as well as other data for a variety of Scottish Government grant schemes, is available from the Energy Saving Trust website.

The data can be found under the Download Reports and Statistics about our activities, specifically the Home Energy programmes Detailed Report 2009/13. A link to this data will be included with the information lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Question reference: S5W-19128

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 9 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) in each of the last 10 years.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19127 on 9 November 2018. This summarises the information that is available for the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) at local authority level.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-19129

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support for (i) a new boiler or heating replacement system, (ii) solar panels, (iii) air source heat pumps and (iv) biomass energy systems in each of the last 10 years.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated. The information has to be drawn from a number of different sources from various schemes over the ten-year period, including from data held by the Scottish Government’s contracted scheme administrator. Current and historical databases are being analysed and combined, and this includes a process of removing duplication followed by careful checking for accuracy.

I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib number 60132).

Question reference: S5W-18671

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 started in excess of the 140-day target from full committal, broken down by the average length of delay.

Question reference: S5W-18865

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) median and (b) mean total household income has been of applicants to the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme in each quarter since 2016.

Information on the incomes of households purchasing homes through the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme is based on sales ‘log form’ information returned by participating households. Data on the median and mean household incomes is published in the latest Help to Buy (Scotland) Monitoring: characteristics of households report 2016-17 by quarter since the scheme began. The report can be found at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/help-to-buy-scotland-monitoring-characteristics-of-households-report-2016-2017/ .

Question reference: S5W-18801

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using the top-up powers to add a supplement to child benefit for people in receipt of the child element of universal credit.

The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan , published in March 2018, commits the Scottish Government to work towards introducing a new income supplement by 2022 to provide additional financial support to low income families.

In developing the income supplement we will examine all delivery options, this will include the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s advice in relation to topping up Universal Credit (UC) and the feasibility of what Social Security Scotland could deliver.

The current devolution settlement means that if we choose Child Benefit or Universal Credit as a mechanism to top-up incomes, we will be reliant upon HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) scheduling Scottish requirements into their work programme. This has the potential to introduce constraints, complexity and, importantly, costs into the process over which Scottish Ministers have no control.

Decisions on a delivery model will be based on the most effective way to target families in poverty and the most effective use of resources.

Question reference: S5W-18802

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to top-up child benefit by £5.00 per week for people in receipt of the child element of universal credit.

As the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan states, the Scottish Government will consider a range of options to ensure that the income supplement lifts the maximum number of children out of poverty.

In developing the income supplement we will take forward an appraisal of all potential options. As part of that we will give consideration to the advice we receive from the Poverty and Inequality Commission, who advised that costings should be taken into account alongside issues such as complexity of delivery, potential take up rates, income security and potential disincentives to move into work or increase earnings, as well as the likely impact and the extent to which it helps meet our ambitious, statutory child poverty targets.

An update on this work will be included as part of the first update report on the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which will be provide to Parliament by June 2019.

Question reference: S5W-18670

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 started no later than the 140-day target date from full committal.

Question reference: S5W-18588

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it last audited the rates that can be charged by locums providing GP cover and how they compare with GP salaries.

The majority of Scotland's GP practices (94%) are run by independent contractors. As such it is for practices to agree terms and conditions with the locums who they engage. However, the Scottish Government is committed to greater transparency on how investment works in general practice and that is why under the 2018 GP Contract all GP practices are now required to provide data on their practice workforce and related expenses. This will allow more transparency on GP locum use in the future.