- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, what target it has for people living in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" working in sustained employment.
Answer
There is information on the Executive’s closing the opportunity gap website,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/people/social-inclusion/17415/opportunity about targets relating to sustained employment for workless people dependent on Department of Work and Pensions benefits in key areas, 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment, employees of public sector and large employers on low wages, young people leaving care and residents of the most deprived neighbourhoods.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, how many people living in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" were in sustained employment in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004.
Answer
Figures for all people in Scotland in employment in the years concerned are as follows. It is not possible, however, to define how many of these are in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, nor how many are in sustained employment.
| Levels* | Thousands |
| Year | Quarter | Employment |
| 2000 | Sep-Nov | 2,360 |
| 2001 | Sep-Nov | 2,351 |
| 2002 | Sep-Nov | 2,370 |
| 2003 | Sep-Nov | 2,402 |
| 2004 | Sep-Nov | 2,446 |
Note: *Levels are for those 16+.
Source: Labour Force Survey.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has to link deprivation in communities with crime and family breakdown.
Answer
There is a substantial body of evidence linking deprivation with crime and family breakdown available to the Executive. The evidence comes primarily from regular statistical surveys such as the British Crime Survey (BCS) and its Scottish equivalent, the Scottish Crime Survey (SCS), and from research on neighbourhood deprivation, social exclusion and poverty, undertaken at research centres across the UK, including research funded by the Executive on Life in Low Income Families, published in 2003.
The BCS has consistently revealed that individuals living in deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to register higher levels of victimisation and fear of crime than those living in less deprived neighbourhoods. The SCS confirms these findings for a range of crimes such as vehicle crime, violent crime and domestic abuse.
Research on poverty and social exclusion continues to draw attention not only to the extent of income and material deprivation experienced in poor families but also to the social consequences for the families concerned, including family breakdown.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 31 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a policy of continuously monitoring morale among members of children's panels to ensure that retention levels do not fall below current levels.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12922, answered on 22 December 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 31 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish the Social Justice Indicators of Progress for 2004.
Answer
Our new Closing the Opportunity Gap approach has refocused our social justice strategy, and set out new objectives and targets, and action to deliver those targets. The targets were announced in the Scottish Parliament on 9 December 2004 and are referred to in the answer given to question S2W-12888 (answered on 9 December 2004), and more information can be found at
www.scotland.gov.uk/closingtheopportunitygap.Data on the social justice milestones continue to be available at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Social-Inclusion/17415/milestones#top.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 27 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an announcement will be made in February 2005 on the funding of the Borders Railway.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will respond to the Waverley Railway’s outline business case in the next few weeks.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 26 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many will be retained as volunteers following implementation of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, in light of possible delays in processing Disclosure Scotland forms.
Answer
Over the past five months, all correctly completed applications have been issued in under 14 working days from the time of receipt at Disclosure Scotland.
At 11 January 2005, the Central Registered Body Scotland (CRBS) (which handles applications from the voluntary sector in Scotland) was dealing with applications received on 5 January 2005.
Disclosure Scotland, CRBS and the Scottish Executive will closely monitor the impact of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 on application volume to ensure that applications continue to be processed timeously.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
-
Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 26 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was allocated to Disclosure Scotland in each year since its establishment and what targets Disclosure Scotland has in respect of staff recruitment in 2005.
Answer
Disclosure Scotland is financed by the share of income Scottish ministers receive from the sale of certificates and through additional support from ministers as necessary. Disclosure Scotland began operations in April 2002, and the income from the sale of certificates and support from ministers is set out below. The support from ministers includes expenditure to cover the cost of free checks for volunteers in Scotland.
| Year | Gross Support from Ministers | Income from Certificates | Net Support from Ministers |
| 2002‑03 | £3,554,080 | £802,000 | £2,752,080 |
| 2003‑04 | £3,647,918 | £1,779,662 | £1,868,256 |
| 2004‑05 (projected) | £3,615,000 | £2,106,000 | £1,509,000 |
The staffing complement at Disclosure Scotland is kept under review to ensure that there are sufficient resources to respond to demand. This is informed by daily measurement of processing capacity and applications received. In the event that the volume of applications shows signs of outstripping processing capacity, immediate action will be taken to address this including recruiting additional staff if necessary.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 25 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive which divisions within Lothian and Borders Police have implemented an overtime ban in the last 12 months and what plans there are for extending, or implementing, a ban on overtime for the next 12 months.
Answer
Arrangements for working hours are a matter for the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 24 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12428 by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2004, how many dental practices in the Scottish Borders provided NHS treatment in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04, expressed also as a percentage of all practices for each year.
Answer
The number of dental practices in the Scottish Borders providing NHS treatment at 31 March in the relevant years is shown in the table.
It is not possible to express this number as a percentage of all practices in the Scottish Borders, as information on non-NHS dental practices is not held centrally.
Number of General Dental Practices in NHS Borders Providing NHS Treatment1; at 31 March
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).
Note: 1. Dental practices with at least one dentist within the practice providing NHS general dental services.
