- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 1 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was provided to Highland Council to tackle homelessness in each of the last two financial years.
Answer
1. Allocations to Highland Council to tackle homelessness over each of the last two financial years includes specific grant funding from the Scottish Government in the form of the amalgamated Tackling and Preventing Homelessness Fund from 2007-08 (previously the Homelessness Task Force and Furnished Tenancies Grant) and the allocations were as follows:
Specific Grant Funding, Tackling and Preventing Homelessness
| Year | Funding |
| 2006-2007 | £607,697 |
| 2007-08 | £613,606 |
2. The progress report and local outcome agreement received by the Scottish Government Homelessness Division from Highland Council for 2006-07 indicates a number of partnerships with a variety of local agencies in delivering local homelessness services and that a number of different funding streams are sourced in implementing these services in addition to the Tackling and Preventing Homelessness Grant.
3. Highland Council also receives general funding allocated through the core local government finance settlement. It should be noted however that the general provision does not represent actual funding but is used as a means of distributing the core local government finance settlement. The general provision in the core settlement includes Tackling and Preventing Homelessness (formerly Rough Sleepers Initiative) and General Homelessness. The allocations for the past two years were as follows:
| Tackling and Preventing Homelessness | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Former Rough Sleepers Initiative | 161,000 | 163,000 |
| General Homelessness | 195,000 | 197,000 |
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 1 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it recommends should be in place for people staying in houses of multiple occupation and whether it believes that such accommodation is the most appropriate means of housing people with complex needs.
Answer
It is for localauthorities to assess the housing needs of individuals and provide suitableaccommodation according to their needs. Any housing support serviceaccommodation receiving Supporting People funding must be registered with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and meet the care standardsrequired by the commission.
Other houses in multipleoccupation (HMOs) must be licensed with the appropriate local authority. Beforegranting an HMO licence, the local authority will inspect the property toensure that it is safe and that the accommodation is appropriate for theproposed number of tenants. The local authority will also ensure that thelandlord is following appropriate management standards.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 31 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that new crofts will be created in Moray.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentwill be consulting later in 2007 on proposals to designate new areas, includingin Moray, where crofts may be created. I refer the member to the answer to questionS3W-4768 on 1 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.If theconsultation demonstrates support for these new crofting areas the power toextend crofting tenure beyond the crofting counties rests in section 3 of theCrofters (Scotland) Act 1993, as amended by the Crofting Reform etc. (Scotland) Act 2007.
Land in Moraybelonging to the Scottish ministers will be parts of the National Forest estatecurrently managed by Forestry Commission, Scotland who are actively working tofacilitate the creation of woodland crofts on National Forest land, whether inMoray or in other areas where crofting tenure applies. Other public land usebodies will be encouraged to consider whether land they manage is suitable forcrofting.
The Scottish Governmentcannot force anyone to change land to crofting tenure. Land owners will beable to apply to the Crofters Commission for the creation of new crofts withinany areas designated by Ministers. In addition, tenants under the SmallLandholders Acts 1886-1931 may also apply for the conversion of their smallholdingto crofting tenure.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 31 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial incentives will be available to establish new crofts in Moray.
Answer
There are nofinancial incentives currently available for the establishment of new crofts inMoray.
As announcedpreviously, the proposed designation of Moray will not affect the arrangementsfor offering grant assistance to crofters within the crofting counties, asdefined in the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. Future arrangements for financial support forcrofting will be determined in the light of the report of the Committee ofInquiry on Crofting.
Land Managers inMoray – whether or not they are crofters - will be eligible to apply forfinancial support under a number of measures in the new Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme 2007-13.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 31 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its available landholdings in Moray will be used to create new crofts as outlined in the proposal to create new crofting areas.
Answer
I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5255 on 31 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 31 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial incentives to extend crofting to Moray will be additional to existing resources.
Answer
I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5256 on 31 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can befound at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive with reference to Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland, whether it considers there to be a difference between an “equivalent” police officer and a police officer and, if so, how the level of service provided by a police officer compares with that of an equivalent.
Answer
I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-5168 on 29 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of “equivalent” in respect of its pledge to create “the equivalent of 1,000 additional police officers”, as set out in Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland.
Answer
The ScottishGovernment’s commitment is not about headline figures or counting heads – that,in itself, will not make our communities safer; it’s about getting the best outof the police service. Our aim is to ensure a more visible policing presence inScotland’s communities.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 24 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide funding for the Intensive Support and Monitoring Service in the Highlands after March 2008, in light of the reduction in the number of persistent offenders in the region over the last two years.
Answer
The ScottishGovernment has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Intensive Supportand Monitoring Scheme, which is due to be completed shortly. Ministers willconsider the evaluation and its implications for current arrangements tosupport and manage high-risk young people. The level of future funding for thiswork is being considered as part of the 2007 spending review.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have been held between it and officials from NHS Highland about improving access to health care in rural and remote areas.
Answer
The Chief Executive of NHS Highland is Chair of the National Remote and Rural Group whichis developing future recommendations designed to sustain and develop healthservices in remote and rural areas of Scotland. This grouphas reported progress to Scottish Government Officials on a regular basis andits work was discussed during the Annual Review of NHS Highland chaired by theMinister for Public Health on 21 August 2007.
