Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-01505

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the higher education sector could be of leaving the EU.

This Government shares the concerns of Scotland’s Higher Education sector regarding leaving the EU. It will become more difficult through the loss of freedom of movement to attract and retain EU staff and students. We will lose access to significant research funding and collaboration, such as Horizon 2020, as well as participation in a wide range of EU programmes, including Erasmus+.

Scotland has long been an attractive destination for international students from within and beyond the EU, but UK student visa policies, and the threat of Brexit is sending a negative message to students considering Scotland for their studies.

It is therefore important that we continue to reiterate our view - to anyone thinking of coming to Scotland to study or indeed, to work in our HE institutions – you are welcome here.

Question reference: S5F-01670

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2017

To ask the First Minister how many households have received support from the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Question reference: S5O-01386

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage economic growth.

Question reference: S5O-01296

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it is investing in supporting young people in Paisley.

Question reference: S5O-01233

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on its climate change targets of encouraging the use of electric vehicles between now and 2032.

As announced in the Programme for Government, we will increase efforts to support and promote electric vehicles to ensure that by 2032 there will be no need to purchase a petrol or diesel car or van. We will take the lead in decarbonising road transport to ensure Scotland remains at the forefront of the global low carbon transition. The final Climate Change Plan will reflect these new announcements, with publication in early 2018.

Question reference: S5W-10951

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2017
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 28 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on which projects will receive funding from the £2.5 million Employability Innovation and Integration Fund that was announced in June 2017.

Today, I am pleased to announce that 13 projects have been selected to receive funding from the Employability Innovation and Integration Fund (EIFF) over the period 2017-18 – 2018-19.

The £2.5 million EIFF was launched in June seeking proposals to join up employment support with health and social care, justice and housing services, making sure people receive the level of support they need to find employment.

We received 36 bids to the EIFF and following assessment, I have selected 13 projects to receive funding. The selected projects represent a range of different approaches joining up employment support with health and social care, justice and housing services.

The projects will improve the quality of service delivery, achieve better and more sustainable positive outcomes for people, and promote the well-being of communities.

A summary of the 13 selected projects is provided in the following table:-

Project Location	Lead Partner	Summary of Proposal	SG Financial Contribution £
Paisley	West College Scotland	A package of employment support to adults with mild to moderate learning differences autistic spectrum disorder, and mental health problems.	134,317
Dundee, Perth and Kinross & Angus	Dundee City Council	A regional employability approach to integrate public services with employability and skills with a focus on housing, healthy living, and community justice.	274,321
Fife	Fife Council	An approach with a focus on increasing employment outcomes for people experiencing mental health issues through employing a strategic co-ordinator to work with stakeholders to change how employability and mental health services are aligned.	205,972
City of Edinburgh	Capital City Partnership	A project to integrate the work of health and social care, housing and criminal justice services by having a localities integration team to co-ordinate all activity working with a social care team.	284,700
Stirling	Stirling Council	An approach to join up public and third sector services including Criminal Justice Social Work, Stirling Community Enterprise, Addiction Support and Counselling Forth Valley, and NHS Keep Well to improve employment outcomes of those who are in the criminal justice system of those identified as being at risk of offending.	96,958
Bridgeton, Glasgow	Clyde Gateway URC	A health improvement and employability project that links the needs of parents and caregivers attending Bridgeton Family Learning Centre to skills development and employment opportunities whilst accessing health and wellbeing, volunteering, and financial inclusion services.	120,043
North Lanarkshire	North Lanarkshire Council	An approach joining up services for homeless residents who have recognised health, social care and housing support needs (with a particular focus on young care leavers and vulnerable adults of all ages) and aligning these with a range of employability services and programmes.	157,781
Renfrewshire	Renfrewshire Council	An approach to integrate key provision to improve skills and employment opportunities of those with historic or current criminal convictions (with a focus on women who have experienced significant trauma and those who have committed high risk violent/and or sexual offences).	223,565
Deprived communities within the Inverclyde area	Inverclyde Council	A collaborative public and private sector approach to provide supported employment for vulnerable people including those experiencing the criminal justice system whose additional barriers may include addictions and/or homelessness.	149,942
Falkirk	Falkirk Community Justice Partnership	An approach to improve the health and well-being of people in the criminal justice system by identifying and addressing health related issues and creating supported pathways to employment.	248,429
South Lanarkshire	South Lanarkshire Council	An approach to pilot a Structured Deferred Sentence model for young people aged 16-21 involved in offending behaviour that will include employability elements to secure sustainable positive outcomes.	220,000
North Lanarkshire	North Lanarkshire Council	An approach to pilot an Employment Academy for Supported Training Programme for people who have a learning disability and a criminal conviction.	93,538
North Aberdeenshire	Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership	An approach to provide medically trained staff to support people with mental health issues, people who are known to criminal justice, and people who have substance misuse issues to start new or return to employment.	321,117

Question reference: S5W-10919

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-10918

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn

Question reference: S5O-01179

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will protect and promote the rights of disabled people, including those guaranteed under international conventions, in light of the reported possible impact of a so-called hard Brexit.

There is no doubt that a hard Brexit will be deeply damaging, but our commitment to delivering transformational change to improve the lives of disabled people remains resolute. Remaining part of the European Single Market will allow greater scope for the continuation of social protections. We also want repatriated EU competence in reserved areas such as employment and equality law to be devolved, to ensure that the Scottish Parliament has the powers to continue to provide the necessary protections for our citizens.

I am committed to ensuring that the rights of disabled people are protected and earlier this month I met with members of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament to talk about the our action plan which demonstrates our commitment to upholding the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Question reference: S5O-01020

Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK Government’s austerity measures are having on Scottish Government finances.

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