Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-02365

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

I met with Ayrshire Growth Deal partners last month to reiterate the Scottish Government’s commitment to agreeing a deal, with the aim of supporting investments that will boost inclusive economic growth.

I recognise the hard work that partners have put into developing deal proposals. My officials continue to engage with Ayrshire and UK Government colleagues to maintain collective pace and focus on reaching a heads of terms agreement as soon as possible.

Question reference: S5W-18541

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to rape crisis centres.

In 2018-19, the Scottish Government will provide £50K each to 16 rape crisis centres across the country. Thanks to our support, a 17th centre will open later this month in Moray. We are also providing Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre with one-off funding of £35K to support advocacy, encourage reporting and work with young people.

In addition Rape Crisis centres also receive funding for specific pieces of work through the Equally Safe (Violence against Women and Girls) Fund. These include projects such as the Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (RASAC) Perth and Kinross’ Pathways to Prevention or the Ruby Project by Greater Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis.

We provide £1.7 million in funding to 2018-20 the Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Advocacy Project, to provide advocacy workers in each local Rape Crisis centre.

On 4 September the First Minister announced that a further £2 million over three years to speed up access to support for those affected by rape or sexual assault. This includes £1.5 million for rape crisis centres, with that funding starting from October 2018 so it can start to make a difference immediately.

Question reference: S5O-02238

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it gives to inclusive communication, and what improvements it can make to parliamentary broadcasts in this regard.

Question reference: S5W-17009

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to recruit more educational psychologists.

It is for individual local authorities to take decisions on the numbers of educational psychologists they need and employ and the methods they use to recruit to educational psychology services. We have been working with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) on workforce planning to ensure a sustainable supply of educational psychologists to meet needs.

On 25 May 2018 an agreement was reached between COSLA and the Scottish Government on a new partnership funding package to help with fees and living costs for trainee educational psychologists. This will deliver up to 30 new educational psychologists each year. This partnership funding package will ensure that the profession is attractive to psychology graduates across Scotland, and robust workforce planning with local authorities will ensure that numbers trained match demand.

Question reference: S5O-02169

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making toward delivering the carers allowance supplement.

Question reference: S5O-02115

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that children are able to give their views in a way that works best for them in cases of court-ordered contact.

Question reference: S5O-02065

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that quality is embedded and evidenced in drug and alcohol services.

Question reference: S5O-02002

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 25 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that court mandated contact orders are safe for both the child and parent with residency.

Question reference: S5W-15464

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent each year on measures to mitigate the impact on Scotland of the UK Government's welfare reforms.

The Scottish Government continues to protect the most vulnerable and those on low incomes by mitigating the worst impacts of the UK Government’s welfare cuts.

We have increased our spending on welfare mitigation measures by over £20 million in each of the last two years. In 2018-19 we expect to spend £128m, this is up from £102.8m in 2017-18 and £81.4m in 2016-17.

Using public funds to make up shortfalls caused by UK Government welfare reforms to which the Scottish Government is firmly opposed is unsustainable. In the long term, only full devolution of social security will allow us to build a system that meets Scotland’s needs and supports our long-term ambitions.

Question reference: S5O-01968

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it is involving stakeholders with the development and implementation of its Planning Bill.

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