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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: S2W-26442

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address delayed discharge from hospitals in Argyll and Bute.

Question reference: S2W-26444

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Robert Brown on 14 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated for social work services in Argyll and Bute for each year since 1999.

The GAE allocations for socialwork services in Argyll and Bute for each year since 1999 are shown in the following table.

Year	Amount Allocated (£ Million)
1999-2000	20.660
2000-01	21.208
2001-02	23.187
2002-03	26.204
2003-04	32.955
2004-05	33.958
2005-06	35.191
2006-07	38.729
2007-08	40.347

These allocations are based onthe total social work Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) lines for each year. It shouldbe noted that these GAEs are not budgets or spending targets but part of the morecomplex local government funding formula used to calculate one block grant figurefor each council. It is then up to each council to decide how best to allocate theirresources based on their local needs and priorities.

Specific Grant for Social WorkTraining of £5.5 million per annum is currently allocated to local authorities.This is ring fenced funding to improve the quality of social work service provisionby increasing the availability of training for relevant staff.

SpecificGrant Funding Awarded to Argyll and ButeCouncil

	Annual Grant Award (£)
1999-2000	65,000
2000-01	35,968
2001-02	41,000
2002-03	35,968
2003-04	98,968
2004-05	98,968
2005-06	98,968
2006-07	98,968

Question reference: S2W-25891

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many money advisers are accredited to provide advice on the use of debt arrangement schemes.

Question reference: S2W-25895

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Committee of Scottish Clearing Banks to discuss bank arrestment and what issues were raised.

Question reference: S2W-25893

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 6 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the Debt Arrangement Scheme to enable more debtors to be included.

A debtor eligible for the DebtArrangement Scheme must apply for a debt payment programme through an approved moneyadviser.

A lower than expected numberof money advisers have become approved. In order to increase take up by debtorsit will be necessary to first increase the number of approved advisers.

With that in mind, the Executivereviewed the Debt Arrangement Scheme between December 2005 and February 2006. Asa result of that review the Executive announced on 24 May 2005 that the Scheme wouldbe amended to allow for a payment programme to include debt relief.

This reform is expected to leadto an increase in the number of approved money advisers, and thereby enable moredebtors to be included in the scheme.

Question reference: S2W-26689

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what policies it has implemented in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency to tackle youth crime and what funding it has allocated for such policies in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Executive haslaunched and implemented a range of policy initiatives aimed at preventing,tackling and cutting youth crime across Scotland. These are not broken down by constituency area. Formore detail on local strategic and service delivery arrangements in the twolocal authority areas covered by the member’s constituency, I refer her to the“In Your Area” section of the dedicated youth justice website:

West Dunbartonshire

http://www.youthjusticescotland.gov.uk/youthjusticemapping.asp?ID=63.

Argyll and Bute

http://www.youthjusticescotland.gov.uk/youthjusticemapping.asp?ID=44.

Dedicated funding to addressyouth justice issues began in 2000-01. Youth justice funding arrangements arenot broken down by constituency. The following provides details of theprincipal relevant funding streams, and where possible shows allocations to West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute local authorities:

GAEyouth justice funding

(todevelop capacity in the youth justice system and to support local authoritiesaiming to meet the national standards for youth justice by March 2006)

2000-01- £3.5 million (West Dumbarton – 100,000) (Argyll and Bute- 40,000)

2001-02- £5 million (West Dumbarton – 143,000) (Argyll and Bute – 56,000)

2002-03- £5 million (+ £3million in-year) (West Dumbarton – 143,000) (Argyll and Bute – 56,000)

2003-04- £10 million (West Dumbarton – 286,000) (Argyll and Bute – 112,000)

2004-05- £13 million (West Dumbarton – 361,000) (Argyll and Bute – 159,000)

2005-06- 2007-08 - £15 million per year (West Dumbarton – 416,000) (Argyll and Bute – 184,000)

LocalAction Fund

(ASBStrategy - distributed to local authorities in the redetermination orderaccording to the GAE formula)

2004-05- 2007-08 - £5 million per year (West Dumbarton 2006-07 – 129,000) (Argyll and Bute – 67,000)

Programmesfor those subject to ASBOs (ASB Strategy -distributed to local authorities inthe redetermination order according to the GAE formula)

2004-05- 2007-08 - £2 million per year (West Dumbarton – 53,000) (Argyll and Bute – 27,000)

Fundingfor restorative justice places (ASB Strategy - distributed to local authoritiesin the redetermination order according to the GAE formula)

2001-02- £2 million (West Dumbarton – 57,000) (Argyll and Bute – 23,000)

2002-03- £2m

2003-04- £1.5 million (West Dumbarton – 40,000) (Argyll and Bute – 20,000)

2004-05- 2007-08 - £1.5 million per year (West Dumbarton – 40,000) (Argyll and Bute – 20,000)

Parentingorders (ASB Strategy - distributed to local authorities in the redeterminationorder according to the GAE formula)

2004-05- £1 million for set up (West Dumbarton – 28,000) (Argyll and Bute – 12,000)

2005-06- £2 million (West Dumbarton – 53,000) (Argyll and Bute – 27,000)

2006-07and 2007-08 - £4 million (West Dumbarton – 103,000) (Argyll and Bute – 53,000)

NationalStandards for youth justice (to support local authorities aiming to meet thenational standards for youth justice by March 2006 - distributed to localauthorities in the redetermination order according to the GAE formula)

2002-03- £4.1m

2003-04- £500k

2004-05- £2 million (West Dumbarton – 42,000) (Argyll and Bute – 18,000)

2005-06- £6.5 million (West Dumbarton – 156,000) (Argyll and Bute – 87,000)

2006-07and 2007-08 - £7.5 million (West Dumbarton – 194,000) (Argyll and Bute – 99,000)

YouthCrime Prevention Fund

(todevelop capacity in the youth justice system - grant payments to identifiedrelevant local authority/voluntary organisation twice yearly )

2002-03- 2004-05 - £10 million

2005-06- £2.75 million

2006-07- £2.75 million

2007-08- £2.75 million

IntensiveSupport Fund

(todevelop capacity in the youth justice system - grant payments to relevant localauthority/voluntary organisation twice yearly)

2002-03 - £3.29 million

2003-04 - £2.18 million

2004-05 - £2 million

2005-06 - £1.8 million

2006-07 - £1.8 million

2007-08 - £1.8 million

Intensive Support and MonitoringServices –

West Dunbartonshire one of seven authorities who are part of phase 1 ofimplementation.

2004-05 - £263,000

2005-06 to 2007-08 - £379,000per year.

Question reference: S2W-26048

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has commissioned any surveys into the public perception of standards of public services and, if not, what plans it has to do so.

A range of surveys are used tomeasure both levels of satisfaction with public services and perceptions of standards.In many instances both topics are covered in the same surveys; these are describedin more detail as follows;

Scottish Household Survey (SHS)

The publication can be accessedusing the following link:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002/14048.

Scottish Social Attitudes Survey

The publication can be accessedusing the following link:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/18151621/16219.

Public Attitudes to the NHS

Two stand alone surveys of publicattitudes to the NHS were commissioned by the Health Department in 2000 and2004. The 2004 report can be accessed using the following link:

www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/panhss-00.asp

Bus Passenger Satisfaction Survey

The 2004 report can be accessed using the following link:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/09142637/26510

Growing Up in Scotland

The survey began in 2005 andthe results of the 2005 survey will be published in late autumn 2006.

The 2005 MORI Social Policy Monitorcarried questions about the public’s use of, and satisfaction with, a rangeof local government services in its first quarter survey. These were commissionedby the FCSD ASD.

Question reference: S2W-26049

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the level of satisfaction with the provision of public services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-26048 on 1 June 2006. A range of surveys are used to measureboth levels of satisfaction with public services and perceptions of standards. Inmany instances both topics are covered in the same surveys. In addition, one-offsurveys are used from time to time by different departments with specific data needs.The duty of Best Value which the Scottish Executive has placed on Scotland’s publicservice organisations, encourages them to consider satisfaction with the servicesthey provide.

All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-26050

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will treat debt owed to credit unions as a priority debt in a protected trust deed following enactment of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S2W-26051

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 1 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether debt owed to a credit union will be treated in the same way as debt owed to the Student Loans Company following enactment of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill.

Student loans are not made ona commercial basis, and individual risk is not assessed. They are long-term loansmade from public funds in accordance with eligibility criteria set out in legislation,and therefore the Student Loans Company administers and collects public debt.

Credit unions offer a valuableservice, but they compete in the open market. Loans are made on a commercial basis,and are often short-term. Credit unions assess the risk of the borrower not payingthe debt in the same way as other private lenders. There is therefore no directcomparison between credit unions and the Student Loans Company.

The Executive does not considerthat a compelling case has been made out for treating debt owed to credit unionsin the same way as debt owed to the Student Loans Company. There are therefore noplans to make any provision to that effect in the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc.(Scotland) Bill.