- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce centrally statistical data as currently gathered by local authorities, to monitor the take-up rate of pensioners claiming council tax and housing benefits for the purposes of assessing poverty levels.
Answer
Statistics on the take-up of income-related benefits are published annually by the Department for Social Security. The recently published report Social Justice...a Scotland where everyone matters set out our five key milestones for elderly people, including one relating to income poverty. Take-up rates of benefits depend on many factors, and are not necessarily a good guide to poverty.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to change the law to reduce the housing benefit taper which requires pensioners to pay 65p in every pound earned from their occupation or private pension over the income support level towards their rent and what assessment it has made or plans to make of the effect on poverty levels such a change may have.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments on a wide range of issues, including housing benefit.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the #12 million allocated to the New Warm Deal this year comes from: (a) money transferred from the home energy efficiency scheme; (b) New Deal and (c) capital receipts to local authorities.
Answer
The budget for improving home energy efficiency for low-income households in Scotland is £12 million for 1999-2000. £1.475 million of the total came from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) to meet the cost of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) in Scotland between 1 April and 30m June. The rest is for the Warm Deal which was introduced on 1 July. It includes £4.525 million received from DETR as Scotland's share of the HEES budget for GB for the period from 1 July to 31 March 2000. None of the resources for the Warm Deal come from the budget for the New Deal or from capital receipts by local authorities.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it recognises "Social Phobia" as a genuine illness leading to, among other difficulties, social exclusion and, if so, what treatment guidelines have been issued.
Answer
Social Phobia is included in the main psychiatric diagnostic manuals, the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). Social Phobia is a mental illness that in its severest forms could result in almost complete social isolation.Health Boards and NHS Trusts are expected to develop services for the treatment of psychological disorders based on the assessment of needs. The services provided should typically integrate the contributions and resources of all relevant professionals (specialist clinics, GPs, mental health nurses, social workers etc) at all levels of expertise.No specific treatment guidelines have been issued by the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the New Warm Deal to allow greater flexibility in the 70%/30% private/public sector split.
Answer
I expect that around 50% of the budget for the Warm Deal this year will be spent on local authority housing.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to select the independent panel of academics to oversee the multi-modal study of the transport corridors covered by the M8 and M80 and when it will report.
Answer
The independent panel of academics will be selected on the basis of their direct experience of multi-modal transport appraisal. Of particular relevance will be experience in transport modelling and appraisal, environmental assessment, economic development issues and land-use/transportation interactions.Officials are currently developing a draft study programme, including timescales, for my consideration.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the total funding package of #12 million allocated through the Scottish Healthy Homes Initiative will be index linked against inflation.
Answer
In November, I announced that the budget for the Warm Deal will be increased to £13 million in 2000-01 and £14.5 million in 2001-02.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the maximum grant of #500 available under the Warm Deal in Scotland programme will be index linked against inflation.
Answer
There are no present plans to review the grant maximum.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to change the law to reduce the council tax benefit taper which requires pensioners to pay 20p in every # earned from their occupational or private pension over the income support level towards council tax and what assessment it has made of the effect on poverty levels such a change may have.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments on a wide range of issues, including council tax benefit. It is for the Department of Social Security to assess the impact of any possible changes to the council tax benefit taper.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 1999
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 21 December 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the New Warm Deal so that cross subsidy of eligible flats within a given tenemental project can be considered providing that the average grant per flat does not exceed the maximum available.
Answer
There are no present plans for a review of this kind.
