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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: S4W-21840

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 10 July 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many two-year-olds from workless households will be eligible to receive free childcare provision from August 2014.

We estimate that 3,400 two year olds from workless households will start their entitlement from the beginning of the autumn term in August.

This is in addition to an estimated 1,184 two year olds whose entitlement is set out on the face of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, those who are looked after, under a kinship care order or have a parent-appointed guardian. In total more than 8,000 disadvantaged two year olds are expected to benefit from this enhanced provision across the forthcoming school year.

A joint assessment by the Scottish Government and COSLA has confirmed that every local authority has plans in place to deliver the new provision for eligible 2 year olds in August.

Question reference: S4W-21740

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-03321 by Shona Robison on 5 June 2014 (Official Report, c. 31883), how the £800,000 notionally committed from the special reserve satisfies the "exceptional circumstances" criteria referred to at paragraph 39 of the paper, Commonwealth Games 2014 Progress report 2: Planning for the delivery of the XXth Games.

Question reference: S4W-21739

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its definition is of the “exceptional circumstances” referred to at paragraph 39 of the paper, Commonwealth Games 2014 Progress report 2: Planning for the delivery of the XXth Games, under which the special reserve for the Commonwealth Games can be drawn down.

Question reference: S4W-21741

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2014
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-03321 by Shona Robison on 5 June 2014 (Official Report, c. 31883), whether it will inform members of any future access to the special reserve fund and the reasons why ministers considered that the "exceptional circumstances" criteria referred to at paragraph 39 of the paper, Commonwealth Games 2014 Progress report 2: Planning for the delivery of the XXth Games had been met.

The Scottish Government is providing up to £381.6 million of funding for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games which are firmly on course to deliver within budget.

In the preliminary stages of planning these Games, it was identified that a prudent budget position would be to reserve a portion of the budget, the Special Reserve, to be used in response to unforeseen circumstances and to support the successful delivery of the Games.

This Special Reserve is and always has been part of the overall Games Budget.

As a Government we recognise that public funds must be well managed and that is why the Games Budget is subject to robust financial controls. In order to promote financial transparency Audit Scotland were invited to review these financial controls and the Commonwealth Games Federation’s Co-ordination Committee recently praised the “strong financial management” of the Games partners in relation to the Games Budget. Since the Special Reserve is entirely funded by the Scottish Government, access is subject to Ministerial approval.

Any future use of the Special Reserve will require the further approval of Ministers.

The full audited accounts of Glasgow 2014 will be available post Games. In addition, Audit Scotland will be conducting a review of the Commonwealth Games which will be published in January 2015.

Question reference: S4O-03413

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how it is publicising to parents the expansion of childcare provision.

Question reference: S4O-03379

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the remit of Education Scotland school inspections to include the condition of school buildings.

Question reference: S4F-02167

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2014

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government last met members of the Commonwealth Games organising committee and whether access to the special reserve was discussed.

Question reference: S4W-21143

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of (a) primary and (b) schools that will need to be replaced over the next 10 years, broken down by local authority.

An annual rating of all schools is provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities and each school is categorised by condition and suitability as ‘good’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘poor’, or ‘bad’. This information is published each year as part of the Scottish School Estate Statistics publication. This can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/schoolestatestats

Local authorities regularly develop and update capital investment programmes for their schools estates. This information is held by individual local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-21142

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 30 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available in each year since 1999 under the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, broken down by local authority.

The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme commenced in 2009. The first round of funding was paid in 2010-11. The Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme is taken forward through a phased development. All 32 local authorities have been offered funding for at least one project through the programme. Not all local authorities have received funding yet, as their projects are yet to begin.

The detail of the funding made available in each year through the programme, broken down by local authority, is as follows:

Local Authority	2010-11 (£)	2011-12 (£)	2012-13 (£)	2013-14 (£)	2014-15 (£) (As of end April 14)
Aberdeen City				2,124,509
Aberdeenshire			7,308,550	17,568,289
Clackmannanshire				4,335,585
Dundee				5,138,110	680,000
E. Ayrshire	450,000	2,444,720	800,655
E. Dunbartonshire				1,209,007
East Lothian	61,231	2,214,606	2,632,644
East Renfrewshire	506,568	5,500,000	10,918,198	489,018
Falkirk	665,000	1,973,088
Fife	725,000		18,085,647	391,586
Glasgow				5,996,023
Inverclyde	259,023		3,242,000	1,513,106
Midlothian	858,358	5,275,204	14,576,620
Perth and Kinross	190,865		2,276,048
Renfrewshire			555,709	4,505,653
Shetland				322,366
South Lanarkshire			2,403,473
Stirling			1,883,324
W. Dunbartonshire	163,643		8,917,130	1,527,533
Western Isles	141,845	2,235,180
West Lothian	2,000,000	357,203		502,790

Question reference: S4W-21058

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the electrification of the railway line to Dunblane to include the line to Perth.

The Scottish Government plans to invest £5 billion between 2014 and 2019 to improve rail infrastructure and services. Network Rail will also oversee the development of a rolling programme of electrification at 100km of track per year upon the completion of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme. Priorities for future electrification, following the electrification of the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High, will be determined in due course.