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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: S5W-21363

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 21 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to better protect (a) households and (b) businesses from defective work carried out by unqualified or under-qualified tradespersons.

Question reference: S5O-02926

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will minimise erroneous underpayment of devolved social security assistance.

Question reference: S5W-20685

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the DWP regarding the proposed income supplement.

Question reference: S5W-20689

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made or plans to make of the cost of means-testing an income supplement.

As the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan states, the Scottish Government will consider a range of options to ensure that the income supplement lifts the maximum number of children out of poverty.

In developing the income supplement we will take forward an appraisal of all potential options, and the feasibility of each of these. As part of that we will give consideration to the advice of the Poverty and Inequality Commission, who advised that costings should be taken into account alongside issues such as complexity of delivery, potential take up rates, income security and potential disincentives to move into work or increase earnings, as well as the likely impact and the extent to which it helps meet our statutory child poverty targets.

Decisions on a delivery model will be based on the most effective way to target families in poverty and the most effective use of resources. An update on this work will be included as part of the first update report on the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which will be provide to Parliament by June 2019.

Question reference: S5W-20687

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its duties under section 9 (4) of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, what consideration it has given to topping up Child Benefit.

The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan , published in March 2018, commits the Scottish Government to work towards introducing a new income supplement, to provide additional financial support to low income families.

In developing the income supplement we will take forward an appraisal of all potential options, and the feasibility of each of these. This will include the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s advice in relation to topping up Universal Credit (UC) and the feasibility of what Social Security Scotland could deliver. Delivery models will be based on the most effective way to target families in poverty and the most effective use of resources.

An update on this work will be included as part of the first update report on the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which will be provide to Parliament by June 2019.

Question reference: S5W-20684

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings ministers and/or its officials have had with external groups at which the main topic of discussion was the proposed income supplement.

The Scottish Government has committed to working closely with stakeholders on the development of the income supplement, to consider how the income supplement can best target support where it can have the greatest impact.

Since taking up post in July 2018, myself and Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People have met a range of organisations to discuss issues of importance in their portfolios, including the income supplement for which joint responsibility is held.

Officials have also held introductory meetings with a range of stakeholders with a key interest in the income supplement. To date, such meetings have been held with: Child Poverty Action Group; Poverty Alliance; Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Institute for Public Policy Research; One Parent Families Scotland; Save the Children; Oxfam; and, A Menu for Change.

Question reference: S5W-20686

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to maximise awareness and take-up of the proposed income supplement.

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on Scottish Ministers to promote take- to the assistance individuals are eligible to be given through the Scottish social security system, and to publish a strategy to promote take-up.

This section of the Act was commenced on 22 October 2018 with the Act requiring that a strategy is published within one year of this date.

In developing the strategy we will consider how best to ensure people receive the information and advice required to access the assistance they are eligible for, and to ensure take-up of assistance is maximised.

We will also give due consideration to the advice of the Poverty and Inequality Commission who advised, among a range of issues, that the development of the income supplement should give consider potential take-up rates.

Question reference: S5W-20682

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its staff hours each week are being used to develop policy on the proposed income supplement.

Question reference: S5W-20683

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has budgeted for policy development of the proposed income supplement.

Question reference: S5W-20565

Asked by: Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received funds from the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme to help them visit relatives in the last five years.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The amount of approved Assisted Prison Visits in the last 5 years, April to March, are in the following table. The figures are of the total approved claims and are not broken down by unique users. The figure provided for 2017-18 takes account of the switch to a digital application system mid-way through the year.

Year	Total Approved claims
2014-15	4,320
2015-16	3,855
2016-17	3,372
2017-18	1,986 (Digital switch – July 2017)
1-4-18 - ‎ 31-11-18	1,993 (Estimated approximately 3,000 approved claims by year end: 2018-19

Statistics indicate there has been a decline in prison population year on year since the most recent peak in 2012. Claims for APVU are increasing this year and if this increase continues it is estimated that around 3,000 claims may be approved this financial year.