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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-20755

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it or Citizens Advice Scotland is responsible for advertising and promoting the Financial Health Check service; what advertising and promotional work has been agreed as part of the agreement with Citizens Advice Scotland to deliver the service; how frequently this work is to be delivered, and how much of the £3.3 million funding committed to the service over two years is to be used for advertising and promoting the service.

Both the Scottish Government and Citizens Advice network in Scotland are responsible for advertising and promoting the service. The Scottish Government will undertake a national marketing campaign week commencing 7 January 2019 to raise awareness of the service. The funding for the Scottish Government’s national marketing campaign is in addition to the £3.3 million funding committed.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) will also undertake marketing work and local marketing and engagement with local partners will be undertaken by local Citizens Advice Bureau. CAS is currently developing their plans on this.

Question reference: S5W-20746

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many financial health checks have been conducted under its Financial Health Check service, also broken down by (a) local authority and (b) citizens advice bureau.

Question reference: S5W-20753

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the requirements are on Citizens Advice Scotland to report statistical information under its agreement to deliver the Financial Health Check service, and how frequently it is required to report this.

Question reference: S5W-20749

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the minimum level of service is for the Financial Health Check service agreed with Citizens Advice Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-20750

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) members of staff and (b) volunteers it expects Citizens Advice Scotland to commit to the delivery of the Financial Health Check service.

To deliver the Financial Health Check service Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has employed 5.5 FTE staff:

1 Project Manager
1.5 x Co-ordinator
2 x Administrator
1 IT support

CAS has also committed additional staff support from its Senior Management Team, Communications, Marketing and Quality Assurance.

In addition, 12 telephony advisers have been employed by local Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) to provide the national telephony support.

We do not yet hold final information on the number of local CAB staff and volunteers providing the face to face support.

Question reference: S5W-20710

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its draft social security charter has not been published, and by what date it will be.

Question reference: S5W-20658

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many Social Security Scotland staff are based at (a) Dundee House, Dundee, (b) High Street, Glasgow, (c) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, (d) St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, (e) Atlantic Quay, Glasgow and (f) other (i) Social Security Scotland and (ii) Scottish Government premises.

The Scottish social security system will be directly delivered by Social Security Scotland, through a local presence providing face-to-face advice, supported by administrative functions in our Dundee headquarters and Glasgow.

Location	Number of staff
Dundee House, Dundee (HQ)	141
High Street, Glasgow	108
Atlantic Quay, Glasgow	4
Victoria Quay, Edinburgh	2
Courtyard Falkirk	2
Kilwinning	1
Saughton House, Edinburgh	1
Stornoway	1

Nineteen Local Delivery Relationship Leads have been recruited and will now start detailed planning for how the service will be delivered in each local area. This service will launch when it is required for devolved benefits.

The Local Delivery Relationship Leads have initially been based in existing Scottish Government offices from which they will design the service.

Social Security Scotland will build up a network of locally based staff supporting people to apply for benefits across all 32 local authorities.

Question reference: S5W-20747

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have had a financial health check conducted (a) centrally by telephone and (b) locally in a citizens advice bureau.

Question reference: S5W-20752

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the verified financial gain (VFG) of its Financial Health Check service is to date, and what the target VFG gain is for (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Question reference: S5O-02780

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics stating that eligible pensioners in Motherwell and Airdrie received double the number of cold weather payments as those in Bellshill and Coatbridge in 2017-18.