- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 October 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide grant funding to assist domestic households with first time connections to the water main.
Answer
In Scotland, there are over 20,000 private water supplies of which some 10% are larger supplies supplying commercial premises or large communities. It is essential that before any funds are allocated that there is a fuller understanding of the location, nature and condition of these supplies. For this reason, the government has asked that the assessment as noted in my answer to S4W-22642 on 14 October 2014, be carried out.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 October 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for first time connections to the water main.
Answer
Scottish Water is required by The Provision of Water and Sewerage Services (Reasonable Cost) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 to make a contribution towards the costs of connecting new customers. The amounts payable and terms under which these are paid are set out in the regulations. Regulations covering the 2015-21 period will be issued for consultation shortly.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 October 2014
To ask the Scottish Government when the report from the public inquiry into Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital will be published.
Answer
I have recently been advised by Lord MacLean, Chairman of the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry that he intends to publish his report on Monday 24 November 2014 at Fifteen Ninety Nine, 232-242 St Vincent Street, Glasgow (the premises of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons).
Further details will be available on the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry website.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 October 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of the public inquiry into Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital has been and how this compares with the costs of other recent public inquiries.
Answer
The information on inquiry costs is set out in the following table:
| Inquiry | Cost |
| ICL Inquiry | £1.9 million |
| Fingerprint Inquiry | £4.75 million |
| Penrose Inquiry (ongoing) | £11.5 million (as at 31 August 2014) |
| Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry (ongoing) | £10.1 million (as at 30 July 2014) |
It is not possible to make direct comparisons of the costs associated with different public inquiries, established under the Inquiries Act 2005, because the terms of reference are specific to each inquiry.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Burgess on 3 October 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities have been advised that they can cancel arrears of the so-called bedroom tax arising in 2013-14 and when it will issue guidance on the matter.
Answer
The management of arrears, including those related to the bedroom tax, is a matter for landlords as part of their responsibility to manage their tenants, stock and finances.
The cap for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) will be lifted once the power to do so is transferred to Scottish Ministers. When that happens, local authorities will be able to top up their DHP accounts to make any further payments in line with local priorities.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2014
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2014
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on raising the minimum wage to £8 per hour.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2014
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 August 2014
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 August 2014
To ask the First Minister whether there will be foodbanks in an independent Scotland.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 August 2014
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 August 2014
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21351 by John Swinney on 9 June 2014, for what reason no diversity training for external selection panel members specific to the workstream has been delivered.
Answer
The key findings report from the event Women On Board: Quality through Diversity held in November 2013 included an action: “training in unconscious bias, equality and diversity for everyone involved in the recruitment process”. The Scottish Government’s Public Bodies and Corporate Diversity Programme Board has supported the integration of this action across the programme strands.
Further scoping work is currently underway to devise how to provide suitable diversity training for external board members. The programme board and relevant stakeholders will consider the content and timing of such training to ensure that any investment made delivers results.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 5 August 2014
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21350 by John Swinney on 9 June 2014, whether the events are evaluated on a (a) formative or (b) summative basis and, if so, whether it will publish the evaluation (i) methodology and (ii) findings.
Answer
Events held by the Public Appointment Centre of Expertise vary greatly, from hosting a stand at a conference to organising large events such as Women On Board: Quality through Diversity, held in November 2013. As such, not every event is evaluated, and methods used may be on a formative, summative or other method as considered appropriate. Any evaluations that are published will be available on the Scottish Government’s website, alongside more information on the work of the Public Bodies and Corporate Diversity Programme Board:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/PublicBoardsCorporateDiversityProg
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 July 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 1 August 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS has (a) sold or (b) passed-on the names and addresses of patients to commercial companies in the last five years and, if so, for what reason.
Answer
No NHS Scotland board has sold patient information in the last five years. The only circumstances where the names and addresses of patients pass from NHS Scotland to a third party would be where they were providing a specific set of services for NHS Scotland by contract. NHS Scotland complies with the Data Protection Act (1998), all relevant legislation and the Caldicott principles.