- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 20 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether existing provision in residential and foster care is sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people who are looked after away from home and whether there is regular monitoring of such provision.
Answer
The Scottish Government’sforthcoming National Foster and Kinship Care Strategy will recognise the need formore foster carers and it will set out ways of working with COSLA, local authoritiesand independent foster carer providers to identify more effective approaches tothe local recruitment and retention of foster carers.
The first annual inspectionof fostering services by the Care Commission was published on 14 November and statedthere were 527 children who are not in a foster placement of choice.
The Social Work InspectionAgency’s performance management inspection of each local authority’s social workfunctions will record the number of places available in the local provision of fosterand residential care and, where necessary, make recommendations for improvement.
Each local authorityis required by statute to prepare and publish, in consultation with partners inhealth and other agencies, a plan for the provision of relevant services for childrenin their area. This plan should cover services for children in need, including thosein residential care.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 20 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of residential care homes are housing more children than they are licensed to care for.
Answer
This information isnot held centrally.
If an inspection ofa care home by the Care Commission reveals that a child or young person has beenadmitted on an emergency basis, it will consider the situation carefully based onthe best interests of the child and with reference to its policy on this matter.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 20 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop a national strategy for children and young people who are looked after away from home, in light of the No Time to Lose manifesto developed by the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care.
Answer
The national fosterand kinship care strategy will be published by the end of 2007.
I share the ScottishInstitute for Residential Child Care’s (SIRCC) vision of residential child careas a positive option for some children and young people. The Scottish Governmentintends to identify, with SIRCC and other relevant organisations, proposals to supportthe residential child care sector to improve its contribution to the lives of andimproved outcomes for vulnerable children.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 12 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3507 by Jim Mather on 6 September 2007, what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that unclaimed assets that are available to Scotland will represent new money for the voluntary sector and will not replace any existing money available to the sector.
Answer
The UK Dormant Bankand Building Societies Accounts Bill identifies the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) as thedistributor for these funds. In Scotland, the ScotlandCommittee of BIG, which is entirely independent of government, will make its decisionswithin priorities set by Scottish ministers, on which we will consult in the NewYear.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 12 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3507 by Jim Mather on 6 September 2007, whether it intends to publish a consultation on spending priorities in respect of unclaimed assets that are available to Scotland and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer
We will consult inthe New Year on the spending priorities for Scotland for funds which may be released by the UK Dormant Bank and Building SocietiesAccounts Bill.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Mather on 12 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with HM Treasury’s view that funds from unclaimed assets should be focused on delivering services for young people.
Answer
We will consult inthe New Year on the spending priorities for Scotland for funds which may be released by the UK Dormant Bank and Building SocietiesAccounts Bill.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 November 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle hospital-acquired infections.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis committed to tackling healthcare associated infection (HAI). I have thereforeinvited the HAI Task Force to devise a new comprehensive three-year HAI DeliveryPlan from 2008-09 which aligns with the findings in the Scottish Point Prevalencesurvey published in July. I will announce my plans in more detail as soon as possibleafter the spending review. The existing HAI work programme is backed with £15 millionof funding until March 2008.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a Scotland-wide training and qualifications framework to ensure a path of career development and progression for classroom assistants.
Answer
The question raisestwo issues which are contained in the recent Equal Opportunity Commission’s (EOC)report into the role of classroom assistants.
The Scottish Governmenthas previously published guidance for local authorities on the implementation ofclassroom assistants in schools and training materials for teachers working withclassroom assistants and has supported the development of the Professional DevelopmentAward (PDA), National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) at levels two and three andthe Modern Apprenticeship Programme (MAP) for classroom assistants.
We understand thatthe EOC and COSLA intend forming a steering group to take forward discussion of the issues raised in the EOC report. We look forward to participating fully in thework of that group.
The EOC report alsocovers career development and progression for classroom assistants. These importantissues are ones for local authorities to take forward in their capacity as employers.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to assess the evidence and recommendations of the Equal Opportunities Commission’s report, Valuable Assets, and whether a national action group involving all stakeholders will be established.
Answer
The evidence and recommendationscontained in the Equal Opportunities Commission’s Valuable Assets reportwill be of particular interest to local authorities as employers and the group beingfacilitated by the EOC to take forward the various recommendations in its report.The Scottish Government look forward to participating fully in the work of thatgroup.
- Asked by: Karen Whitefield, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 4 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to support the development of a new support for learning higher national certificate to develop and promote the role and progression of classroom assistants.
Answer
The development ofa Support for Learning national qualification is one of the recommendations in theEqual Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) report into the role of classroomassistants. The Scottish Government has previously supported the development of the Professional Development Award (PDA), National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ)at levels two and three and the Modern Apprenticeship Programme (MAP) for ClassroomAssistants.
We understand thatthe EOC and COSLA intend forming a steering group to take forward discussion of the issues raised in the EOC report. We look forward to participating fully in thework of that group.
