- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 29 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on creating the four violence against women strategy working groups; when each of these groups has met; who chairs each group; who the members are; when they will report on progress, and when they will report their recommendations to the violence against women joint strategic board.
Answer
Four expert groups focused on primary prevention, capability and capacity, justice and accountability are in the process of being established, and the membership and terms of reference will be agreed by the joint strategic board in due course. Those expert groups have been mandated to produce action plans which will be considered and approved by the joint strategic board.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 29 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what changes it has made to the funding arrangements from 2016 for the (a) Equality Fund, (b) Violence Against Women and Girls Fund, (c) Children's Services Women's Aid Fund and (d) Rape Crisis Specific Fund.
Answer
The UK Spending Review will not be published until 25 November 2015 and we will therefore not know what block grant is available to Scottish ministers and delivery partners until that date. As a result, we are unable to publish a draft budget until after that date. Details of funding arrangements for 2016-17 will follow in due course.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 24 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government when the violence against women joint strategic board has met; who chairs the board; who the members are, and when it will report its recommendations.
Answer
The Violence against Women and Girls Joint Strategic Board will hold its first meeting in November 2015. The board will be co-chaired by myself and Councillor Harry McGuigan in his capacity as Convention of Scottish Local Authorities lead for Health and Wellbeing. The membership is in the process of being finalised, and we will announce this soon. The role of the board is to oversee progress, approve work stream membership and terms of reference, identify emerging issues and ratify the action plans developed through the work streams.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 24 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what developments there have been regarding Equally Safe: Scotland's Strategy for Preventing and Eradicating Violence against Women and Girls since March 2015.
Answer
Since March 2015, we have been taking forward a range of commitments in Equally Safe. These include record levels of investment to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls: £11.8 million in 2015-16, and a further £20 million from the Justice portfolio over 2015-18. As announced in the recent Programme for Government, we are developing legislative proposals to tackle abusive behaviour and sexual harm, and plan to consult on a specific offence around coercive control in November 2015. With Police Scotland, we have completed a pilot Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme and taken the decision to roll the scheme out nationally later in 2015. We are consulting on a draft National Action Plan to end female genital mutilation. These, and a number of other measures, will continue to be progressed as part of the government’s strong commitment to preventing and eradicating all forms of violence against women and girls.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Futures Trust about the completion of the new Elgin High School.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2015
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 22 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government to whom the (a) Equality Fund, (b) Violence Against Women and Girls Fund, (c) Children's Services Women's Aid Fund and (d) Rape Crisis Specific Fund awarded funding for 2015-16.
Answer
This information is available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/People/Equality/Funding.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote emergency life support training in schools.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2015
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2015
To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with women's groups following reports that the UK Government plans to devolve abortion law.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2015
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether a public local inquiry will be held following the publication of the draft road order material for the A9 Berriedale Braes improvement scheme.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2015
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 July 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 August 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the long-term plan is for the Connected Communities network.
Answer
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is working with partners, including Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, NHS and Community Broadband Scotland to assess what the rollout of fibre through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme will mean for Connected Communities customers.
HIE is currently exploring whether the Connected Communities network could benefit from the core subsea fibre connection which was installed as part of the DSSB programme. This high-capacity backhaul link brought superfast services into Stornoway earlier this summer. Once HIE establishes the reach of new fibre services in the Western Isles arising from DSSB, there will be a better understanding of the role that Connected Communities could play in providing services in the future.