- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 August 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 10 September 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list any written questions lodged prior to 1 January 2002 that had not received a substantive answer by 14 August 2002.
Answer
All written questions lodged prior to 1 January 2002 have been answered.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific issues are being considered by the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.
Answer
The Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution is considering a wide range of issues including preventative strategies; guidance to professionals and promotion of good practice. This work is being taken forward within the context of the Executive's commitment to improve the quality of life for Scotland's children and deliver better outcomes for the most vulnerable and deprived children through more effective and integrated delivery of children's services.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26266 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002, which local authorities have taken steps to provide short-term refuges for children and whether it plans to issue guidance to local authorities on this matter.
Answer
Local authorities have powers under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to provide short-term refuges for children. This could involve provision in a residential establishment or in the household of a foster carer or other approved carer.The need for guidance on refuge provision is one issue which will be considered by the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26264 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002, whether it will name each member of the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.
Answer
The Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution consists of a number of officials from across the Executive and the experts listed in the table:
| Daljeet Dagon | Barnardo's Scotland |
| Stella Everingham | Aberlour Child Care Trust |
| Kathleen Harper | Crown Office |
| Martin Henry | Edinburgh and Lothians Child Protection Committee |
| John Hosie | Community Education Managers Scotland |
| Anne Houston | ChildLine Scotland |
| Inspector Gordon Hunter | Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland |
| Donald MacKenzie | Association of Directors of Social Work |
| Moira McKinnon | Glasgow City Child Protection Committee |
| Stephen McLeod | The Big Step, Social Inclusion Partnership |
| Ian Mitchell | Scottish Children's Reporter Administration |
| Marion Pagani | Children's Panel Chair's Group |
The membership of the group is not fixed and as work progresses other individuals, including those with direct experience of the key issues, will be included where appropriate.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce median waiting times for people awaiting cataract operations.
Answer
The National Waiting Times Unit is working with NHS Boards across Scotland to reduce delays for patients and in particular, to tackle lengthy waiting times.I announced on 20 June that the Executive intended to purchase the HCI hospital facility in Clydebank and transform it into a National Waiting Times Centre, which will work alongside NHS boards to cut lengthy waiting times across Scotland. It is planned to carry out 5,000 elective procedures, including cataract operations, in the centre's first year of operation.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 6 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to individual charities in the current and next three financial years to tackle running away.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has awarded funding of just under £100,000 over three years to Aberlour Childcare Trust for their Running Other Choices project. This project aims to help young people to find solutions to the circumstances which have caused them to run away from home and to find alternatives to running. In addition, the Scottish Executive provides funding to a range of charities providing services for vulnerable children and young people including runaways.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 6 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to individual charities to tackle children abused through prostitution in the current year and next three financial years.
Answer
The Scottish Executive funds a wide range of charities providing services for vulnerable children and young people including those abused through prostitution. These include ChildLine Scotland, Children First and Who Cares Scotland.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 6 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated (a) nationally and (b) to each local authority in the current year and the next three financial years to tackle running away.
Answer
Funding specific to tackling running away and children abused through prostitution is not separately identified or monitored, but the Executive is providing resources for a wide range of initiatives focused on the overall development and well-being of children, to help address many of the underlying causes. These include the Changing Children's Services Fund, Sure Start Scotland and New Community Schools.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 6 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the second report of the Housing Improvement Task Force to be published.
Answer
The intention is that the second report of the Housing Improvement Task Force should be published by spring 2003.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 6 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated (a) nationally and (b) to each local authority to tackle children abused through prostitution in the current and next three financial years.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26268.
