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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: S4W-02385

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01963 by Keith Brown on 25 August 2011, what the journey time will be from (a) Cumbernauld and (b) Greenfaulds railway stations to Glasgow Queen Street station, following completion of Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) works on the Cumbernauld line.

Detailed timetable work is currently underway to test and prove the optimum timetable for EGIP services, including journey times on a newly electrified Cumbernauld Line. The conclusion of this process will confirm journey times on this route.

The service proposals and precise timetabling arrangements for the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) are subject to the formalised rail industry timetable consultation process which will not conclude until 12 weeks before the timetable change.

Question reference: S4O-00192

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to social and environmental measures as an alternative to GDP as a means of assessing living standards in Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-00169

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the findings arising from the first HMIE inspections under the newly introduced inspection framework.

Question reference: S4W-02142

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered foster carers there are.

The Scottish Government does not collect information centrally on the number of registered foster carers. This information would only be available by contacting all the fostering services that are registered with the independent regulator, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS).

However, The Fostering Network in Scotland website states that “There are currently 4,697 children and young people in foster care in Scotland, not including those living with family members and friends. These children are looked after by some 3,300 foster families, all of whom are members of the Fostering Network Scotland.”

Question reference: S4W-02146

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children who have been looked after by a kinship carer have been returned to their parents in each of the last five years.

Information on the number of looked after children whose last accommodation type immediately prior to leaving care was “with friends/relatives” and whose initial destination on leaving care was “home with (biological) parents” is only available since 2008-09.

During 2008-09, there were 212 looked after children whose last accommodation type immediately prior to ceasing being looked after was “with friends/relatives” and their initial destination on leaving care was “home with (biological) parents”. The equivalent figure for 2009-10 was 250 looked after children.

Please note that these figures may include some multiple counting if a child ceased being looked after more than once during the respective reporting period, and their final accommodation type and initial destination on leaving care met the specified criteria.

Question reference: S4W-02118

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Network Rail can exercise powers of deemed consent for developments on land that it has recently acquired.

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992/223 (‘the Order’) permits certain classes of development without the need for express planning permission to be granted. The classes of permitted development include:

Class 29 - Development under local or private acts or orders, and

Class 34 - Development by railway or light railway undertakings.

Network Rail may therefore be able to exercise powers of “deemed consent”, by virtue of the Order.

Whether or not Network Rail can or cannot exercise powers of “deemed consent” will depend on the nature of the proposed development and whether or not the development falls within one of those two classes. Other requirements of the Order may also have to be met.

Question reference: S4W-02119

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances Network Rail cannot exercise powers of deemed consent for developments on land that it owns.

As stated in the answer to question S4W-02118 on 6 September 2011 the circumstances of whether or not Network Rail can or cannot exercise powers of ‘deemed consent’ will depend on the nature of the proposed development and whether or not the development falls within one of two particular classes under the terms of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992/223.

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/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-02150

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding exempting kinship care payments when calculating entitlement to support from the Department of Work and Pensions.

The Scottish Government has met with the UK Government and discussed the issue of benefit entitlement for kinship carers numerous times since 2007 in order to try to improve financial support available. This has resulted in a number of improvements including the exempting of kinship allowances from housing and council tax benefit.

For example, if a kinship carer received a weekly payment of £100 they could be better off by up to around £37 per week depending on their individual circumstances, as a result of these changes.

Question reference: S4W-02147

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of fostered children has remained in the care system until 16 years of age in each of the last five years.

Of all looked after children who were “in foster care” at the end of each reporting year, the percentage that were aged 16 years or older for each of the last five years was:

31 March 2006: - 9.7%

31 March 2007: - 9.4%

31 March 2008: - 9.2%

31 March 2009: - 8.3%

31 July 2010: - 8.2%.

Please note that figures for 2006, 2009 and 2010 include a very small number of young people aged over 21 years who were still being looked after, whereas figures for 2007 and 2008 only included young people being looked after up to and including the age of 21 year olds.

Question reference: S4W-02144

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been fostered outwith their local authority area in each of the last five years.