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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-05559

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 23 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are in temporary accommodation, broken down by local authority.

Information on the number of children in temporary accommodation is collected at the end of each quarter. The most recent information available is for 31 December 2011.

At 31 December 2011, there were a total of 5,259 dependent children in temporary accommodation, a decrease of 1,160 children (-18%) compared to one year ago.

Overall, the most recent statistics for 31 December 2011 show an improving picture with:

Fewer households overall in temporary accommodation. There were 10,685 households in temporary accommodation - a decrease of 410 households (-4%) compared to one year earlier.

Fewer households with children in temporary accommodation. There were 3,364 households with children in temporary accommodation - a decrease of 516 households (-13%) compared with one year earlier.

The lowest number on record of households with children or pregnant women in bed and breakfast accommodation – a total of 15.

The lowest number on record of breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order - just three were reported in South Lanarkshire (1) and Fife (2).

Table 14c of Operation of the Homeless Person’s legislation gives a breakdown by local authority. The most recent publication is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/02/7556/0.

Question reference: S4W-05560

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 23 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been living in temporary accommodation for (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years and (e) longer than five years, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4O-00652

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities on introducing council counters in Post Office branches.

Question reference: S4W-04976

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent in each year since 1999 on (a) security and (b) rent for properties not in use.

The Scottish Ministers have no property not in use from 1999 to 2004. Jeanfield House, Perth was vacated by the Scottish Ministers in 2004. There have been no rental payments made on Jeanfield House. Security costs are as follows:

Year	Cost
2004	4,537.50
2005	4,262.50
2006	4,425.20
2007	3,199.65
2008	4,802.90
2009	4,999.00
2010	5,603.10
2011	5,656.90
Total	37,486.75

Question reference: S4W-04979

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority has spent on (a) security and (b) rent for properties not in use in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S4W-04978

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority properties have not been in use in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-04975

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 23 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its properties have not been in use in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S4O-00614

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had about the future of modern language teaching in primary and secondary schools.

Question reference: S4W-04484

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 December 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in its discussions with COSLA, it has been made aware of any moves to reclassify rural schools.

Question reference: S4W-03668

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 25 November 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing in Scotland an equivalent of the Teach First Programme in England and whether it has had discussions with the UK Government regarding the programme.

Teaching Scotland’s Future, the report of the Donaldson Review of Teacher Education, included at Recommendation 4:

“The suitability for Scottish Education of a Teach First/Teach Now model of placing students predominantly in a school for their initial teacher education should be investigated.”

This is one of a range of recommendations being considered by the Early Phase sub-group of the National Partnership Group which is expected to report next summer.