Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-04295

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release on 29 October 2021 regarding a £41 million Winter Support Fund for low-income households, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £6 million for third sector organisations will be allocated, and what the distribution criteria are for this part of the funding.

We are currently finalising grant awards with partners and will publish a list of organisations when this process is complete.

In terms of distribution criteria, funding will be awarded to trusted Scottish Government third sector partners who have a wide geographical reach and who have previously demonstrated the ability to mobilise quickly to deliver support to people who find themselves in need due to a variety of circumstances.

Question reference: S6W-04385

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has committed to meeting poverty targets and whether it is on track to meet the targets.

As set out in the latest Tackling Child Poverty Progress Report, published in June 2021, the Scottish Government invested almost £2.5 billion in support targeted at low income households including nearly £1 billion to support children in low income families.

The report also highlights that the data indicates that significant progress needs to be achieved in the years ahead to deliver upon the 2030 targets. That is why the Scottish Government has declared a national mission to tackle child poverty and committed to ambitious new action through the COVID Recovery Strategy. This includes doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week as quickly as possible during this Parliamentary term, continuing investment in the Parental Employability Support Fund and designing a wraparound childcare system providing care before and after school, all year round.

The Scottish Government will publish the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan by the end of March 2022, setting out a range of actions which will put us on a critical path to the targets set. The Plan, when published, will include an assessment of the financial resources required to fund the proposed measures.

Question reference: S6W-04387

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how departments are co-operating to develop a cross-governmental strategy on poverty and, in doing so, the extent to which they are engaging with (a) people with lived-experience of poverty and (b) local authorities.

The Scottish Government will publish the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan by the end of March 2022, setting out a range of actions which will put us on a critical path to the 2030 child poverty targets.

We have declared a national mission to end child poverty, recognising the need for urgent and targeted action which is underpinned by work across the Scottish Government to shape the next delivery plan.

Consultation for the plan is ongoing, in compliance with the requirements of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. Inputs have been received from national and community based third sector organisations, local authorities and health boards. Working in partnership with third sector organisations, the experiences and priorities of people with lived experience of poverty are informing the development of the plan.

Further consultation activity with third sector organisations and people with lived experience of poverty will take place in advance of publication of the plan. This will focus on the priority family types identified in the first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan and the experience of those most affected by child poverty.

The Scottish Government is working with COSLA to facilitate the full engagement of local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-04353

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been an underspend of the social security budget in this financial year and, if so, how much the underspend is, and how it compares to initial forecasts.

The overall social security budget for the 2021-22 financial year was set in January 2021, at almost £4 billion. This includes £3.5 billion for demand-led benefits expenditure, and almost £0.5 billion for Social Security Programme implementation investment and Social Security Scotland operating costs.

The Scottish Government has put in place robust processes to manage the risks associated with demand-led expenditure on this scale and the potential impact any variations could have on the wider Scottish Budget. After the financial year has ended, our Budget position will be presented to Parliament in the Provisional Outturn statement and confirmed in the 2021-22 consolidated accounts in the normal way.

Question reference: S6W-03801

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that any future transition away from the requirement to wear face coverings is as safe as possible and ensures public safety.

Question reference: S6W-04279

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to (a) prevent and (b) mitigate the disruption caused by changes to public transport due to COP26.

Transport Scotland undertook a public messaging programme to inform and forewarn the public of the need to plan their journey during COP26, directing people to the Get Ready Glasgow website, which held detailed heat maps of affected areas and suggested alternative routes. This campaign proved to be successful in reducing the background demand, which allowed space for the events to take place while leaving capacity on transport networks for key workers and unplanned disruption.

A zero emission Shuttle Bus service was put in place to support the extra demand on public transport between Glasgow City Centre and the venue. This was positively received by delegates, and proved to be popular, transporting almost 5000 people on its busiest day. Rail and subway services were strengthened to support the demand. Free cycle hire was also available in Glasgow, provided by Nextbike.

Furthermore, the Transport Co-ordination Centre and Transport Scotland Resilience Room were stood up throughout the conference to monitor and help mitigate any transport related issues.

Question reference: S6W-03800

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government within what timescale it anticipates the requirement to wear face coverings will be lifted.

Question reference: S6W-04083

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 16 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address the root causes of the (a) harassment and (b) drink spiking and spiking by injection of women in nightlife venues.

Our Equally Safe Strategy sets out Scotland’s ambition to tackle and eradicate all forms of violence against women and we continue to implement this with a clear and decisive focus on primary prevention of violence.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC chairs the independent Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice which is considering how the Scottish criminal justice system can better deal with misogyny and the harassment of women in public spaces. The Chair has confirmed that the Working Group’s report will be published in February 2022 and we will act swiftly to consider its recommendations.

On 4 November I chaired an urgent roundtable with representatives from the night time economy, health, education and third sectors to discuss spiking and interventions required to tackle violence against women. We are now considering the themes arising from these discussions with an ambition to agree upon robust reporting pathways, safeguarding interventions and long-term preventative measures that can be taken to address the issue of male violence against women.

Question reference: S6W-04019

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its employment action plan for disabled people 2021-22.

Question reference: S6O-00396

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the "20-metre rule" within eligibility criteria for disability benefits is dignified, fair, respectful and consistent with the values of Social Security Scotland.

Chamber and committees