- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much worse off pupils from families in Scotland with a household income of £25,000 will be compared with their English counterparts due to the differences in Education Maintenance Allowance.
Answer
The EMA programme has been fully devolved since 2007-08 and the English and Scottish EMA programmes are not directly comparable.
No young people will be made worse off as the changes to the system are only being introduced for new entrants. Young people who have previously qualified for EMA will continue to be eligible at the previous rates.
The changes we have made this year removed eligibility for the £10 and £20 awards. A young person from a family with a household income of £25,000 would previously have been eligible for a £20 award. On average, young people in receipt of the £20 award received £744 in total in academic year 2007-08.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how removing the £10 and £20 categories of the Education Maintenance Allowance benefits those families on the lowest incomes.
Answer
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme was designed to encourage young people from low income families to remain in learning. This has been focused on young people who remain in school or go to college.
We know that some of our most vulnerable young people “ from the lowest income families “ do not want to stay at school and are not ready to go to college. That is why we are reinvesting the money saved from refocusing EMA in developing our pilots of Activity Agreements.
For some of our most vulnerable young people, learning in a community or third sector setting will be the best option when they reach their school leaving age. Activity Agreements will, for the first time, treat this as a genuinely mainstream option for young people and improve the way they and their families are supported.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will save by reducing the number of pupils eligible for the Education Maintenance Allowance.
Answer
The money generated by the changes we have introduced this year to the Education Maintenance Allowance programme will be reinvested in our pilots of Activity Agreements. We expect this to be around £3.3 million in 2009-10.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 9 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what artificial turf football pitches received funding from sportscotland in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09 and what type of surface each pitch has.
Answer
The information requested on funding provided by sportscotland for artificial pitches is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact sportscotland for this detailed operational information.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 8 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what projects in Dumfries and Galloway have been funded under the Cashback for Communities scheme.
Answer
The following projects specific to Dumfries and Galloway have been awarded funding totalling £61,000 from the CashBack for Communities scheme.
| Youthlink funding round 1 | Awarded |
| Youth Alive (Dumfries and Galloway) > | £3,000 > |
| Portpatrick Friday Night Club and Caf© > | £1,165 |
| The Base Summerhill Youth Group > | £5,400 |
| Youthlink funding round 2 | |
| Mossburn Community Farm | £5,250 |
| Dumfries YMCA | £21,885 |
| Summerhill Community Centre Management Committee | £12,700 |
| You Are Not Alone Family Support Services | £6,835 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Youth Strategy Executive Group | £2,518 |
| Volunteer Action Dumfries and Galloway | £2,247 |
In addition, Dumfries and Galloway has also benefited from several national CashBack projects, such as Street Football, Midnight League, Street Rugby and Rugby Youth Coaching Courses.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 3 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the further delay in the anticipated completion date for the A75 Hardgrove to Kinmount Improvement scheme.
Answer
Draft Orders were published in June 2008 and 2 Statutory Objections were received. Negotiations to remove these have been on-going, and I can confirm both objections were withdrawn at the start of August 2009. Made Orders will be published shortly.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 3 September 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering bringing forward proposals for changes to the eligibility criteria for receipt of legal aid.
Answer
This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0903-01.htm
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S3W-24834 by Richard Lochhead on 25 June 2009, whether it will ensure that an inshore fisheries group is established for the Solway Firth prior to any site-specific impact assessment being undertaken for offshore wind developments on Crown Estate sites in the Solway Firth.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to full consultation with relevant interests prior to decisions to licence wind farm developments. An in-shore fisheries group could provide a focal point for local engagement with fishing interests on renewable developments but that is not their main purpose and it is not necessary to establish such a group prior to an impact assessment.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the strategic environmental assessment for offshore wind developments in Scottish territorial waters to be complete.
Answer
The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the plan for offshore wind developments in Scottish territorial waters is currently being taken forward with a target delivery date for the report of early 2010.
- Asked by: Elaine Murray, MSP for Dumfries, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 24 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S3W-24834 by Richard Lochhead on 25 June 2009, how fishing interests will be consulted during any site-specific environmental impact assessment of potential offshore wind developments in the Solway Firth if an inshore fisheries group has not yet been established.
Answer
Site-specific offshore wind energy developments will be subject to Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations and consultation will be taken forward with relevant interests as required by the legislation and in accordance with best practice regardless of whether or not an inshore fisheries group has been established.
