- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 4 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of affordable rented homes.
Answer
The provision of good quality,affordable rented housing will make a significant contribution to our strategicobjectives of building a wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger, smarter,greener Scotland. However, decisionson affordable housing investment beyond 2008 will depend on the outcome of the spendingreview process later this year.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can now provide a timescale for second stage transfer of Glasgow Housing Association housing stock.
Answer
I intend to use the next fewweeks to review the progress Glasgow Housing Association has made in deliveringon the original promises to tenants and to consider the way forward.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 31 May 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to ask the Auditor General for Scotland or the Accounts Commission for Scotland to investigate Glasgow Housing Association’s Home Improvement Scheme.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:
Glasgow Housing Association iscurrently the subject of an inspection by Communities Scotland. This inspectionwill look at, among other things, GHA’s approach to asset management including theway in which its investment programme is currently operating. We have no plans atthis stage to ask the Auditor General forScotland or the Accounts Commission for Scotland to investigate GHA’s Home ImprovementScheme. We will, however, want to reflectfully on the findings of the inspection report once complete.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 29 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with UK authorities in respect of the transfer of £425 million from the Big Lottery Fund and £250 million from other good causes after 2009 to fund the London 2012 Olympic Games and how this transfer will affect Scottish projects.
Answer
The Executive is in close touch withthe UK Government on this issue. We welcome its assurance that no existinglottery project need be affected, and it has also agreed with the Big Lottery Fundthat resources for the voluntary sector will be protected. In addition, we understandthat a revised Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the Mayorof London will put in place arrangements for profit sharing to enable thelottery to benefit when land acquired for the games is sold off after 2012.
We have however also suggested to the UK Government that fundingstreams other than the National Lottery should be used to meet any additional costsof the London 2012 Olympic Games. We will continue to liaise with the UK Governmenton this important matter.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 29 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits have been identified for Scotland from the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Answer
We are determined to maximise thebenefits of the London 2012 Games and bring the games to as many Scots as possible.
We will use the games as an opportunityto inspire the nation to get active, to encourage its children to participate inmore sport and cultural activities and to bring communities together in celebration.
The games will allow us to showcasemodern Scotland as a great place in which to live, work, visit and do business andwill provide an inspirational platform to engage companies of all sizes to be thebest they can, participating in an international arena and demonstrating Scotland’sleading edge talent and products.
Young people, communities, artistsand cultural bodies in Scotland will also benefit from their experiences as volunteers,practitioners, participants and audiences in the cultural programme, including anexciting range of local events and activities.
The games will also help Scotland achieve its ambitious targetof growing tourism revenues by 50% by 2015 as games spectators, for example, visitScotland’s 2012 venue - Hampden Park which will host rounds of the football competition.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 29 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to the UK Government to ensure that Scottish projects will be unaffected by a further contribution from the National Lottery to the increased cost of the London 2012 Olympic Games to over £9 billion, as announced by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 15 March 2007.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-32440 on 29 March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliamentswebsite, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Patricia Ferguson on 29 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it is considering to minimise the impact of any reduction in lottery funding on sport and other good causes in Scotland.
Answer
We are currently in discussions withthe National Lottery distributors in Scotland, including sportscotland, to assessthe possible impact of a reduction in their lottery funding. However, it is theUK Government’s intention that no existing lottery project need be affected, andit has also agreed with the Big Lottery Fund that resources for the voluntary sectorwill be protected.
I am pleased that we have already secured the agreement of theUK Government that Scotland’s £25 million contribution to £340 million of sportslottery funding will be retained and spent here on Scotland’s athletes.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-12000 by Mr Andy Kerr on 15 February 2007 (Official Report c. 32164) where the Minister for Health and Community Care stated that he would wait until the Health Department received the outline business case for Glasgow’s new children’s hospital before commenting on the appropriate procurement method for the hospital, why, in answer to question S2O-12341 on 15 March 2007, the minister stated that it would be built by the private sector (Official Report c. 33310-11).
Answer
The NHS does not have a direct labour organisation which wouldbuild a hospital and therefore the statement simply reflects the fact that irrespectiveof which funding route is chosen, Glasgow’s New Children’s Hospital will be builtby a private sector contractor. I do, however, remain committed to investing £100million of public capital in the development of a gold standard new children’s hospital.This is over and above the basic formula allocation which is approximately £100million per annum.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-12341 by Mr Andy Kerr on 15 March 2007 (Official Report c. 33310-11), whether the Minister for Health and Community Care has now decided that Glasgow’s new children’s hospital will be privately financed.
Answer
No decision has been taken on the procurement route for Glasgow’snew children’s hospital. This will be determined through an auditable business caseprocess based on value for money. The underlying principle in determining the fundingroute to be followed in any procurement is value for money for the taxpayer. Thereforea PPP/PFI procurement approach must demonstrate better value for money, throughan auditable appraisal process, than an equivalent publicly funded approach beforeits use is approved.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 March 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 March 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify whether Glasgow’s new children’s hospital will be built using the public private partnership procurement route, in light of the Minister for Health and Community Care’s statement that the project will be built by the private sector.
Answer
As the NHS does not have a direct labour organisation which wouldbuild a hospital, Glasgow’s New Children’s Hospital will be built by the privatesector, irrespective of the funding route agreed. It is premature to comment onthe appropriate procurement route at this time as this will be determined throughan auditable business case process and be based on value for money assessment. However,I remain committed to investing £100 million of public capital in the developmentof a gold standard new children’s hospital. This is over and above Glasgow’s basiccapital allocation which is approximately £100 million per annum.
