- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice will meet residents of Milton, Glasgow, to allay any fears that they may have in respect of the homicide rate and level of crime in the area.
Answer
I fully understand the fearsof the people of Milton and would reaffirm that the Executive and I remain fullycommitted to reducing violence within every community in Scotland. StrathclydePolice have the responsibility to deal with crime in Milton and I can assure concernedresidents that the national Violence Reduction Unit and Executive will support thepolice to fulfil their operational responsibilities in that area.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) will make use of its bank facility of £700 million to urgently address penetrating damp, poor roofing and guttering, old wiring, asbestos, stored undrinkable water and hard-to-heat housing, given that 80% of GHA’s housing stock does not meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, mainly in respect of dampness and a lack of thermal efficiency.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:
All social landlords, includingthe GHA, are required to produce a Standard Delivery Plan setting out how they intendto meet the requirements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. These plans setout the level of investment required to meet and maintain the Standard and how thelandlord will meet these costs. The GHA’s current Standard Delivery Plan indicatesthat it will begin to draw on its borrowing facility this financial year. CommunitiesScotland will monitor all social landlords to ensure they remain on target to deliverthe Scottish Housing Quality Standard.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to direct bodies that administer former local authority housing after transfer, such as Glasgow Housing Association, to ensure that tenant members of their boards are elected from all tenants and not only from members of local housing organisations.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows.
Housing associations are independentorganisations. Every housing associationmust operate in line with its constitution in filling any membership places on itsboard, including tenant members. Communities Scotland, as housing regulator,would expect the board to demonstrate that this process enables tenants, if theywish, to participate in the management of the organisation.
Glasgow Housing Association’s(GHA’s) constitution states that elections will be held for the tenant board membersand that such elections will allow all tenants either directly or indirectly tobe involved in the election of tenant board members. It is for the GHA’s board todecide how elections will be held.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Des McNulty on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what notice the Chief Executive of Glasgow Housing Association gave the Executive of his intention to resign his post.
Answer
The resignation of the Chief Executive of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) is a matter for the GHA. However,the Scottish Executive was informed by the GHA board, shortly before the resignationwas announced publicly, that the Chief Executive was intending to resign his post.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Des McNulty on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was aware that the Chief Executive of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) was about to resign his post before the Executive’s recent announcement of a significant increase in the cost of GHA’s second stage housing stock transfer.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30683 on 19 January 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite 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: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Des McNulty on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for Glasgow Housing Association to make progress under a new Chief Executive to achieve second stage housing stock transfer.
Answer
The Board of Glasgow HousingAssociation (GHA) has committed itself to taking forward the approach to secondstage transfer set out in Malcolm Chisholm’s letter of 6 December 2006 to the Chairof the GHA Board (a copy of the letter is available on the Communities Scotlandwebsite at
http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk).
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a new Chief Executive of Glasgow Housing Association has been identified and what timescale has been set for the appointment.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
This is a matter for GlasgowHousing Association (GHA) as an independent housing association. It is for GHA’sboard to recruit and appoint a new Chief Executive. The board has said that plansto recruit a new Chief Executive are underway.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the salary scale will be for the new Chief Executive of Glasgow Housing Association.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
This is a matter for GlasgowHousing Association (GHA) as an independent housing association. The informationrequested is not held by the Scottish Executive. It is for individual housing associationsto set the appropriate salary scale for their members of staff.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that transparency and democratic governance in accordance with the Langlands principles are adopted by organisations operating large-scale social housing following transfer from local authority control.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
Communities Scotland publishedon 1 November 2006 a Regulatory Code of Governance, based on the LanglandsPrinciples. This code is statutory guidance and sets out the governance standardswe expect all Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) regulated by Communities Scotlandto achieve. This includes taking informed, transparent decisions and being openlyaccountable to stakeholders. We expect RSLs to identify what they may need to doto comply with the code and take any action to do so as soon as practicable.
- Asked by: Sandra White, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what form of recording replaced the National Confidential Enquiry into Methadone Related Deaths reports and where such information can be accessed.
Answer
The National Investigation intoall Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2003 was published in July 2005. A summary of thisreport can be accessed on the internet at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/03161745/17507.Subsequently, the National Forumon Drug-related Deaths was established following publication of the Executive’saction plan, Taking Action to Reduce Drug-related Deaths, to look at trends in drugdeaths and identify “hot spot” areas where there may be a need for more targetedaction locally. The forum will report to ministers in the autumn.
