Chamber and committees

Using the Scottish Household Survey, we estimate that during 2007-08 in Glasgow, 270,000 people (46% of the population) lived in households with net incomes below £16,000.

The Scottish Household Survey defines household income as the combined income of the highest income householder and his/her partner.

This definition is not directly comparable with the main UK and Scottish Government income estimates which come from the Family Resources Survey. Family Resources Survey estimates are not available at local authority level.

Funding was allocated as follows to the Children''s Services Women''s Aid Fund: £3,000,123 in 2006-2007; £3,202,585 in 2007-2008, and £3,800,845 in 2008-2009.

There was no funding in 2005-06 as the fund was only established from 2006-07.

Skills Development Scotland is currently collecting data on the number of people aged 16 to 19 in the 15% most deprived areas who have accessed employment or training since April 2008 and will be available later in the year.

Skills Development Scotland provides access to training for those employed and those seeking work through its national training programmes. Since April 2008, 176 disabled people have accessed national training programmes in lowland Scotland.

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/sor1001-01.htm

The Scottish Government is developing a Carers'' Strategy for Scotland, to be published in the first half of 2010. As part of strategy development we are considering a range of supports for all unpaid carers, including those who care for adults with learning disabilities.

In partnership with COSLA, the Scottish Government is investing £4 million over three years to enable local authorities to deliver an additional 10,000 respite weeks by 2010-11. That can include respite care for people with learning disabilities, in accordance with local authorities'' assessed priorities. We have also provided health boards with £9 million over three years for Carer Information Strategies to support the identification of carers, to signpost carers to sources of support and to train carers.

The Scottish Government is discussing a range of issues relevant to carers of adults with learning disabilities with a number of organisations, including ENABLE. In the meantime, the guidance being produced for local partnerships on measuring outcomes to inform planning of learning disability services will include important references to older carer issues.

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/sor0924-01.htm

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27259 on 28 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Policy, implementation and evaluation of the uptake of benefits and tax credits remains the responsibility of the UK Government. The Scottish Government however is committed to action on a number of levels to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland as set out in Achieving our Potential.

Achieving our Potential commits significant new investment in 2009-10 and 2010-11 for income maximisation with a focus on benefits uptake for older people and other key groups. Key funding issued so far includes:

£1.1 million to Macmillan Cancer to provide cancer patients and carers with advice and information on welfare benefits and other financial matters in the five cancer treatment centres in Scotland.

£160,000 to Citizens Advice Direct to provide free telephone benefit entitlement checks to those people that access the Energy Assistance Programme.

£700,000 to provide income maximisation advice and support to older people in deprived parts of Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, West Lothian and Clackmannanshire.

These do not focus on specific benefits and tax credits but take a holistic approach to increasing overall income. We are considering other initiatives and interventions which will provide support to those people that are most difficult to reach.

Central to the income maximisation programme is a commitment to target those vulnerable groups that are not accessing the benefits that they are entitled to, and to identify ways to ensure that all benefits are claimed. The Scottish Government is working with UK counterparts on areas of shared interest to promote this.

The Scottish Government is funding and working in partnership the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability and others to increase employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities. It is also currently working with COSLA to develop a supported employment approach that provides flexible support to enable disabled people including those with learning disabilities to secure and stay in paid employment in the open labour market. A Task Group has been set up to oversee the development of the framework and will report its findings later in the autumn.