Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4O-02358

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities on gull management.

Question reference: S4O-02347

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the under-occupancy charge, which is commonly known as the bedroom tax, is having on communities in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-16409

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 6 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cumulative impact on the household income of (a) couples with children and (b) single people with children by 2017-18 of the provisions in the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 and the impact of this on the Scottish Government’s priorities.

The Scottish Government estimates that the reduction in benefit expenditure in Scotland as a result of the UK Government’s welfare reforms could reach over £4.5 billion by 2015, of which around £1 billion relates directly to children. This includes changes to the uprating of benefits during this period. We have not carried out any specific analysis on the cumulative impact of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 on different household types.

Based on the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of the 2012 Autumn statement, the Scottish Government estimates that around 1 million working age households in Scotland will be affected by the 1% benefit uprating of which 700,000 of these households will have someone in work. The Institute of Fiscal Studies estimates that affected households with someone in work will lose £165 a year on average.

We continue to work with our partners and other organisations in Scotland to understand the impact of all aspects of welfare reform on Scottish Government priorities and mitigate the worst impacts where possible.

Question reference: S4W-16389

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 6 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cumulative impact of changes to (a) tax credits and (b) housing benefit since 2010 on (i) poverty and (ii) child poverty in Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not produce projections of poverty. However, changes to tax credits since 2012 are estimated to leave low income households in Scotland approximately £700 a year worse-off on average, with some losing all their tax credit entitlement. Similarly, changes to housing benefit will have further reduced the income of many households already living in poverty. The under-occupancy penalty in the social rented sector, for example, is estimated to affect 82,500 households in Scotland, with an average loss of around £570 per affected household per year, if they are unable to move due to the shortage of suitably sized accommodation. 15,500 of these are households with children.

The UK Government has not yet produced a robust assessment of the cumulative impacts of the welfare reforms it has introduced. The Scottish Government has requested such an assessment. However, no such assessment has been forthcoming to date. The Scottish Government has therefore undertaken its own welfare analysis, available via these links:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/welfarereform/analysis; http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/Benefitchanges

Sources:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/Benefitchanges/underoccupancypenalty

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/welfarereform/analysis/wrimpactonfamilies

Question reference: S4W-16391

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the abolition of council tax benefit has been in Scotland.

Working in partnership with local government, we responded quickly to put in place transitional arrangements to plug the estimated £40 million gap in funding from the UK Government following their abolition of council tax benefit. This ensures that around 560,000 people in Scotland who were receiving council tax benefit are protected from the UK Government’s 10% cut in successor arrangement funding. This means that vulnerable people have the same net liability for council tax as if council tax benefit were still in place, provided their circumstances remain the same. This is one example where the Scottish Government has acted to mitigate the effects of the UK Government’s welfare reform programme.

Question reference: S4W-16392

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 August 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what impact changes to council tax benefit since 2010 have had on (a) poverty and (b) child poverty in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-16078

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities will continue to deliver the Scottish Welfare Fund beyond the period of the interim arrangements.

Following the successful launch of the interim fund, we have agreed with COSLA leaders that local authorities are best placed to take on delivery of the Scottish Welfare Fund on a permanent basis. We will continue to work together to share good practice, overcome any concerns and help develop further accessibility and delivery alternatives for the fund. This includes working together to set up a new reference group to develop the necessary legislation. The group will include representatives from local authorities, Child Poverty Action Group, Citizens Advice Scotland, Poverty Alliance, Shelter, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Inclusion Scotland and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Question reference: S4W-15581

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 June 2013
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 11 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the report of the Expert Working Group on Welfare.

I’m pleased to advise that the report of the Expert Working Group on Welfare will be published today. It can be accessed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/welfarereform/EXPERTWORKINGGROUPONWELFARE.

I am also publishing the Scottish Government’s initial response to the group’s report; it can be viewed alongside it.

A copy of the group’s report and the Scottish Government’s initial response has been placed in SPICe (BIB numbers 55013 and 55014).

Question reference: S4O-02236

Asked by: Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage young people to learn to swim in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

Question reference: S4O-02210

Current Status: Withdrawn