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: S4W-02301

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01210 by Michael Matheson on 21 July 2011, what plans it has to extend the Healthier, Wealthier Children project outwith the NHS Glasgow and Greater Clyde area.

Question reference: S4W-02299

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-01210 by Michael Matheson on 21 July 2011, what work is being done to tackle social deprivation and inequality in North Ayrshire.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01979 and S4W-01980 on 25 August 2011. 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/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

The Scottish Government Tackling Poverty budget for 2011-12 is not directly allocating funding to North Ayrshire. Information on how the North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership is working to tackle social deprivation and inequality can be found at the local authority website.

Question reference: S4W-02069

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 8 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a Housing Association Grant will be provided for the third phase of the Vineburgh regeneration project.

Question reference: S4O-00158

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address the impact on schools with higher than average returns of S5 and S6 pupils.

Question reference: S4W-02063

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on its commitment that all unintentionally homeless households will be entitled to settled accommodation by December 2012.

The main indicator of progress towards the target is the percentage of homelessness assessments regarded as being in priority need; the closer a local authority is to assessing 100% then the closer it is to meeting the 2012 target.

In 2003, when the act was passed that introduced the commitment, Scottish local authorities were assessing 57% of homeless households as being in priority need. In the first quarter of 2011-12 the figure stood at an average of 87%. There has also been a reduction in the number of repeat applications and the numbers of families with children placed in bed and breakfasts.

This progress reflects work by individual local authorities, but also support provided from the Scottish Government to local authorities since the establishment of the target. This has included specific targeted support for housing investment, the work of the Scottish Government/COSLA Joint 2012 Steering Group and support to establish housing options hubs to improve approaches to preventing homelessness.

Question reference: S4W-02067

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for investment in social housing in North Ayrshire.

A new competitive funding arrangement, the Innovation and Investment Fund, has been introduced by the Scottish Government to allow all suppliers to provide new affordable housing. The fund is divided into three streams:

Council house building (social rent),

Registered Social Landlord building (primarily for social rent but can include other elements of affordable housing) and

An innovation fund open to all providers (for all forms of affordable housing tenure).

Bids have been received for North Ayrshire over all three categories. These bids are currently being assessed by the Scottish Government. It is intended that the outcome of this assessment will be announced in mid September 2011.

Question reference: S4W-02060

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what new powers it will give to local authorities to deal with private landlords who fail to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Question reference: S4W-02068

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the funding of affordable housing in North Ayrshire.

Over the past four years we have awarded £31 million to housing associations in North Ayrshire and £1.6 million to North Ayrshire Council to support the delivery of affordable housing. During that period we approved 293 housing association homes for rent, 35 housing association homes for low cost home ownership and 63 council houses. Some of these projects continue to attract Scottish Government investment in the current year, including Phase 2 of the Vineburgh Regeneration Project in Irvine. This investment will increase the supply of new affordable housing in North Ayrshire.

For 2011-12 a new competitive funding arrangement, the Innovation and Investment Fund, has been introduced by the Scottish Government to allow all suppliers to provide new affordable housing.

Question reference: S4W-02066

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families are on the housing transfer list in North Ayrshire.

Question reference: S4W-02065

Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 August 2011
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 31 August 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families live in (a) local authority and (b) registered social landlord housing that falls below the Scottish Housing Quality Standard in (i) Scotland and (ii) North Ayrshire.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides the following data on the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) for the period 2007-09.

Number of Houses that Fall Below the SHQS


Scottish Local Authorities	263,000
Scottish Registered Social Landlords	151,000
Local Authority Housing in North Ayrshire	12,000

SHCS is unable to provide figures for registered social landlords (RSLs) in North Lanarkshire because the sample size is not sufficient.