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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2025 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-07685

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much incomes will need to increase by in each income decile in order to meet the relative and absolute poverty targets of 10% and 5%.

In order for a child to move out of poverty their household income must rise above the poverty threshold. The increase in income required to do this depends on the poverty threshold which varies each year.

The amount of income required also varies between households and so there is no single amount by which income would have to increase in each income decile.

Given that the target rate is above zero it would also depend on which households moved out of poverty and which remained in poverty

It would be possible to estimate the average amount of income a household in poverty would require to move above the poverty threshold in the latest year for which statistics are available (currently 2014-15). It would further be possible to break this down by decile. Households in higher deciles will already be above the poverty threshold.

Question reference: S5W-07010

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06491 by Jeanne Freeman on 3 February 2017, whether extending winter fuel payments to families with severely disabled children can be delivered before executive competency for this benefit has been fully transferred once the UK Government has laid the regulations.

Changes to existing DWP benefits require the transfer of executive competence. Existing benefits will not transfer at the point at which the UK Government lays commencement regulations this spring, but at a later date or dates, as yet undecided, but no later than 1 April 2020.

The first stage is for the Scottish Parliament to debate and scrutinise the Scottish Social Security Bill which Ministers will lay by June 2017. Scottish Ministers will then make regulations using powers in that Bill to manage the transfer of responsibility for existing benefit recipients to that system.

The Scottish Government’s priority is a safe and secure transfer of social security responsibilities.

Question reference: S5W-07360

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02667 by Jeane Freeman on 28 September 2016, whether the spend on all devolved benefits will be demand-led.

Spend on the current benefits in the areas being devolved by the Scotland Act 2016 are demand led, apart from Discretionary Housing Payments. There are no plans at present to change the spend classification of such benefits. We are committed to a rights based approach to social security, in which our core principles of fairness, dignity and respect will be grounded. For any new benefit that were to be established, the spend classification would depend on the purpose of the benefit and how the legislation to establish it is expressed.

Question reference: S5W-06907

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 6 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in each year since 2011 on public information campaigns to encourage an increased take-up of social security entitlements, and how it has measured the effectiveness of these.

Responsibility for social security in the timeframe outlined has been reserved to the UK Government.

Since the introduction of the 2012 Welfare Reform Act the Scottish Government has made considerable investment in a range of advice services to help people to understand their rights and access their full entitlements. In 2016-17 alone we estimate that that around £13 million is directly attributable to advice projects that aim to maximise household incomes – either by increasing access to financial entitlements or reducing outgoings on costs such as energy. Further detail on this provision was provided in answer to written questions S5W-06216 and S5W-06217 on 30 January 2017.

With the Scottish Government taking powers in this area we have committed to putting in place measures to support people to take up the social security entitlements they are eligible for. The first phase of our benefits take up campaign started w/c 6 March.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-07378

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the first set of statistics on levels of persistent poverty will be published.

Question reference: S5W-06833

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S5O-00612 by Angela Constance on 1 February 2017 (Official Report, c. 6), whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) year and (b) service of the investment in advice services that is worth between £40 million and £50 million.

Question reference: S5F-00948

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2017

To ask the First Minister how many children the measures in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill will lift out of poverty by May 2021.

Question reference: S5W-07192

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to question S5W-06218 by Angela Constance on 30 January 2017, whether the scoping exercise will conclude before the end of 2016-17 and, if so, whether the extent of funding required will be determined in 2017-18.

Question reference: S5W-07173

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 27 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06219 by Jeane Freeman on 30 January 2017, what the gender breakdown is of these staff, and how many are disabled.

When providing data on diversity characteristics headcount is used. Staffing information for related PQ reference S5W-06219 was on an FTE basis, which explains the differing totals. The grouping “directly employed” - used to present our Official statistics and staffing reports to the Office for National Statistics - excludes staff who are employed by a 3^rd party and not employed by the Scottish Government.

Headcount (directly employed - permanent and fixed term, Modern Apprentice and Inward loans)

31-07-2016

31-08-2016

30-09-2016

31-10-2016

30-11-2016

31-12-2016

DIRECTORATE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

Female	30	30	32	37	42	43
Male	24	24	24	24	25	26
All	54	54	56	61	67	69



31-07-2016	31-08-2016	30-09-2016	31-10-2016	30-11-2016	31-12-2016

DIRECTORATE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

Disabled	*	*	*	*	7	7
Not Disabled	28	28	27	31	32	31
Prefer not to say	*	*	*	*	2	2
Unknown	22	21	24	24	26	29
All	54	54	56	61	67	69

To prevent possible disclosure of sensitive information about individuals, headcounts of less than five have been suppressed and shown as * in the table. (Except in cases where 'prefer not to say' is the only value less than five.) In cases where suppression has been required, it is also necessary to suppress a second value to prevent disclosure of the suppressed value by subtraction.

Question reference: S5W-06915

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 27 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how people eligible to receive at least one of the devolved benefits will be able to apply to join a social security experience panel.

People with recent experience of receiving benefits will be recruited to the panels in two ways – by direct invitation mailed to a representative sample of current benefit recipients and by an open invitation, publicly asking for volunteers.

After the launch, a registration form can be completed online at: www.gov.scot/socialsecurity. A form will also be available to download at: www.gov.scot/socialsecurity and can be returned by post. A Freephone number will be available for those who require additional support to register, and this will be available on the materials and on the website address above.