Hansard

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

23 Jan 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Social Impact Bonds

13. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the use of social impact bonds. (S4O-01721)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

23 Jan 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Social Impact Bonds

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I am pleased to hear that he is aware of the potential benefits of social impact bonds, but I am disappointed that pilot projects have not yet been identified. Earlier this month, I was pleased to visit the YMCA’s living balance p...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

23 May 2013

National Trust for Scotland (Governance etc) Bill: Final Stage

I am very pleased to sum up on behalf of the committee in this final stage debate on the National Trust for Scotland (Governance etc) Bill.As members will recall, we explored the bill’s background during the preliminary stage. At that time—and again in today’s debate—we heard ...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

26 Jun 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Childcare and Early Years Education

12. To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to the conclusions on childcare and early years education in the Equal Opportunities Committee’s report, “Women and Work”. (S4O-02303)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

26 Jun 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Childcare and Early Years Education

I recently had the opportunity to meet parents and childcare workers in Methil as part of Save the Children’s childcare conversations work. The message that I got from that discussion was clear—for too many women, lack of flexible, affordable, out-of-school-hours childcare is ...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

09 Oct 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Proposed Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill

14. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on the proposed community empowerment and renewal bill. (S4O-02485)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

09 Oct 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Proposed Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill

I thank the minister for that answer and for his earlier comments on empty properties in town centres. The minister will be aware of my long-standing interest in the problems that are faced by many local authorities in tackling dilapidated buildings and the negative impact tha...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

19 Jun 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Cities Strategy

6. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by its cities strategy. (S4O-02267)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

19 Jun 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Cities Strategy

The inclusion of Perth and Stirling in the agenda for cities was a welcome move for Mid Scotland and Fife, but how will the Scottish Government ensure that peripheral areas of city regions are not forgotten about, especially in Fife, for example, which usually benefits from co...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

18 Sep 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Health Visitors

If we are to see an increase in the number of health visitors, we must ensure that they are targeted at the communities that need them most. What mapping is being done to see where health visitors are and what services they provide?

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

06 Nov 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Health Visitors

5. To ask the Scottish Government what role it considers health visitors have in making Scotland the best place in which to grow up. (S4O-02536)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

06 Nov 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Health Visitors

The Scottish Government has committed to fully fund local authorities to deliver the named person provisions in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill. Should the bill be passed, will the Government show equal commitment to children aged zero to five by fully funding he...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

13 Nov 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Urban Drainage Infrastructure Improvements

5. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Scottish Water and other bodies about improvements to drainage infrastructure in urban areas. (S4O-02566)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

13 Nov 2013

Portfolio Question Time · Urban Drainage Infrastructure Improvements

Many of my constituents in Mid Scotland and Fife have been affected by localised flooding, which is often due to culverts or drains being blocked or in poor condition. I am aware of the complexities of ownership that can arise when a drain or culvert is in poor condition. The ...

15. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

28 May 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Community Planning Partnerships (Support)

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to community planning partnerships. (S4O-03280)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

28 May 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Community Planning Partnerships (Support)

There are many great examples of small community-based organisations in Mid Scotland and Fife, including the Resonate Arts House project in Alloa, which I visited last week. The project takes a holistic approach to working with local people to build community resilience and ca...

13. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

24 Sep 2014

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Fife (Funding Shortfall)

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on NHS Fife would be of the reported shortfall of up to £450 million in national health service funding. (S4O-03523)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

24 Sep 2014

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Fife (Funding Shortfall)

Despite that response, it is absolutely clear that, at the moment, there are problems facing patients and staff across NHS Fife, with up to 40 vacant consultant posts needing to be filled and reports of the health board’s increasing use of private firms such as Medinet. In Aug...

6. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

01 Oct 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Local Bus Services (Hospitals and Other Essential Services)

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to ensuring the continued viability of local bus services that have hospitals and other essential services on their routes. (S4O-03546)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

01 Oct 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Local Bus Services (Hospitals and Other Essential Services)

As the minister will be aware, not all bus services are profitable but, for many people in rural and remote communities, they are essential if they are to reach vital services such as hospital out-patient appointments. If irregular or unreliable services mean that patients fro...

7. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

29 Oct 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Commonwealth Games Legacy (Disadvantaged Young People)

To ask the Scottish Government what the legacy of the Commonwealth games will be for disadvantaged young people. (S4O-03607)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

29 Oct 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Commonwealth Games Legacy (Disadvantaged Young People)

I welcomed the efforts that were made, for example, to provide free tickets to allow disadvantaged young people to access events at the games. However, that in itself will not create the long-term change that is needed. I appreciate the cabinet secretary’s comments on the eff...

8. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

03 Dec 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Guidance)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the accompanying guidance for the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. (S4O-03768)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

03 Dec 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Guidance)

The minister will know from her recent meeting with the Scottish kinship care alliance how strongly kinship carers feel about some of the proposed changes to the support that they receive. The getting it right for every child provisions in the 2014 act are vital for many kinsh...

5. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

10 Dec 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (Implementation of Findings)

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with the implementation of the findings of the report of the commission for developing Scotland’s young workforce. (S4O-03795)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

10 Dec 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce (Implementation of Findings)

The National Deaf Children’s Society has highlighted that deaf young people’s educational outcomes and opportunities to enter the workforce vary dramatically in comparison with those of their peers without additional support needs. The cabinet secretary will be aware of tomorr...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

11 Dec 2014

Deaf Children (Educational Disadvantage)

I congratulate Kenneth Gibson on securing the debate. For my fellow Education and Culture Committee members, our visit to Falkirk high school on Tuesday will be fresh in our minds. Although it was primarily to explore issues in relation to Mark Griffin’s British Sign Languag...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

18 Jun 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Transport Scotland (Meetings)

In response to a question last week on the proposed Levenmouth rail link, the minister suggested that neither he nor Transport Scotland had had any contact from Fife Council regarding the proposal. The leader of Fife Council wrote to the minister on 28 May, and the Scottish G...

5. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Social Care Charges Abolition (Fife Council)

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on poverty of Fife Council’s decision to abolish social care charges. (S4O-04168)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

25 Mar 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Social Care Charges Abolition (Fife Council)

Labour-led Fife Council last year abolished housing support charges for its own sheltered housing tenants. As of yesterday, housing association sheltered housing tenants in Fife—some 101 people, at present—will no longer pay housing support charges. Fife Council is managing ...

9. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

01 Apr 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Economy (Mid Scotland and Fife)

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to grow the economy in Mid Scotland and Fife. (S4O-04192)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

01 Apr 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Economy (Mid Scotland and Fife)

Does the cabinet secretary agree that for the long-term sustainable growth of the Scottish economy we must shift the balance of investment towards manufacturing? Can he provide me with more detail of the progress that is being made to bring such investment to strategic employm...

9. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

29 Apr 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Accident and Emergency Data

To ask the Scottish Government what additional accident and emergency data it is considering publishing. (S4O-04252)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

29 Apr 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Accident and Emergency Data

The Scottish Government has been forced to publish weekly accident and emergency data. When will the cabinet secretary start to publish the weekly returns from national health service boards on boarding out and delayed discharge?

6. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

20 May 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Future Workforce (Skills)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to identify the skills that will be needed by the future workforce. (S4O-04349)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

20 May 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Future Workforce (Skills)

I note that earlier this year the Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment visited Fife College’s Stenton campus to learn about Fife’s engineering pathfinder project. Does the cabinet secretary agree that such partnership working, involving schools and employers, is an excell...

9. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

27 May 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Local Government Taxation System

To ask the Scottish Government what planning and modelling it has carried out regarding the future of the taxation system for local government. (S4O-04372)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

27 May 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Local Government Taxation System

Council tax has been frozen in Scotland for eight years in a row. A Fife Council consultation found that 71 per cent of residents would support a halt in the council tax freeze in order that extra money raised could be spent on vital local services. However, support for that i...

2. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

06 Aug 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Health Visitors (Training)

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement the Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment will have in the training programme for the recently announced additional 500 health visitors. (S4O-03422)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

06 Aug 2014

Portfolio Question Time · Health Visitors (Training)

It is vital that all young people, regardless of background, have an opportunity to develop their skills and to find employment that suits them. As the position of health visitor is rightly a highly skilled role, what steps is the cabinet secretary taking to ensure that there ...

6. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

09 Sep 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Business Rates (Review)

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review business rates. (S4O-04553)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

09 Sep 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Business Rates (Review)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Many people from the retail and hospitality sectors who are based in towns including Kirkcaldy, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Alloa and Perth tell me that business rates are a major challenge to their remaining in the town centre. If ...

Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

16 Sep 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Bee Population (Reported Decline)

The University of Stirling and the University of Sussex have conducted research into planting wild flowers rather than grass on roundabouts and verges and have found that it results in a spectacular increase in bumblebees and hoverflies. What might the Scottish Government do t...

5. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

11 Nov 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Sheriff Courts (Unnecessary Repetition of Case Stages)

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the reported £10 million that is lost in the sheriff court system by cases repeating stages unnecessarily. (S4O-04775)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

11 Nov 2015

Portfolio Question Time · Sheriff Courts (Unnecessary Repetition of Case Stages)

Given that the number of summary cases completed within a timeframe of 26 weeks is the only performance indicator of sheriff court efficiency, will the minister commit to introducing more detailed performance indicators in order to allow the public a more comprehensive picture...

2. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

03 Feb 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Homelessness (Prevention)

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent people becoming homeless. (S4O-05505)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

03 Feb 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Homelessness (Prevention)

Homelessness is becoming increasingly visible on the streets of our cities this winter. “The homelessness monitor: Scotland 2015”, which Crisis published recently, noted that attempts to prevent homelessness are often “relatively ‘light touch’”, consisting primarily of informa...

9. Jayne Baxter (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab Chamber

02 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Alternative Care Providers (Maintenance of Frontline Support)

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that front-line patient and carer support from alternative care providers can be maintained, in the light of the reduction in local authority budgets. (S4O-05603)

Jayne Baxter Lab Chamber

02 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Alternative Care Providers (Maintenance of Frontline Support)

I thank the minister for that response. Is he aware that the Scottish National Party’s council budget in Clackmannanshire has imposed across-the-board cuts of 7.1 per cent cash—or 8.4 per cent in real terms—on third-sector providers including the Scottish Association for Menta...