Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive Barnett consequentials resulting from the Big Society Transition Fund.
Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive future Barnett consequentials arising from UK Government spending on the Big Society.
Karen Whitefield: What steps will be taken to ensure that new entrants to the profession have high-level literacy and numeracy skills, and that those skills are regularly refreshed? Does the minister intend to introduce some form of diagnostic testing of literacy and numeracy, and if so, at what stage? Will there be an overall threshold for competence in literacy and numeracy?
Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38080 by Keith Brown on 15 December 2010, whether there is a recommended set-back distance for the construction of wind turbines from individual properties.
Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to monitor the success of the actions set out in the Diabetes Action Plan 2010 to increase insulin pump provision.
Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with type 1 diabetes use a continuous glucose monitor.
Karen Whitefield: 1. To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it will provide to the third sector in 2011-12. (S3O-13100)
Karen Whitefield: I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for his answer, particularly the announcement of funding for new initiatives. However, does he agree that organisations such as Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire in my constituency, which supports North Lanarkshire’s voluntary sector, provide an invaluable range of services to voluntary groups and organisations in our communities? Is he aware that...
Karen Whitefield: Will the cabinet secretary confirm exactly how much each council for voluntary service in each area will receive next year?
Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive how much it invests each year in research into type 1 diabetes.
Karen Whitefield: I welcome the opportunity to speak in today’s debate on the importance of early intervention. The Conservatives are right to bring this issue to the chamber. There has been consensus among all those who have spoken that this is a crucial issue for the future of Scotland’s citizens. I thank all the organisations that provided briefings for today’s debate, and particularly thank...
Karen Whitefield: Christine Grahame is right to raise the point, but does she recognise people’s frustration in this matter? The difficulty is that children tend to go back and forth before any decision is taken and children’s panels can be reluctant to take the final decision for the child to be permanently adopted out. Chances are given time and again, whereas the New Orleans model prevents that and...
Karen Whitefield: 18. To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the reduction in bed numbers at Monklands hospital is having on patient care. (S3O-12990)
Karen Whitefield: Is the minister aware of the concerns of a number of my constituents who, while visiting relatives at Wester Moffat hospital in Airdrie, witnessed taxis bringing staff and cleaners to open up a mothballed ward in the middle of the night? Can she confirm that that is not an example of good practice but a direct consequence of bed reduction at all three acute sites in Lanarkshire, which could...
Karen Whitefield: It was my constituents.
Karen Whitefield: I thank everybody who gave written and oral evidence to the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee, and the committee clerks, whose help and support was, as ever, invaluable. To help us to understand what the bill is intended to achieve, I will give a working definition of what is meant by public records in the context of the bill and a brief description of the circumstances out...
Karen Whitefield: I welcome the passing of the Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill today. It may not be the most exciting bill to have come before Parliament, but it will have a positive and lasting effect on the built and natural environment. I thank those who have participated in the legislative scrutiny of the bill, including members of and clerks to the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture...
Karen Whitefield: I welcome the opportunity to speak in this evening's debate and I congratulate my colleague, Cathy Jamieson, on securing a members' business debate on this important matter. Like many members speaking tonight, I am surprised and disappointed by the Scottish Government's decision to scrap the freight facilities grant and I struggle to understand the logic of the decision. To its credit, the...
Karen Whitefield: We are talking about Scotland, and the minister is responsible for the situation in Scotland. Labour Party members criticise their party when they need to. We do not just do as we are told; we take responsibility, which is what we are asking the minister to do tonight. The grant system was designed and implemented in recognition of the economic advantages of reducing long-distance road...
Karen Whitefield: It has to be said that the Labour motion that we are debating merely scratches the surface of the list of failures and broken promises that have been presided over by the SNP Administration in relation to the education of our children and young people. Even within the rather clunky grammatical rules of motion drafting, it would have been just too big a task to compile a readable list of...