Monday 13 March 2017 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT Communities Oliver Mundell (Dumfriesshire) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Government what funding Dumfries and Galloway has received from the People and Communities Fund. Holding answer issued: 3 March 2017 (S5W-6862) Angela Constance: Three projects in Dumfries and Galloway have received support from the People and Communities Fund, totalling £132,233. The projects are listed below along with a brief description. To note that the Irvine Housing Association Springboard project covered more than the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area. Moffat Town Hall Redevelopment Trust – The Friday Club – £39,484 (2015-17) This project is providing a holistic service for local elderly residents to help address social isolation issues in the Moffat area of Dumfries and Galloway. The project encompasses a range of services provided by local voluntary area service groups as a one stop shop idea. This includes volunteers who are trained by experienced staff and other volunteers. Irvine Housing Association – Springboard – £63,452 (2012-15) This project provided an overarching support service to people living in the most deprived areas of North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway. The focus was support for fuel poverty issues, money advice and employability support. Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership – Introduction to Construction £29,297 – (2012-13) This project provided work-based job placements to 16 local unemployed people in Dumfries and Galloway. The aim was to help them develop core work skills, construction trade skills and practical work experience. Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the YWCA Scotland Report, Status of Young Women in Scotland 2016, and what actions it will take as a result. (S5W-7234) Angela Constance: The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of YWCA Scotland's second Status of Young Women in Scotland report, and in particular the focus it gives to reaching diverse young women in Scotland and those who might have more limited opportunities to talk about their experiences. The report covers young women's views on a range of topics, such as: sex and relationships; gender bias, and politics, and it highlights that for some young women in Scotland issues such as gender based violence, sexual harassment and racism remain a reality. This is not acceptable, and the Scottish Government will continue to work hard to tackle and challenge these issues so that all young woman in Scotland can grow up in a society without fear and prejudice, and where young women are empowered to determine their own paths. Our Programme for Government 2016-17: A Plan for Scotland, includes wide ranging commitments to women and girls' equality, including decisive action to improve the representation of women at senior levels; a range of activity to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, and the creation of an Advisory Council on Women and Girls to bring new and challenging voices to our work across the Scottish Government to realise gender equality. Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to help homeless women manage menstruation (S5W-7236) Angela Constance: Local authorities have the duty to provide appropriate services to address homelessness in their area. However, we recognise that some homeless people, including those who be sleeping rough, may not approach statutory services. The Scottish Government has therefore been working with a range of partners to get more robust data on those that may be rough sleeping and the nature of their needs to help improve the services provided. The Scottish Government supports the Scottish Welfare Fund which provides a safety net for vulnerable people on low incomes through the provision of Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. Since the establishment of the Scottish Welfare Fund in April 2013, around 493,000 of Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants totalling £116 million have been awarded. We are also actively considering what other support the Scottish Government can provide for women and girls on a low income to have access to sanitary products in dignified settings. Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on mitigating the impact in Scotland of the UK Government’s welfare reforms. (S5W-7259) Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has invested considerable resource directly mitigating the impact of the UK Government’s welfare cuts. The following table sets out the amount invested to date in a range of different mitigation activities. Welfare Reform Mitigation activity Investment made March 2013 to March 2017 (£ million) Scottish Welfare Fund 152.4 Discretionary Housing Payments 125 Council Tax Reduction Scheme 92 Welfare Advice Provision 20 Addressing Food Poverty 3 Other welfare mitigation projects 4 Total 396.4 In addition, the Scottish Government has made investment across a range of portfolios to tackle poverty and inequality. This includes increasing access to free childcare, the provision of free school meals and a range of community-led regeneration activity. Much of this will provide additional support people affected by welfare reform. Christina McKelvie (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government how much it will award each project that will receive support from the second allocation of funding from the Fair Food Transformation Fund. (S5W-7265) Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has allocated some £330,000 in 2016-17 and 2017- 18 from the second tranche of funding from the Fair Food Transformation Fund to support a further 13 projects. The core aim of the Fund is to promote a shift from food charity to food justice where the social value of food is used to support people and bring them together in a more dignified way. The allocation is as follows: Organisation and delivery location Award The First Base Agency £16,750 Dumfries and Galloway (regional coverage) Apex Scotland £16,448 Dumfries and Galloway (regional coverage) Cheviot Youth £25,966 Kelso, Scottish Borders Oasis Food Bank (Redeemed Christian Church of God) £16,363 Gorgie, Edinburgh Midlothian Foodbank, Gorebridge Parish Church £16,000 Gorebridge, Midlothian Edinburgh Food Project £35,000 Edinburgh City The Everlasting Foodbank £43,000 Denniston, Glasgow Organisation and delivery location Award Bethany Christian Trust £20,000 Edinburgh City Yoker Parish Church £31,750 Yoker, Glasgow Whitlawburn Community and Resource Centre £9,610 Cambuslang and Rutherglen. South Lanarkshire Sauchie Active 8 £15,894 Clackmannanshire Perth and Kinross Foodbank £11,500 Perth and Kinross Moray Foodbank £27,977 Moray Additionally, West Dunbartonshire Council is working locally with West Dunbartonshire Community Foodshare and Food for Thought to develop appropriate provision for the area, maximising both the funding available and the assets within these organisations, the local authority and the wider community. Funding for this project has still to be determined. This builds on some £900,000 allocated to 20 projects in the initial round of funding in September 2016. Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages key agencies in training frontline staff to identify challenges that could impact on health and wellbeing, including signs of fuel poverty or the risk of fuel poverty, and to make appropriate referrals to specialist support services. (S5W-7578) Kevin Stewart: We recognise the importance of frontline workers in communities, who can readily identify householders who would benefit from help. Home Energy Scotland, funded by Scottish Government, currently undertakes outreach work, providing free training to local partners and raising awareness of the service available. This outreach will increase the provision of advice and support in our communities and enhance the partnership approach to delivering support where it’s needed most. Home Energy Scotland has also put in place a referral portal that gives our partner organisations a quick and easy way to refer clients and customers to support, including funding to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Training has been put in place to support the range of organisations that have already signed up to use this new tool – including NHS boards and energy suppliers. In addition to this, we launched ‘HES Homecare’, delivered by Home Energy Scotland, on 8 March 2017. The service is being piloted in two rural areas and will join up with local services to give targeted and specific in-home support to people who are in the greatest need – helping them to make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat. Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made on the impact of (a) poor housing and (b) hard-to-heat homes on the health and wellbeing of (i) children, (ii) disabled people and (iii) people with long-term health conditions. (S5W-7581) Kevin Stewart: The “Evidence Review of the Potential Wider Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Options: Built Environment Sector” published in 2017 to inform the draft Climate Change Plan http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/3358 found evidence that measures to improve the energy efficiency of homes, including by insulating them, can result