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: S6W-09508

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit, in partnership with local authorities, to publishing annual figures on loss of life of asylum seekers in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09509

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to full cooperation and participation in the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-09510

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it can take to ensure transparency around the loss of life in dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers and in immigration detention in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09332

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the affordable homes currently being built are (a) within walking distance of local services and amenities, and (b) accessible by public transport.

Scottish Government requires local authorities to assess, set out and monitor delivery against affordable housing priorities through Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plans, which should be available on the relevant local authority websites. Planning authorities are responsible for the determination of planning permission in accordance with the development plan and relevant material considerations. Development plans set out where new development should and shouldn’t happen in the places they cover, enabling delivery of the right development in the right place.

Question reference: S6W-09006

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the #LiveableNHSBursary campaign led by medical students, which includes calls for access to full maintenance loans for medical students in line with other professional healthcare courses, access to the NHS Learning Support Fund for medical students and a review of Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses, in light of the cost of living crisis.

The #LiveableNHSBursary campaign is focused on the situation faced by latter years medical students studying in England which is something we are unable to comment on. Scottish domiciled medical students are eligible for the standard student support package which is comprised of tuition fees and living cost support throughout all 5 or 6 years of their medical degree. Furthermore in February 2002 a £350 loan uplift for 2022-23 for higher education students was announced. This means that the most disadvantaged students can access £8,100 per year through bursary and loan and the Scottish Government remains committed that the total student support package reaches the equivalent of the Living Wage over the next three years.

In Scotland medical ACT is currently used to fund Travel and Subsistence for students in all regions and this is monitored in light of the changing economic climate and impact of locus of student placements in remote/rural settings.

Question reference: S6W-08842

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding the proposals to allow Ukrainian refugees settling in Scotland access to study at Scottish universities free of charge, with access to living cost support.

Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status, free tuition and living cost support for the duration of their studies. This entitlement has been enshrined in the new student support regulations which were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 2022 and come into force on 1 August, being the start of the 2022- 23 Academic Year.

In addition, the Scottish Government also announced on 14 April, the creation of a new £1 million International Students’ Emergency Fund for international students who were facing financial hardship as a result of a significant change of circumstances.

Ukrainian students who have previously chosen to study at a college or university in Scotland and are facing financial hardship as a result of the Russian invasion will be eligible to apply to their college or university for support.

Question reference: S6O-01240

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the missions of the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Question reference: S6W-08638

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the current policy is for women over 70 to be able to access breast screening appointments; what the justification is for any decision to stop regular access to breast screening for this age group, and what consideration it will give to improving access to breast screening for this age group as part of the NHS Recovery Plan.

We have followed the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific body that advises all four UK nations on screening, that women between the ages of 50 and 70 should be invited for three yearly routine breast screening. That is because there is clear evidence of benefit from screening women of that age group. The UK NSC does not recommend that women over 71 are invited for breast screening because the same evidence of benefit does not yet exist.

Prior to COVID-19, women aged 71 and over had the option to self-refer because there was enough capacity to allow them to do so. While programme capacity remains challenging due to the impacts of COVID-19, there remains a pause on self-referrals for those over the age of 71 to allow appointments to be prioritised for the recommended screening population.

However, in recognition of the anxiety that the pause on self-referrals is causing, work is underway with the National Screening Oversight and the Scottish Breast Screening Programme Board to explore ways to restart the self-referral route by Autumn 2022, in a way that does not unduly impact screening of the eligible cohort.

We continue to emphasise that, regardless of their age, women should remain symptom aware and report any concerns to their GP immediately for these to be investigated and followed up as appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-08789

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) hernia and (b) rectopexy mesh surgery procedures have been performed in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-08583

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the detailed maps of route options for the proposed Clyde Metro that have reportedly been presented as advice to ministers.

Detailed maps on Clyde Metro have not been produced or presented to Scottish Ministers. Indicative maps were presented to Scottish Ministers as part of discussions on STPR2 in the lead up to the publication of draft recommendations in January 2022. The level of assessment work undertaken to date is not sufficient to produce detailed route options for publication or consultation, but of course will be in the future.