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: S5T-02387

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what mitigation measures are being considered to deal with the continuing closure of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful.

Question reference: S5W-31463

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any funding remaining from the (a) Small Business Grant and (b) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme since its closure to new applications on 10 July 2020 and, if so, where it plans to spend any remaining funding.

As at 4 August 2020, over 106,500 applications had been made for the Small Business Grant Scheme and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Scheme across Scotland. Of these applications, over 89,000 grants valuing over £998 million have been awarded.

Local authorities continue to process outstanding applications, and therefore final figures of expenditure are not yet available. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every penny received from the UK Government for business support will be passed on directly to businesses and the early closure of the scheme was intended to ensure that any remaining resources from the grant schemes can be re-directed to help business as we have already done for the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and other hardship funds.

Our package of support measures worth over £2.3 billion is tailored to the particular needs of the Scottish economy, and we continue to listen to businesses to understand their needs and explore means through which to provide support and rectify the gaps where possible.

Question reference: S5W-31467

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30850 by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 August 2020, how much the Water Industry Commission has paid toward forest planting in offsetting carbon emissions in each of the last five years, and to whom these payments have been made.

The Commission began to make payments to offset its carbon emissions in 2018-19. The Commission made a contribution to Carbon Footprint Ltd totalling £1,780.20, which was equivalent to 138 trees being planted in Scotland, and balanced all the emissions from flights by WICS employees. The Commission has committed to offset all its flight emissions on an annual basis and will make a further offsetting payment later this year to account for emissions in 2019-20.

Question reference: S5W-31472

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of annual average investment spending of Scottish Water in the 2035-36 and 2039-40 periods it expects will be met through government borrowing.

The average annual investment for 2035-36 and 2039-40 and the level of borrowing at that time will be determined in future Strategic Review of Charges processes. In the long-term modelling carried out by WICS for their Decision Paper “Prospects for Prices”, they have assumed that total investment, including refurbishment and repair capital, in 2035-36 will be between £1.1billion and £1.2billion and in 2039-40 will be between £1.3billion and £1.5billion in 2017-18 prices, and that borrowing will be £120million in each of these years.

Question reference: S5W-31469

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 7 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-30852 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, whether it expects each of its agencies to have policies on the personal use of frequent flyer schemes and, if so, whether these schemes should be consistent with its policy that they should not be used for personal gain by employees.

Question reference: S5W-31466

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-30854, S5W-30856 and S5W-30857 by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 August 2020, what the daily rate is at which the Chief Executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland's time is being charged out on contracts undertaken.

Question reference: S5W-31468

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the annual average investment spending of Scottish Water that has been planned will have been met through (a) government borrowing during the 2015-16 to 2020-21 period and (b) the modelled logarithm that underlies the approach to future water charges created by the Water Industry Commission.

I refer the member to the answer to S5W-23180 on 22 May 2019 for previous information on borrowing and investment and can confirm that (a) The Final Determination for the period 2015-21 was based on an investment programme of £3.036million in 2012-13 prices, and £720m of this investment was to be met through net new borrowing. (b) The financial modelling for the forthcoming 2021-27 regulatory period, set out in the WICS ‘Prospects for Prices’ paper, assumes borrowing of £170million per year and total investment over the period, including refurbishment and repair capital, of between £4.3bn and £4.4bn in 2017-18 prices.

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
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Question reference: S5W-31293

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 4 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 19 August 2020 (Official Report, c. 10), how many (a) face-to-face and (b) virtual GP appointments have been conducted in each month since March 2020, broken down by NHS board; what action is being taken to restore the full face-to-face service, and by what date this will be in place.

Information on face-to-face appointments is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as GP practices are responsible for their own patient appointment and consultation arrangements.

Detailed information on Near Me consultations in GP practices by board by week can be found on SPICe, reference 61752. Not all virtual consultations use Near Me and there are also telephone consultations.

While the number of virtual appointments will have risen during the pandemic, GP practices could adopt virtual or other forms of remote working before the pandemic and there is no "full face-to-face service" as such to restore. GP practices are encouraged to retain any new ways of working developed during the pandemic which support access, quality, inclusivity, and continuity of patient care.

Question reference: S5W-31239

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether any of its special advisers have had a pay increase in the last three years outwith the normal annual pay increase applied to the Civil Service and, if so, (a) who and (b) by how much their pay increased.

Prior to 2020, Special advisers had not had access to pay progression within their pay range. In order to put Special Advisers pay arrangements on a consistent footing with other SG civil servants, a pay structure review and job evaluation exercise was undertaken for all Special Advisers. The job evaluation process began in 2018 with resultant pay increases implemented with effect from 1 October 2018. A further review of job evaluation outcomes was carried out in early 2020 and a supporting pay structure incorporating pay progression arrangements was introduced, with resultant pay increases implemented with effect from 1 October 2019. Job evaluation and pay progression are important elements in employment arrangements to support equality and fairness and to ensure equal pay for work deemed to be of equal value. It would not be appropriate to release the personal detail of individual salaries or salary changes. Details of the number of Special Advisers and pay band information is published annually.

Question reference: S5W-30921

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 3 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not issued advice in response to reports that COVID-19 can infect through the eyes.

There is some evidence that Covid-19 may cause conjunctivitis. Although this appears to be rare, eye health care professionals have been made aware that this can occur. There may be an increased risk of direct transmission through touching the eyes or tears during examination, however there no specific precautions are required beyond routine infection prevention and control practices, such as PPE, washing hands and appropriate disinfection of surfaces and instruments.

Our current understanding remains that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets (coughing or sneezing) directly into the mucous areas of individuals; or contact with contaminated surfaces which are then spread to the nose or mouth by touch.

Guidance for optometry and optometrists, including on the use of eye protection, is also included within the Primary Care Guidance https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/covid-19-advice-for-dental-teams/

Our actions will continue to develop in response to what the scientific community learn about the virus.