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: S5O-05089

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much it spends annually on the provision of legal advice for the Parliament and its committees.

Question reference: S5W-30763

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2020
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jeane Freeman on 17 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in establishing a National Complex Mesh Removal Surgery Service.

Following a recommendation from National Specialist Services Committee (NSSC) and NHS Board Chief Executives, the Scottish Government approved the establishment of a Complex Mesh Removal Surgical Service supported with over £1.3 million of Scottish Government funding for 2020-21.

The service will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) located within NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and will provide holistic assessment and surgical management for women experiencing complications from vaginal or abdominal mesh insertion for urinary incontinence and prolapse.

While NHS Scotland continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the service will employ a phased introduction in the first year in offering assessment and treating this group of patients with complex needs.

Question reference: S5W-29926

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2020
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the eligibility criteria and how to apply to the £1 million fund for women with mesh complications.

The Scottish Government has progressed plans for a £1 million fund to help support women who have experienced mesh complications. This scheme will be open for applications from 1 July 2020.

To apply for a one-off £1,000 payment, women must have received a transvaginal mesh implant, either from or on behalf of an NHS Scotland Health Board, and have experienced complications as a result of that implant.

Women are entitled to claim if they have, at their own expense, had to pay for emotional or practical support. This could include, purchasing self-care items like incontinence pads or if they have had to undertake considerable travel as a result of their condition.

The scheme will be run by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and application forms will soon be available online via NHS Inform at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/tests-and-treatments/non-surgical-procedures/transvaginal-mesh-implants

Applications must be completed any point up to 31 May 2021 to ensure confirmation and payment ahead of the closing date of 30 June 2021. Should an eligible applicant be unable to complete an application form, their representative can do so on their behalf.

The Scottish Government will make every effort to ensure that affected women are made aware of this fund.

It is important to stress again that the scheme is not intended to represent compensation for any perceived wrongdoing by the NHS, Health Boards in Scotland nor any of their employees. Officials are communicating with the Department of Work and Pensions to confirm that this payment will not replace any benefits for anyone who is unable to work as a result of their condition. We will also communicate with HMRC about the intention behind the fund and its treatment for tax purposes.

The views of women themselves have been key to our approach and we hope this fund will help those women affected.

Question reference: S5W-29024

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will, at an appropriate time, hold national remembrance events for those who have lost their lives as a result of COVID-19.

It is important that we acknowledge the role and sacrifice made by key workers and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. The First Minister stresses this in her daily briefings and also notes the personal loss that is experienced by friends and family to those who have tragically lost their lives.

The Scottish Government’s focus is currently on tackling the disease, its impact on our society and how we might safely ease the country’s current lockdown restrictions. However in the fullness of time, we will want to consider what would be an appropriate and meaningful way for the nation to pay its respects.

Question reference: S5W-29215

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2020
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for the proposed £1 million fund for women with mesh complications.

The Scottish Government has heard – first hand – about the physical and emotional impact that mesh complications have had on those affected, as well as their families.

Having listened carefully, we have progressed plans for a £1 million fund to help support women with complications, and who had mesh implanted by or on behalf of a Scottish Health Board.

Successful applicants will receive a one-off payment of £1,000 to cover costs associated with emotional or practical support as they see most appropriate.

The views of women themselves were key to our approach in deciding how best to use the funds available. The Health and Social Care Alliance therefore asked a sample of women how they felt the fund should be allocated. The views expressed, including that each woman should be offered the same amount and that there should be no means testing, have been reflected.

The scheme, which will be run by NHS National Services Scotland, will open for applications at the start of July and run until the end of June next year.

It is important to stress that the scheme is not intended to represent compensation for any perceived wrongdoing by the NHS, nor to replace Department of Work and Pensions benefits for anyone who is unable to work as a result of their condition. Nonetheless, we hope this fund will help those women affected.

Further information on precise eligibility criteria and how to apply will be made available closer to the scheme opening date.

Question reference: S5F-04132

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 May 2020

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has for introducing the new antibody tests for COVID-19 in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-28052

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 April 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are being made to defer council tax payments for people who have had their income reduced or lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our priority is to ensure that those directly impacted by current events are protected and we have asked councils to ensure that recovery proceedings are not initiated in these circumstances. The well-established Council Tax Reduction Scheme means nobody has to endure hardship or suffering because they have lost their ability to pay their council tax, including those impacted directly or indirectly by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We have already set aside an extra £50 million to fund increased demand for Council Tax Reduction and Social Security benefits, as part of our £350 million package of support for communities.

Question reference: S5W-27867

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 23 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be saved in business rates from the introduction of the new Intermediate Property Rate, broken down by each industry sector.

The following table sets out the net expected savings in Non-Domestic Rates Income that will result from the introduction of the Intermediate Property Rate in 2020-21, broken down by property class. These estimates are representative of Non-Domestic Rates policy as at Budget time, and do not reflect more recent changes in Non-Domestic Rates policy.

Property class	Cost savings from introduction of Intermediate Property Rate (£m)
Advertising	0.01
Care Facilities	0.05
Communications	0.03
Cultural	0.02
Education and Training	0.59
Garages and Petrol Stations	0.15
Health and Medical	0.16
Hotels	0.31
Industrial Subjects	1.77
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	0.21
Offices	1.27
Other	0.11
Petrochemical	0.01
Public Houses	0.36
Public Service Subjects	0.30
Quarries, Mines, etc.	0.04
Religious	0.01
Shops	1.84
Sporting Subjects	0.01
Statutory Undertaking	0.08
Total	7.33

Source: Scottish Assessors' Valuation Roll; Local Authority Billing Information

Question reference: S5O-04190

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will make a decision regarding the level of MSP allowances for staff for 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-24788

Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make any applications to the UK Freeports Advisory Panel in order to establish Freeports in Scotland and, if so, which locations will be included in the applications.

Following the establishment by the UK Government of a Freeports Advisory Panel, the Scottish Government is seeking assurances from the UK Government that the interests of the Scottish economy will be taken into account in the development of any proposals.

At this stage, there is no application process and the Scottish Government has not seen any details of the arrangements that might be put in place to establish Freeports. There has also been no assessment of the benefits that might follow from establishing free ports from the UK Government.

The Scottish Government recognises that there may be some opportunities to be gained from bringing Freeports back into use in the UK, particularly if they could be adapted to support sectors in which Scotland excels. However there are potential risks, such as in relation to overall tax revenues, costs to set-up and maintain and the potential for economic activity to be simply displaced from one area of Scotland to another. We remain uncertain about their net economic value. Scottish Government officials are reviewing the potential costs and benefits of Freeports to understand whether they offer any potential net benefits to Scotland’s economy. Any proposal must be subject to careful and rigorous consideration, and take into account the implications for infrastructure and associated costs.

Freeports will not remedy the damage caused by leaving the EU Customs Union and Single Market. The best way to protect Scotland’s economy is to avoid a hard Brexit.