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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1651 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-31075

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to propose amendments to the regulations concerning fire suppression systems, including sprinklers, before the end of the parliamentary session.

The Scottish Government intend to lay the Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI), The Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2020 in the Scottish Parliament in September 2020. The regulations will require the mandatory installation of automatic fire suppression systems in all new flats and maisonettes, all new social housing dwellings and certain new multi-occupancy residential accommodation from 1 March 2021. The SSI and Impact Assessments are currently being finalised.

Question reference: S5O-04478

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding future development of the NC500.

Question reference: S5W-30700

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 5 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether a population screening for heart valve disease for people over 65 would (a) help to improve early detection, (b) decrease the number of cardiovascular deaths attributed to heart valve disease and (c) be a cost-effective solution in the long term.

The Scottish Government, along with the rest of the UK, is advised on all aspects of screening including the potential for any new screening programmes by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. It is the primary objective of the Scottish Screening Committee to consider the advice and recommendations of the UK NSC. Currently there are no recommendations to implement population screening for heart valve disease.

Question reference: S5W-30045

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29100 by Jeane Freeman on 4 June 2020, when the findings from the work being undertaken to examine the effectiveness of air scrubbers and negative ion ionisers in tackling COVID-19 will be published.

A UK-wide expert group is considering the ventilation and cleaning requirements for the resumption of activity in theatres and endoscopy suites in the context of Covid-19. The group has included air scrubbers on a list of technologies that may prove useful in some circumstances. There is currently no agreed timescale for this group to evaluate air scrubbers – technologies will be evaluated in priority order and the timescale for air scrubbers is still to be confirmed. Currently there are no plans to examine the effectiveness of negative ion ionisers.

Question reference: S5W-30260

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how uncertainty regarding the future of Wick John O'Groats Airport could impact on the Caithness and Sutherland area.

Question reference: S5W-30261

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) discussions, (b) consultations, (c) correspondence and (d) meetings it has had with stakeholders in the Caithness and Sutherland area regarding the nature of the services using Wick John O'Groats Airport.

I met with the Caithness Chamber of Commerce on 29 August 2019 to discuss this issue. Since then Transport Scotland officials have met with the Caithness Chamber of Commerce regularly. These meetings have also included representatives from Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Airports Limited. We have also responded to numerous correspondence during this period from local representatives and other stakeholders.

Question reference: S5W-30262

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Highlands and Islands Enterprise and (b) the UK Government regarding continuing to operate services between Wick John O'Groats and (i) Aberdeen and (ii) Edinburgh Airport.

Question reference: S5W-30259

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale would be for introducing a public service obligation for services between Wick John O'Groats and (a) Aberdeen and (b) Edinburgh Airport.

Question reference: S5W-30069

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 13 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it has provided in Scotland in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how much this represents per head of population.

The Scottish Government published a Summer Budget Revision on 27 May 2020 which detailed an initial £4.014 billion of funding for the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This represents around £730 per head of population based on the latest ONS estimate.

This is just the beginning of the financial response to the pandemic and further details of Scottish Government spending will be set out in the Autumn and Spring budget revisions later in the financial year.

Question reference: S5W-29705

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people may be disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and the issuing of interim guidance for health and social care employers on this issue, how it is ensuring the implementation of guidance in the (a) care home sector and (b) NHS in order to protect staff.

We are establishing a working group of BAME staff across health and social care to hear their voices and lived experiences. This will include listening to how they feel the interim guidance has been implemented and perceived. This is critical in our approach to ensure our policies are developed alongside those that they affect and that compliance is fully measured.

We have also convened an Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity that met for the first time on 10 June. This brings together academics and other experts to advise on the SG response to disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Minority Ethnic people.