Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-05325

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) Tata Steel has any claim to the land upon which the Dalzell steelworks are situated in the event that Liberty House decides to close the site for reasons other than it ceasing to exist.

Question reference: S6W-05317

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it necessitated that it take ownership of the Dalzell steelworks for a short period in 2016, and what prevented Tata Steel selling the asset directly to Liberty House.

Question reference: S6W-05310

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for how long precisely it owned the Dalzell steelworks in 2016.

Question reference: S6W-05437

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the debate on motion S6M-02625 (A New Deal for Tenants), how it plans to increase its ambitions for the building of more homes for social rent, and on what date any increased ambition will be announced.

As set out in our Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has already increased its ambition and commitment to deliver more social homes by increasing our affordable homes target from 100,000 to 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with 70% of these being for social rent.

Housing to 2040 sets out our long term vision for Housing in Scotland. While a longer-term ambition allows for greater foresight, it does present challenges with predicting how circumstances might change or what unforeseen events might arise. That is why we will carry out a review at the mid-point of the target period, to assess if plans should continue unchanged or be adapted.

Question reference: S6W-05345

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what issues it has experienced matching the functionality of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app with international and EU travel guidelines and restrictions.

The data held in the international section of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app is a statement of fact, representing a person’s vaccination status and/or test and recovery status. Both the content and presentation fully aligns with the standards set by the EU.

Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, has full legal equivalence with the EU Digital Covid Certificate, meaning Scotland’s Covid certificates are accepted throughout the EU. For more information, see EU Digital COVID Certificate | European Commission and for full details on travel guidelines see Foreign travel advice .

Question reference: S6W-05347

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what data protection guidelines are currently in place for the NHS Scotland Covid Status app, and from what legislation any guidelines are derived.

Question reference: S6W-05346

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported ongoing alterations to the functionality of the NHS Scotland Covid Status app, whether users are (a) notified and (b) required to consent when there is an update to the (i) privacy policy agreement and (ii) personal information that is provided and displayed by the app.

Question reference: S6W-05348

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what user, personal and medical information is currently provided and displayed on the NHS Scotland Covid Status app, and whether that information is explicitly outlined in the user privacy policy agreement.

The information displayed on the NHS Scotland Covid Status App is described in detail in the privacy notice .

Venues are required to display a privacy notice in areas where the app will be used. This will help members of the public understand the purpose of the data processing that will be done by the app and provide assurance about how their personal data will be safeguarded by the venue staff. A privacy notice template can be found here .

Rigorous data minimisation controls have been put in place, including the use of the “Green Tick” for domestic purposes, to ensure that as little personal data is displayed as possible, through the NHS Scotland COVID Pass Verifier app.

Question reference: S6W-05638

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether a running total of the number of air filter devices that are being used in school classrooms will be published.

It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

Question reference: S6W-05637

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether information on the number of air filters that are being used in school classrooms has been collected for use by the Education Recovery Group.

It is for local authorities to exercise their statutory responsibilities and deliver a safe environment for all school users. It is also for local authorities to determine what remedial action is required in their schools, in line with guidance.

The recently announced funding of up to £5 million is in addition to previous funding of £10 million to address issues around ventilation and CO2 monitoring, and on top of £90m of COVID-19 logistics funding.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders on ventilation, including in the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group.

Chamber and committees