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

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Question reference: S5W-33124

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether a planned meeting between Police Scotland and Sri Lanka's Special Task Force Organizational Crimes & Narcotic Bureau went ahead on or around 28 February 2018, as part of the "negotiator training programme".

Question reference: S5W-33123

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether any members of Sri Lanka's Special Task Force attended the Bronze Commander Public Order Training that Police Scotland provided in Sri Lanka in March 2018.

Question reference: S5O-04787

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that staff and pupils are safe in schools.

Question reference: S5W-32917

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS staff who have contact with patients will be required to have the 2020-21 flu vaccination.

Question reference: S5W-32914

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it carries out of the effectiveness of the annual flu vaccine, and what risks might apply to a healthy person who receives an injection.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)

Vaccination policy in Scotland, as with the rest of the UK, is based on recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) JCVI, an independent expert panel which provides impartial advice on matters relating to vaccination.

The JCVI consists of a wide range of highly qualified professionals, as well as lay members to provide the Committee with a wider lay perspective on issues. Together members advise each of the UK health departments on vaccinations for the prevention of infections and/or disease following due consideration of the evidence on the burden of disease, on vaccine safety and efficacy and on the impact and cost effectiveness of vaccination strategies for the UK.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)

The MHRA is an expert body responsible for the safety of all medicines, including vaccines. The MHRA closely monitors the safety of all vaccines.

As part of their responsibility for ensuring public safety the MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) run the “yellow card” scheme which is used to collect information from both health professionals and the general public on suspected side effects or adverse reactions to a medicine. Appropriate regulatory action would be taken immediately if new evidence emerged which called into question the safety of any vaccines currently in use across the UK. Further information on the “yellow card” scheme can be found here: https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Question reference: S5W-32915

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the risk is to hospital patients of contracting the flu from unvaccinated staff.

Flu is transmitted through the respiratory route. Any infected person can, in theory, pass on the infection to others in close proximity if they are not protected themselves. An unvaccinated healthcare worker can, therefore, transmit flu to a non-immune patient.

The risk is, however, difficult to quantify, given a lack of authoritative studies, and that the risk of transmission is highly dependent on both the duration and proximity of contacts, among many other factors.

It should be noted that all healthcare workers and social care workers involved in direct personal care are eligible for the free seasonal flu vaccine in Scotland. The Phase 1 cohort for seasonal flu vaccinations, which includes health and social care workers, is being prioritised for immunisation.

Scottish Health Boards aim to have the majority of people in the Phase 1 cohort vaccinated by the end of November ahead of flu season, which begins in December in the UK.

Question reference: S5W-32918

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will (a) monitor and (b) report on the prevalence of flu in 2020-21.

Flu season in the UK begins in December and reaches it peaks in January and February.

Public Health Scotland publish weekly information on flu activity in the Seasonal Respiratory Report throughout the flu season (Oct to mid-May). The latest information is available here: https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/weekly-national-seasonal-respiratory-report/

The annual UK Flu Report containing official statistics on Scottish flu activity will be published in 2021.

Question reference: S5W-32853

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have downloaded the Test and Protect app, also broken down by the number of weekly downloads.

Question reference: S5W-32466

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce routine COVID-19 testing of staff and patients in hospitals.

The Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for the Pandemic, published on 23 October, sets out plans to develop the testing element of Test and Protect over the next three months which focusses on building capacity within NHS Scotland and deploying expansions in UK Government testing capacity and capability to its maximum effect in Scotland. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/

As set out in our Clinical and Scientific review of the Testing Strategy, the consensus clinical view of the prioritisation of capacity, over and above that required to meet symptomatic demand, clinical care requirements and existing commitments, is that the focus in any extension of routine regular asymptomatic testing should be on protecting those most vulnerable to severe harm. This means extending routine testing to healthcare workers and to visiting professionals in care homes; care at home workers and designated visitors to care home residents. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-review-of-testing-strategy-october-2020/

As confirmed in the Chamber on 11 November, subject to Parliament's agreement I will come back to Parliament later this month to set out our clear delivery plan for a phased roll-out of asymptomatic testing to new cohorts including frontline NHS and Social Care staff and emergency admissions.

Question reference: S5W-32748

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32315 by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how these care home places will be funded in the longer term.

Since the response set out to question S5W-32315, the Scottish Government has made available additional funding of £112 million to support social care winter preparedness. This takes the level of additional financial support to £262 million for social care to address the financial implications of Covid-19, including provision of support for care homes and additional care home places. Further work is ongoing to review in more detail the ongoing financial implications across the sector and to ensure that the necessary support continues to be provided.

In terms of funding in the longer term, the Scottish Government is working to bring forward the Scottish Budget for 2021-22 at the earliest opportunity. This will include detail of our ongoing support across health and social care services.