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: S5W-29360

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 9 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who attended the Rangers versus Bayern Leverkusen football match on 12 March 2020 were contact traced for COVID-19, and what information it has on how many people who attended the match have since died of COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-29359

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 9 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it considered that the Rangers versus Bayer Leverkusen football match on 12 March 2020 should go ahead, in light of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and on whose advice the match was sanctioned.

Question reference: S5W-28179

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all (a) personal protective equipment (PPE) and (b) ventilators orders that have been placed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in each month since January 2020.

In relation to a) Personal Protective Equipment, the orders placed in each month are as follows:

Pandemic Category	January	February	March	April	May	Grand Total
APRONS - STANDARD	3,528,000	13,782,000	1,542,000	36,596,600	198,823,382	254,271,982
COVID19 AGP NON STERILE GOWNS	29,864	140,154	134,655	1,046,590	1,458,403	2,809,666
COVID19 AGP STERILE GOWNS	62,350	151,904	26,820	190,940	320,662	752,676
EYE PROTECTION LENS			456		20,100	20,556
GOGGLES				1,539,000		1,539,000
FULL FACE VISOR - REUSABLE		2,000				2,000
FULL FACE VISOR - SINGLE USE		2,000	360,880	7,851,760	1,455,480	9,670,120
GLOVES EXAMINATION	24,800,000		56,219,200	140,611,500	51,448,400	273,079,100
MASK FFP2	300	520	602,868	580,360	960	1,185,008
MASK FFP3	21,180	1,233,370	519,330	1,225,648	9,420,940	12,420,468
MASK FLUID SHIELD	8,792	18,648	27,196	46,200	2,880	103,716
MASK SURGICAL	162,100	430,230	83,730	3,210	125,700	804,970
MASK TYPE IIR FRSM	145,825	187,400	21,578,800	130,371,530	246,200	152,529,755
Grand Total	28,758,411	15,288,226	79,112,735	315,316,150	262,962,087	701,437,609

Note: Figures are for the period from 1 January to 31 May 2020

In relation to b) the Scottish Government ordered ventilators in March 2020 from a range of manufacturers and as at 31 May, we have received 124 of these from Scottish procurement and 78 ventilators from the joint UK procurement exercise. We expect more deliveries to arrive over the coming weeks. If needed, to bridge any gaps between now and the delivery of new ventilators, Health Boards have worked to repurpose operating theatre anaesthetic machines for use as ventilators.

Question reference: S5W-28183

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) roll out and (b) increase the capacity to carry out contact testing for COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-29207

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the health secretary's comments in the Parliament on 20 May 2020 (Official Report, c.4) that she did not have information relating to the deep cleaning of the Nike store in The Centre, Livingston in early March, but that "it is something that Health Protection Scotland’s (HPS) local contact tracing team would know and pursue", whether she, through HPS, will confirm the position.

I can confirm that Health Protection Scotland have advised that, further to a risk assessment, no deep clean was required for public health purposes. This is based on the time interval between detection of the case and their contact with the store exceeding 72 hours. This was in line with UK guidance on decontamination advice at the time.

It is for the store/company to decide whether it will undertake a deep clean under these circumstances.

Question reference: S5W-29412

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To as the Scottish Government what its position is on deep cleaning as a strategy to tackle COVID-19.

We have a good understanding of the transmission of COVID-19 but this continues to evolve as new evidence becomes available.

Transmission is through two main routes: droplet and contact. Airborne transmission may also occur in certain circumstances, for example during aerosol generating procedures (AGPs).

The latest evidence suggests surface contacts are likely to be the most significant transmission route.

It also suggests that the virus lasts on surfaces at a level that may pose risk of transmission for 48 hours, while it is unlikely to exist within the air after 30 minutes

Hence environmental decontamination (cleaning and disinfection) is an important mitigating action to contain the spread of COVID-19. If you are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then refer to the guidance on cleaning in non-healthcare settings .

However, decontamination needs to be done alongside other measures such as physical distancing, frequent hand washing, wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces and on public transport, and cough etiquette; as well as, where it is deemed appropriate, wearing PPE.

Question reference: S5W-29415

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of central contact numbers for people returning to work who have questions about issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak, such as health, safety and the furlough scheme, to ensure that they receive consistent reliable advice.

The Scottish Government has a webpage which provides comprehensive advice on Coronavirus in Scotland, including signposting to health, safety and UK Government advice which includes further information on the furlough scheme. The website was updated on 29 May to include a section specifically for workers and employers to direct them to existing Scottish Government guidance, to ensure they are aware of the current guidance regarding returning to work. The web page can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/ .

In addition to our new webpage, we are supporting Healthy Working Lives (part of Public Health Scotland) to further develop their web based support for employers and employees seeking advice relating to COVID-19. Further information can be found at https://covid19.healthyworkinglives.scot/ . We are also supporting Scottish Hazards to allow them to continue to provide a telephone advice line for workers seeking workplace health and safety advice. Scottish Hazards can be contacted on 0800 0015 022.

Question reference: S5W-29267

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28382 by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020, whether it will publish the correspondence from the Chief Medical Officer on 26 March 2020 to those people considered most at risk from COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-29203

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28698 by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020, in which it confirmed that it does not hold information on the number of people who may have died after being discharged from hospital, whether it is able to obtain such information from other sources, and, if so, whether it will provide this information.

The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to produce data on the number of patients who have died after discharge.

To collect this data PHS will be required to bring together the discharge database with National Records for Scotland death records. Once linked, PHS will be required to check the data for robustness and accuracy. And once they are confident in the robustness and accuracy of the data we will ensure it is made publicly available.

Question reference: S5W-29144

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28643 by Clare Haughey on 14 May 2020, whether it plans to gather this information.