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-32033

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many walk-in COVID-19 testing centres it plans to establish, broken down by location.

We plan to establish at least 22 Local Test Sites. Sites in St Andrews, Glasgow city centre, west Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, West Dunbartonshire, Stirling, Dundee, west Edinburgh, Inverness and Inverclyde are operational. We have worked closely with universities, health boards and local authorities to deliver these local test sites.

We have committed to delivering a further 11 sites by winter, and are working with our partners to identify further site locations. Decisions on where to plan sites will take into account the overall national test site landscape and local area needs, including:

high population density,
low car ownership,
higher deprivation,
whether those in rural areas can access tests,
distance from regional testing centres and mobile testing units,
whether areas are not covered by home test kit delivery and pick up, and,
higher positive test rates.

Question reference: S5W-32032

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what use it has made or plans to make of laboratory testing capacity for PCR COVID-19 tests in (a) university and (b) private laboratories, and what the associated costs are.

A number of university and private laboratories were used to bolster testing capacity as we undertook our initial response to the pandemic. Since the start of the outbreak we have significantly increased our NHS testing capacity from 350 tests per day to a maximum weekday capacity of more than 10,000 tests.

A number of university and private laboratories remain part of the contingency plans for increasing testing if required. However, our focus is to ensure we increase NHS capacity. We will soon be able to activate 3 Regional Hubs – 3 large labs across Scotland – which will significantly increase our NHS lab capacity.

The forecasted spend in relation to university and private labs for Covid-19 testing is currently £12.5 million for this year. As this is a forecast, this figure is subject to change

Question reference: S5W-32073

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when the 24/7 NHS service that was announced in the Programme for Government will be completed.

Question reference: S5W-32074

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional whole-time equivalent staff will be required to deliver the (a) 24/7 NHS service and (b) redesign of unscheduled care that was announced in the Programme for Government, broken down by profession.

Question reference: S5W-32035

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what COVID-19 testing facilities are available (a) at higher and further education institutions and (b) near student accommodation, and what plans it has to prioritise mobile testing units for these locations.

Question reference: S5W-32242

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 22 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider its position regarding the establishment of a commissioner for older people, in light of the impact of COVID-19 on that age group.

Further to my response to the answer to question S5W-29789 on 18 June 2020, I can advise that the Scottish Government’s position on the creation of a Commissioner for Older People has not changed.

I would refer to the process which led to the establishment of the Commissioner for Children and Young People. This role was established by the Parliament and is accountable to Parliament. It would therefore be for the Scottish Parliament to explore if there is now a need for a Commissioner for Older People, and if they deem it so, what the roles and responsibilities of a Commissioner would be.

We have consulted and been advised by the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum throughout the pandemic to ensure that we hear first-hand, the emerging issues that might be affecting older people, and to ensure that our response clearly reflects the priorities that have been identified. We know that older people have been adversely affected by restrictions put in place to combat the spread of the coronavirus and I recognise that the recent additional restrictions will feel even more of a challenge for many. That is why we have dedicated over £1.16 million to older people’s organisations to enable them to increase the provision of advice and support to older people and their families across Scotland, not only through helplines but also wider services, and why we continue extensive engagement with our stakeholders.

Our commitment to improve the lives of older people in Scotland remains and the importance of our strategy ‘A Fairer Scotland for Older People – A Framework for Action’ is key to our way forward.

Question reference: S5W-32149

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 22 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates will need a flu vaccine in winter 2020-21, and how this compares with each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government is aiming to vaccinate more people than ever before. In total, the Scottish Government is aiming to vaccinate 2.4 million people, which is an increase of 800,000 vaccines from last year’s programme. Further details in the following table.

Those most at risk from the seasonal flu are already eligible to receive the vaccine for free. This includes:

Those aged 65 and over,
Those who have an underlying health condition which increases risk,
Pregnant women,
Health care workers,
Young and unpaid carers
Children aged 2-5 (not yet at school), and
Primary school children.

The Scottish Government is expanding the seasonal flu vaccine to the following groups this year:

Front line social care workers
Household members of those shielding
55-64 year-olds

Year	Planning Uptake Assumptions	Total Uptake
2020-21	2,442,788	Data collection started
2019-20	1,933,377	1,601,527
2018-19	1,912,683	1,589,729
2017-18	1,889,392	1,583,462
2016-17	1,870,554	1,547,903
2015-16	1,848,954	1,557,562

Question reference: S5O-04689

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what further support it will make available to businesses in Central Scotland that continue to be affected by COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S5W-32075

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the data strategy for health and social care that was announced in the Programme for Government.

Question reference: S5W-32037

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to carry out routine weekly COVID-19 tests for home care services' staff.

Our home care workers are on the frontline of our national pandemic response and their work is hugely valued and it is crucial that they are able to access testing with results provided in a timely manner. Anyone with symptoms can access a test through our test sites or by ordering a home test kit.

However, the current test for Covid-19 is highly effective at detecting the virus in individuals with symptoms but less effective for asymptomatic individuals. As set out in our Testing Strategy, our approach to testing, including prioritisation, is flexible and adaptable to the prevailing conditions of the pandemic – we constantly keep our testing policy under review so that it is up to date with scientific and clinical advice.

Testing provides a point in time assessment of whether a person has the infection and should not be seen as a substitute for a strong emphasis on symptomatic staff immediately self-isolating and arranging testing, use of appropriate PPE, physical distancing, environmental optimisation and decontamination and good social hygiene.

Public Health Scotland have produced guidance to support staff and users of supported living accommodation which can be found here: https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/web-resources-container/covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-social-community-
and-residential-care-settings/