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: S5O-04952

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent comments about Scottish independence by Spain’s former Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy.

Question reference: S5W-34556

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be any exemptions to the recently-announced increase in the minimum charge for a single-use plastic bag to 10p.

I refer you to the answer for S5W-34557 on 20 January 2021, which covers the temporary COVID-related exemption. Aside from that, there is no change in the existing exemptions set out in Part 1 of the Schedule to The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014 ( The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (legislation.gov.uk) ).

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-34557

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it has made to ensure that "click and collect" and online food shopping deliveries are exempt from the charge on single-use plastic bags.

Question reference: S5W-34530

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential health side effects of unregistered cosmetic treatments.

All cosmetic procedures carry the risk of potential harm regardless of who performs them. The Scottish Government wants all non-surgical cosmetic procedures to be as safe as they can be. That is why we carried out a public consultation on the regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures from 17 January to 30 June 2020 (extended from 30 April 2020 due to Covid-19).

We are currently considering the independent analysis of the consultation responses and will publish how we plan to progress matters in due course.

Question reference: S5W-34531

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward further legislation to restrict or prohibit unregulated cosmetic treatment practices.

Question reference: S5O-04927

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the gene editing of crop varieties in order to deliver greater food production and achieve environmental targets.

Question reference: S5F-04724

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2021

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the roll-out of Vitamin D supplements for people who are eligible.

Question reference: S5O-04899

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that older people who are shielding receive appropriate support.

Question reference: S5F-04694

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the First Minister what reassurances the Scottish Government can give to communities in the Borders regarding exemptions to travel restrictions between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S5W-33652

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish figures for the number of doses of opioids prescribed during the COVID-19 pandemic for severe pain, and what assessment it has carried out of any increased usage due to the postponement or cancellation of operations.

Information on prescribing in the community is available on the Public Health Scotland website. This can be accessed here https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/prescriptions-in-the-community

However, it is not possible to provide the information in the manner requested as the reason prescriptions are provided to a patient is not given. It is not possible to differentiate between the different reasons opiates could be prescribed. In addition, it is not possible to identify if an increase in usage is due to a change or worsening in symptoms or due to delayed procedures.