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-32819

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage the public to partake in the Office for National Statistics COVID-19 infection survey; on what date any communication was sent to the public on this topic, and how many people were contacted.

Question reference: S5W-32817

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the September 2020 deadline was missed for Scotland to join the Office for National Statistics COVID-19 infection survey, and by what date it expects Scotland to take part.

Scotland joined the COVID-19 Infection Survey, led by the Office for
National Statistics, in September, with letters inviting households to
participate in the survey reaching the first households on Friday the
18 th of September. Fieldwork commenced in Scotland on Monday
the 21 st of September and has been ongoing since then. Approximately
5,000 households were invited to participate in the survey in Scotland
in the first week. As of the 29th of October, over 64,000 households
have been invited to participate in the survey.

The COVID-19 Infection Survey is being conducted by the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) and the University of Oxford, on behalf of the
UK and Scottish Government. The Scottish Government is not actively
involved in the training of swab technician and blood tester roles.

The first results for Scotland were published on Friday the 23 rd of October
and are published on the Scottish Government website, and on the ONS website : https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthand
socialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infection
surveypilot/previousReleases alongside results for England, Wales and
Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5W-32804

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what flexibility local authorities have to set localised lockdowns in particular districts, towns or subdivisions.

While we have made a clear commitment to engage with Local Authorities on the setting of the individual levels, it is ultimately for Scottish Ministers to make decisions regarding their allocation, in line with their statutory powers to protect public health.

As indicated in our Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland’s Strategic Framework (https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/ ) the measures are most likely to be applied at the level of local authorities, which is the basis of our initial allocation of levels. There is however discretion for Ministers to apply levels in future to whichever geography is most likely to be effective in suppressing the virus.

Question reference: S5W-32821

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many Community COVID-19 Testing Specialists it has recruited; how many have completed training, and how many are collecting samples in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-32820

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason IQVIA has delayed training for swab technician and blood tester roles, recruited by Reed, which are necessary to take part in the Office for National Statistics COVID-19 infection survey.

Question reference: S5W-32859

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what equivalent scheme exists in Scotland to the Right to Build register in England, and what support is available to help people purchase a plot of land for a self-build home.

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a new requirement for planning authorities to prepare and maintain a list of people interested in self-build.

The Scottish Government does not currently provide support to help people purchase a plot of land for a self-build home. The Scottish Government's national self build loan fund offers loans of up to £175,000 to eligible applicants for development costs to support build completion. The scheme requires applicants to have full land ownership or a contract to buy land.

Question reference: S5W-32565

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the readiness of local authorities to deliver the (a) Scottish Welfare Fund and (b) Self-isolation Support Grant.

Since the introduction of the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2013, we have built and maintained strong relationships with local authorities, both individually and through engagement with COSLA. The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People had a teleconference meeting with Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing on 29 September to discuss using the Scottish Welfare Fund to deliver the new Self-Isolation Support Grant. Policy officials also hold regular teleconferences with local authorities’ Welfare Fund practitioners. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with COSLA to ensure local authorities were quickly able to deliver the Self-Isolation Support Grant and continue to be able to do so. This vital intervention is enabling people on low income benefits who have been asked to self-isolate, to stay at home and stop the spread of Covid-19.

Question reference: S5W-32566

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the Associate Director Scotland of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) when giving evidence to the Social Security Committee on 8 October 2020 (Official Report, c.16) regarding Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grants that the JRF advisory group had found that "there were definitely people who felt that they should be eligible, for example, those fleeing domestic violence, having to turn to charity because they were not able to access emergency support for things as basic as beds and white goods".

The Scottish Welfare Fund is a discretionary scheme administered by local authorities. The purposes for which the Fund can be used are set out in legislation: to provide occasional assistance to people to help meet immediate short-term needs, and to support people to establish or maintain a settled home who would otherwise be in prison, hospital, residential care or be homeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life. The process through which decisions on applications are made is set out in Statutory Guidance. This is developed by the Scottish Government in conjunction with local authorities, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and other stakeholders.

There is a comprehensive and robust process in place to enable applicants who are unhappy about the outcome of their application to have the local authority’s decision reviewed, firstly by the local authority itself and secondly, if necessary, the SPSO.

Question reference: S5W-32567

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase (a) awareness and (b) the take-up of the Scottish Welfare Fund's (i) crisis and (ii) community care grant.

Through the Statutory Guidance, the Scottish Government encourages local authorities to adopt a holistic approach to Scottish Welfare Fund applications. By maintaining close working relationships with the support and advice services in their local areas and in their own authority, local decision makers can ensures that applicants are signposted or referred to the Welfare Fund and to other local services which may be of benefit to them.

The Scottish Government also works closely with national agencies and third sector organisations to ensure that people receive advice and information about the support available to them and the benefits to which they may be entitled.

We also highlight the provision of support through the Fund when statistics are published every month.

Individuals who are requested to self-isolate are informed of the availability of financial and other support.

Question reference: S5F-04516

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2020

To ask the First Minister what guidance the Scottish Government has issued for marking Remembrance Sunday.