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-35183

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will provide substantive answers to questions S5W-33894 and S5W-34610, which received holding responses on 22 December 2020 and 29 January 2021 respectively.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority list has been updated to include funeral workers who are considered frontline funeral operatives and mortuary technicians/embalmers, as they are both at risk of exposure and likely to spend a considerable amount of time in care homes and hospital settings where they may also expose multiple patients. They are eligible for vaccination under category 2 of the JCVI list.

Question reference: S5W-33894

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether people employed in the funeral sector who are required to enter domestic properties, care homes and other environments that might see them exposed to the COVID-19 virus should be prioritised for access to vaccinations, and by what date it expects all such employees to be (a) offered a vaccine and (b) vaccinated.

Question reference: S5O-05086

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to spend on housing in its 2021-22 Budget.

Question reference: S5W-34945

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 20 guests are permitted at a funeral during the current lockdown, but not at a wedding.

From 8 January 2021 the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 were amended to limit the number of people permitted to attend a marriage ceremony in a protection level 4 area to 5 people. This is the minimum number required under the law for a marriage to be solemnised and is made up of the couple getting married, the two witnesses and the local authority registrar or the religious or belief celebrant. If an interpreter is needed, they can attend in addition.

This change was one of a number of additional actions the Scottish Ministers considered necessary to minimise further spread of the virus. These decisions reflect the public health advice.

While up to 20 people are still able to attend funeral services, with effect from 8 January, wakes must not take place in a protection level 4 area.

Funeral services are an essential part of the bereavement process and vital to people’s wellbeing. They cannot be delayed. Our decision on marriage ceremonies reflects that the right to marry is an important one, but also that a wedding can be postponed if a couple want a wedding with more people attending. The current restrictions give couples who want to get married now the chance to do that, whilst minimising the risks of transmission at the marriage ceremonies that do proceed.

Question reference: S5W-34946

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when organisations will be informed of the outcome of their applications for funding under the section 10 grant scheme, which provides essential funding for Scotland’s Access Panel network.

Question reference: S5W-34687

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 3 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support is available for businesses in the bakery sector that continue to operate despite the closure of a majority of their customers’ businesses.

We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland, including in the bakery sector. We have allocated almost £3 billion to support businesses in response to COVID-19.

The £30 million discretionary fund introduced in November 2020 targets businesses which are affected by COVID-19 restrictions but do not meet the criteria for other funds. The fund allows local authorities to allocate grants at their discretion to support businesses including those in the supply chain.

To help businesses deal with the impact of coronavirus, the Scottish Government introduced extra rates relief for non-domestic properties from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. This includes 100% relief for properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors where the property is wholly or mainly used for a purpose, or purposes, set out in Schedule 1 of the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

Question reference: S5W-34727

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for businesses in the professional cleaning sector that are continuing to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown, in light of the restrictions in place under the current guidance.

We recognise the economic impact and strain that the current restrictions are having on both the businesses that are required to close and businesses that remain open, including businesses in the cleaning sector. On 28 January we announced we are doubling the discretionary fund from £30 million to £60 million. The Local Authority Discretionary Fund was specifically designed to target small businesses and the self-employed who have not received direct financial support through other Scottish Government financial support schemes, such as supply chains. More information on how to access this fund will be available on local authority websites.

Question reference: S5W-33725

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether disabled people of all ages who need allied health professional services will see enhanced investment in those services to ensure that they can access both urgent care or catch up on missed routine and planned services as a result of COVID-19.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of a consistent approach being taken forward in the community to support people with the management of their condition across Scotland, which includes accessing the right support and services. Throughout our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where an urgent or essential clinical need has existed, access to Allied Health Professionals has been available.

Work is underway through the National Advisory Board for Rehabilitation to implement the Framework for Supporting People through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic . The Framework is aligned to the Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: the framework for NHS Scotland, and puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and to provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings.

Question reference: S5W-33945

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that, in the first two years of the Fair Start Scotland programme, only 6,621 of the 34,785 people who were referred to it started in employment.

Fair Start Scotland aims to support those further from the labour market towards employment, and provides 12 – 18 months of pre-employment support. As participants join each month, not enough time will have passed to present a complete picture of employment outcomes for many of them. Time must then also be taken into account to allow participants to reach 3, 6 and 12 months employment. Each quarterly release of statistics presents a developing picture of employment outcomes for year two of the service, which will increase as more participants move through the service into work, and sustain that work over time.

The most recent statistics published on 25 November 2020 show that, of the 27,076 people who started on Fair Start Scotland, 8,329 participants (33%) went on to start work.

The statistics also show that the majority of participants who started a job went on to sustain them for at least 6-12 months:

- 71% of people starting work went on to sustain employment for 3 months;

- 78% of those who sustained employment for 3 months reached at least 6 months; and

- 77% of those who sustained employment for 6 months went on to reach at least 12 months.

Question reference: S5W-33944

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason participants in the Fair Start Scotland programme have to work 16 hours or more for at least 13 consecutive weeks to be considered as having achieved a successful short-job outcome, and what research was conducted to conclude that a 16 hours per week minimum was fair to disabled people who might not be able to physically or mentally be in a position to meet this target.

Fair Start Scotland’s key priority is to ensure participants receive a quality service in their journey to finding and sustaining employment, through tailored support that meets their needs and takes into account their personal circumstances.

Eligibility for Fair Start Scotland (FSS) is open to people with a range of barriers, however it is aimed that those for whom work is a realistic prospect within 12-18 months. Participants develop an action plan which sets out their goals and the pace at which they want to achieve them.

For participants with more significant barriers, up to 18 months pre-employment support is available. During this time Providers can commission any specialist support required to help participants move towards becoming work-ready, including work experience and placements to help build up to working longer hours where that meets the participant's longer-term goals.

As part of Fair Start Scotland contracts, Service Providers are paid when job outcomes reach 13, 26 & 52 weeks. These milestones are used to drive good job quality and increase income for participants, in line with Scottish Government Fair Work principles. Providers are only paid for outcomes where participants are working more than 16 hours per week as this more likely to provide a secure income however, there is no expectation that participants will work to this level if it’s not what they want to do.

Through the in-work support offered as part of the service, Providers continue to work with participants for a further 12 months after entering employment to further develop their skills, increase their confidence and ensure the job continues to fit their needs.