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: S6W-08541

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in relation to the Clyde 2020 Action Plan.

The Clyde 2020 Action Plan was published in April 2015, following the Clyde 2020 summit in 2014 and subsequent workshops. The Action Plan identified 13 objectives (under 5 high-level objectives), with accompanying actions under each objective. Of these, 2 have been completed, 2 have been partially completed, 5 are still underway and 4 have not yet been completed.

There are many pieces of ongoing research related to the work of Clyde 2020 and Marine Scotland undertakes ongoing survey work of relevance to the Clyde 2020 Action Plan. Research gaps identified by the Research Advisory Group have been incorporated into research priorities within PhDs and by organisations around the Clyde. A full list of related research and science projects currently underway or completed can be provided by Clyde 2020.

The significant expertise of members of Clyde 2020 has been utilised in the process of developing a draft regional marine plan for the Clyde marine region.

The Clyde 2020 initiative is currently considering its remit moving forward. As a sub-group of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership, the partnership are drafting a proposal on how Clyde 2020 will evolve, contribute and support the Clyde marine planning process. It is anticipated that the Clyde 2020 group will play an important role in the future governance of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership.

Question reference: S6W-08538

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 13 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications there have been for the (a) interim voucher and (b) full voucher, of the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, from households in Shetland, and, as of May 2022, how many of these applications have resulted in successful connections.

As of May 2022, 33 applications had been received for properties located in Shetland for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme’s interim voucher, which offers up to £400 to secure a temporary superfast connection. Twenty six of these vouchers have been issued so far.

A total of 4 applications have been received for the R100 SBVS main voucher which offers up to £5,000 to secure a permanent superfast connection. Three of these vouchers have been issued so far.

Question reference: S6W-08539

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 13 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, as of May 2022, how many properties in Shetland are outwith the scope of the main R100 programme or commercial build plans and will be reliant on its broadband voucher scheme for a superfast internet connection.

Question reference: S6W-08573

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it anticipates the new website to provide NHS patients with indicative waiting times will go live.

Question reference: S6W-08571

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the website that is being designed with Public Health Scotland to give patients indicative waiting times, how it will work; how specific the date ranges provided will be, and whether it will provide patients with (a) average and (b) longest waiting times.

Question reference: S6W-08616

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the last (a) announced and (b) unannounced inspection took place at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and whether reports of these inspections have been published.

Question reference: S6W-08084

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many pharmacists and other employees who work in pharmacies have died during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland in the period from 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2022; how many of these deaths involved COVID-19; how many of these people's families have made a claim for the £60,000 death in service payment, and how many have received the payment to date.

National Records of Scotland publishes data on the number of people who have died in Scotland. Data for the period March 2020 to March 2022 on population deaths by occupation group, including data on deaths with Covid-19 mentioned on death certificates, is available here (table M7): https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/statistics/covid19/covid-deaths-22-monthly-data-week-14.xlsx

Data is available on ‘Health care worker’, provided below. Data on pharmacists and other employees who work in pharmacies is not available.

Occupation	Deaths from all causes	Deaths where Covid-19 mentioned
Health care worker	594	52

Please note, this categorisation of occupation does not specify the individual’s employer.

The NHS Scotland Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme (CLAS) was established on 17 March 2020 as a special temporary scheme which provides a lump sum and survivors benefits in respect of NHS staff who die in service and who do not otherwise have equivalent life assurance cover provided through NHS Pension Scheme membership. The rules of Scheme provide for payment of benefits where it may reasonably be concluded that the individual contracted the disease in the course of performing their duties in a clinical environment and COVID-19 is a documented factor in their death.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency have received 18 applications to CLAS and 16 of those have received payment.

Question reference: S6W-08653

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 30 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what biodiversity metrics will used to determine whether the National Planning Framework 4 meets the outcome of “securing positive effects for biodiversity”, as set out in the amended Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

In response to the amended Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, Draft National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 sets out policy proposals which aim to deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity from development.

A key element for the successful implementation and delivery of NPF4 is having a robust monitoring process in place, to be actively applied through the period of the framework. The Scottish Government has committed to working with relevant stakeholders, to develop an approach to monitoring of NPF4, making links across the national, regional and local levels.

Question reference: S6W-08811

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 26 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to provide an update on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education and Training Strategy for Scotland.

A report on the STEM Education and Training Strategy will be published on the Scottish Government website today - www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804353592

The report highlights progress made on a range of STEM-related education and training initiatives; including those areas where progress has been more challenging. Among other things the report notes recent work on responding to the Logan Review of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem, progress on the Young STEM Leader awards initiative and a new round of STEM education grants.

The report also sets out our intention to continue to operate under the current STEM strategy until 2025, and we will continue to publish annual reports until then.

Question reference: S6W-08614

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07156 by Humza Yousaf on 28 March 2022, whether it will provide a further update on advice provided to NHS boards to enable the routine prescribing of sapropterin for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).