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-03761

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of which type of court the reported 62,907 domestic abuse incidents recorded by Police Scotland in 2019-20 were tried in.

The available information is provided in the following table which has been produced from the Scottish Government’s criminal proceedings database .

People proceeded against with a Domestic Abuse identifier or statutory aggravation recorded against the main charge, by type of court, 2019-20.

High Court	140
Remit to High Court	1
Sheriff Solemn	442
Sheriff Summary	10,534
Justice of the Peace Court	39
Total proceeded	11,156

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Please note : there is no direct relationship between the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police and the number of follow-up actions taken by other agencies within the criminal justice system (including courts).

For example recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

Details of comparability issues are described in Annex C ( Understanding the statistics in this bulletin and counting rules , page 97) of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2019-20 publication available here .

Question reference: S6W-03940

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to introduce a digital prescription scheme for patients who have repeat prescriptions.

NHS Scotland already utilises an electronic prescription message between GP practices and community pharmacies which runs in parallel with paper prescriptions. However, the use of paper prescriptions is still a necessity at this stage as a legal requirement.

The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to take forward a number of digital priorities in response to COVID. This national programme includes investing in development of a new ePrescribing and eDispensing pathway by enabling the use of advanced electronic signatures in primary care and addressing the need for an end-to-end digital solution that will support replacement of the paper prescription from all community settings with a digital solution. The programme recognises that electronic prescribing will help some vulnerable sections of society, but we must also ensure others are not disadvantaged and the solution adopted should address patient needs including digital exclusion. It is difficult to be precise on timescales at present but significant progress on the technical and process models continues at pace and the Scottish Government is committed to deliver a solution through this programme.

Our refreshed Digital Health and Care Strategy includes a clear approach on how we will empower the public to manage their health and wellbeing through digital means. This work will look to give greater access to things like health records and being able to manage prescriptions online.

In addition, patients who have a long-term condition can access the ‘Medicines: Care and Review Service’ at their local community pharmacy. It promotes a partnership approach between the pharmacist, the patient and their GP practice. Patients with stable long-term conditions can receive serial prescriptions for a duration of 24, 48 or 56 weeks which are dispensed in regular intervals by the pharmacy and remove the need to request regular repeat prescriptions.

Question reference: S6W-03946

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it plans to increase its contribution to the Personal and Nursing Care allowance in order to reduce the amount that self-funders are expected to pay for residential accommodation in residential care settings.

Question reference: S6W-03890

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has in place to respond to any potential rise in COVID-19 cases.

We continue to monitor closely and assess this next phase of the pandemic. The current package of statutory measures is considered an appropriate public health response to the incidence or spread of infection in Scotland in line with our strategic intent to suppress the virus to a level consistent with alleviating its harms while we recover and rebuild for a better future. We have acted to give as much clarity and consistency as possible to individuals, businesses, and sectors within society, and we will continue to do so. The fact that COVID-19 continues to be a threat – to individual health and to the capacity of our health system – is the reason why our existing mitigations remain in place.

However, we are keeping these measures under review, with regular reviews scheduled every three weeks. As part of this process, we will consider whether any existing mitigations need to be strengthened in light of what the data is telling us.

Cabinet Secretaries and officials have renewed efforts to engage with sectoral stakeholders to re-invigorate stronger messaging on the need to comply with existing baseline measures. This means taking all possible proactive steps to promote and reinforce baseline measures, the promotion of advisory precautionary measures and sector specific good practice in all sectors.

Question reference: S6W-03844

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35805 by John Swinney on 15 March 2021, how many counsellors are currently in place to provide counselling services to schools.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

Access to counselling support services through secondary schools are in place across Scotland. As highlighted in the answer to S5W-35805, there is variation in how the counselling service is being delivered across authorities. Twenty four authorities are providing a specific resource in schools and eight authorities are providing an authority wide service according to need across their region.

A summary of information provided by local authorities on the school counselling service in their area is available at: Access to counsellors in secondary schools: summary report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-03788

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund have been (a) received and (b) declined, and how much funding has been distributed through this fund to date.

Question reference: S6W-03782

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with representatives of SQA staff who may be concerned about the future of their employment due to the current review of the organisation.

The Scottish Government is extremely sympathetic to the extent to which the announcement to replace the SQA has been troubling for staff concerned about their jobs and careers.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills attended a SQA staff Q&A session on 29 June 2021 and met SQA Unions on 29 July 2021 to discuss staff concerns. Scottish Government officials continue to have direct engagement with SQA Union representatives, meeting on 12 August and 23 September 2021. In addition Professor Ken Muir, in his role as Independent Advisor on the replacement of SQA and reform of Education Scotland, is engaging with staff and unions in both organisations to inform his work.

The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with staff and unions throughout this period of uncertainty and beyond. Matters raised by staff and unions are under active consideration and we are committed to ensuring that the employment rights of staff are protected and that trade unions and staff are fully consulted and informed.

Question reference: S6T-00241

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to businesses and residents affected by recent flooding.

Question reference: S6T-00245

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that six prisoners overdosed on drugs in two days at HMP Shotts.

Question reference: S6F-00418

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is working to ensure that, during COP26, it provides a platform for unheard voices, including citizens, young people and those from the Global South.