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: S6O-00453

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allocate funding in its 2022-23 budget to enable social care workers to be paid at least £15 per hour.

Question reference: S6O-00447

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will bring forward the date of 2024 for requiring zero direct emissions heating within new builds.

Question reference: S6O-00446

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued related to the funding of ventilation in schools.

Question reference: S6O-00452

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards the R100 commitment to superfast broadband for all.

Question reference: S6O-00449

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the funding of flood mitigation schemes.

Question reference: S6W-04236

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients waited longer than the period specified in the referral to treatment time guarantee to receive orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland in each year since 2007, and what the reasons for delays in treatment were.

The following table sets out the total number of patients seen and the number that waited over 18 weeks for orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland, from January 2012 to June 2021 – the latest data available. This includes all patients reported as seen on the 18-week Referral to Treatment (RTT) pathway for orthopaedics, including those patients who did not require to be admitted for treatment. For example, some patients may not have required treatment depending on the outcome of an outpatient consultation or diagnostic test.

Please note, due to the complexities of 18-week RTT local data collection and reporting, the length of wait cannot be accurately measured by the Board of treatment for all patients. The impact of which for orthopaedics in NHS Highland is reflected in the number of unknown waits reported below. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Table: Total patients seen and number of patients that waited against the RTT Standard, January 2012 – June 2021, NHS Highland, Orthopaedics

Year	Total Patients Seen	Number of patients seen waiting <= 18 weeks	Number of patients seen waiting >18 weeks	Unknown Waits
2012	14940	7758	966	6216
2013	12912	8016	1237	3659
2014	11679	5551	2710	3418
2015	10101	3750	3343	3008
2016	10032	3469	3696	2867
2017	9007	3042	3757	2208
2018	9499	4283	2718	2498
2019	9046	3627	2649	2770
2020	5996	1762	2126	2108
2021*	3144	962	781	1401

Source: PHS 18 Weeks RTT Database

*This year covers the period between 1 st January 2012 - 30 th June 2021.

There are a number of reasons why the RTT standard has not been met in recent years. Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, good progress was being made under the Waiting Times Improvement Plan, in reducing the numbers waiting for treatment. However, the pandemic has restricted Health Boards’ ability to make progress against the backlog of care that built up before the pandemic and has been compounded by the significant challenges Health Boards are continuing to tackle at the current time.

Question reference: S6W-03987

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research by Professor Denis Henshaw on the link between air pollution and child cancer.

It is widely documented that air pollution has a negative impact on health. However air pollution does not cause recognisably distinctive diseases and the sorts of illness that air pollution can exacerbate can also be affected by multiple other factors. The relationship between air pollution and health is extremely complex, and it is not possible to say with any certainty what impact air pollution can have on a specific individual. We do know that the very young, the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions are particularly vulnerable.

We welcome Professor Henshaw’s call for more research into the link between air pollution and child cancer, to further solidify whether there is a correlation.

Question reference: S6W-04228

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to increase the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination by pregnant women.

We continue to provide advice and support to pregnant women regarding the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to allow them to make an informed choice.

Copies of the Public Health Scotland (PHS) leaflet: PHS COVID-19 Vaccine Important Information about pregnancy and breastfeeding leaflet and the RCOG information leaflet and decision aid have been supplied to all maternity and vaccination clinics across Scotland. The national leaflets, published by Public Health Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Immunisation Programme, are provided to those who are invited for vaccination are part of an established and quality assured process, with strong links and similarities to the programme in the rest of the UK. The PHS leaflet is available in a range of languages and alternative formats , including British Sign Language, Audio, Easy Read, Large Print, etc. People should be given the PHS and RCOG leaflets from maternity services before they attend for vaccination and are encouraged to read both leaflets. The PHS leaflet is updated/reprinted when any new data emerges.

The Scottish Government ensures there is accurate signposting to www.nhsinform.scot/covid19vaccinepregnancy for current guidance, and a range of resources have been distributed including posters and social media assets, alongside training webinars.

Community outreach and external resources like Badgernet (an online platform that allows pregnant woman access to maternity records and information) are regularly updated with relevant material.

Health Boards (HBs) are regularly supplied with relevant information and lines to use regarding receiving the vaccine when pregnant, and the following videos were pushed out to HBs to be shared locally Pregnancy 15 second video Fertility 15 second video

Prof Jason Leitch has touched on the recommendation that pregnant women should be vaccinated in two Podcasts. One with Young Scot and one with Jambo radio. Both podcasts were pushed out by Scottish Government and issued to the boards for them to use locally

Question reference: S6W-04229

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to increase the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination by pregnant women.

We will continue to provide advice and support to pregnant women regarding the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to allow them to make informed choices.

Multiple resources across platform and in print, like the Public Health Scotland (PHS) leaflet: PHS COVID-19 Vaccine Important Information about pregnancy and breastfeeding leaflet will continue to be updated/reprinted when any new data emerges. The PHS leaflet is supplied to all maternity and vaccination clinics across Scotland.

Community outreach and the use of external platforms (like Badgernet and messaging through resources like podcasts), will continue to be identified and used where appropriate.

NHS resources are frequently updated allowing us to regular signpost pregnant women and their families for current guidance: www.nhsinform.scot/covid19vaccinepregnancy .

Additional resources like posters, social media assets, and training opportunities will continue to be considered regularly going forward, and how best they can be employed for maximum outreach.

Question reference: S6W-04132

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 17 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has taken any action to alert fire safety companies to the requirements on evacuation alert systems contained in British Standard 8629:2019.