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-04142

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on funding arrangements for the National Care Home Contract settlement for the financial year 2022-23.

The National Care Home Contract is negotiated annually between Scotland Excel, COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities), Scottish Care and CCPS (Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland). The Scottish Government is not a contractual party to this agreement.

Decisions on future local government finance settlements will be the subject of negotiations with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities and announced as part of the outcome of future Scottish Budgets and/or Spending Reviews.

Question reference: S6W-04045

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) formal guidance on its red list, which states that "(t)he Red List should [therefore] not be interpreted as a means of priority setting. The difference between measuring threats and assessing conservation priorities needs to be appreciated."

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a globally respected organisation and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s most comprehensive data resource on the status of species. The List does not however, include all Scottish species and for most of those that are included, assessments are for Great Britain as a whole.

In addition to Red List accounts, NatureScot also considers other factors when providing advice on priority setting, including information on species’ status in Scotland, as well as social and economic factors. This enables the inclusion of species for which there are not yet IUCN assessments available, and allows the Scottish Government to respond to new threats that may not yet be recognised in the Red Lists, which are typically updated every 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-03786

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of five of the 15 potential sites being in Scotland, what its position is on the proposed prototype fusion energy plant being considered by the UK Government for one of these sites.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) has identified five potential site for the UK’s first prototype nuclear fusion reactor. This includes one location in Scotland at Ardeer. The Scottish energy strategy, published in December 2017, confirmed the Scottish Government’s continued opposition to new nuclear stations under current technologies. Our priority continues to be to support energy efficiency, develop Scotland’s huge renewable resource and to promote storage and flexibility.

Question reference: S6W-03787

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on building new nuclear fusion plants.

Question reference: S6W-03082

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects people who have received one of their COVID-19 vaccine doses in Northern Ireland to be able to access their vaccination status through the (a) online PDF process and (b) COVID-19 Vaccination Status Helpline.

The Scottish Government is working closely with colleagues within the Northern Ireland Executive to establish data feeds that will allow for the automatic exchange of vaccination information between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

People can request proof of the dose or doses received from Northern Ireland. Work is underway to enable people to upload evidence of their doses to NHS Inform and access a vaccine certificate. This upload was completed on 30 September 2021.

People can now update their record of vaccination in Scotland with Covid-19 vaccinations received out-with Scotland, but within the Common Travel Area. More information on how to do this can be found at Request an update to your coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination record | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

For the purpose of vaccine certification, we accept proof of vaccination from Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-03083

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether people living in Scotland and travelling abroad are experiencing difficulty accessing French QR codes to prove COVID-19 vaccination status and, if so, what action it is taking to resolve any reported issues.

The Scottish Government have been working with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Border Force to ensure countries that require QR codes would accept ours. Scottish Government officials became aware on 8 September 2021 that French authorities were seeking additional verification to our QR codes only for their domestic certification purposes, and that information was issued the same day. The issue was therefore resolved on 9 September 2021.

French authorities have not experienced any further issues in accessing the QR codes of people living in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03105

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultants have taken early retirement in NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6O-00421

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to providing parliamentary services outwith usual hours.

Question reference: S6O-00409

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether members' annual reports can be delivered after 4 February 2022 and, if not, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Question reference: S6O-00408

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assistance it will provide to MSPs to make improvements to the ventilation of their local offices, in order to support their reopening when that decision is taken.