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: S6F-00675

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2022

To ask the First Minister what impact the UK Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill will have on devolved functions.

Question reference: S6F-00672

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00671

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6T-00438

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent report by Enable Scotland that highlights that over 250 people with learning disabilities are living in NHS Scotland inpatient units, with one woman being there for 60 years.

Question reference: S6T-00439

Asked by: Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions it has had with OVO Energy regarding its reported decision to reduce its workforce by 1,700 employees.

Question reference: S6W-05186

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many lateral flow tests have been issued in Scotland in (a) each month of 2021 and (b) each week of November and December 2021 to date.

Question reference: S6W-05277

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to deliver free rail travel across Scotland for those with a National (Scotland) Concessionary Travel for Blind Persons card and their companions.

Question reference: S6W-05350

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Falkirk Council regarding the Just Transition away from fossil fuels in relation to the Grangemouth Refinery.

Scotland’s chemicals, oil refining and manufacturing sectors - to which the Grangemouth region is the main contributor - employs c.7,000 people and contributes an annual GVA of over £800m. However, with that economic strength also comes 30% of all Scottish industrial emissions. A specific focus on Grangemouth is therefore key to achieving a net-zero economy by 2045, and getting this right will be crucial if we are to deliver a Just Transition, not only for the region, but for Scotland as a whole. Futureproofing this vital industrial hub will help support a long-term, sustainable future for Grangemouth.

The Grangemouth Future Industry Board, of which Falkirk Council is a key partner, was established in 2020 in recognition of this. The Board brings together public sector leaders in order to unlock potential investment that boosts the economic development, innovation, and competitiveness of the site, with decarbonisation and just transition at the heart of everything it does. Just Transition has been a topic of Board discussions during the last year, and minutes of these meetings can be found on the Scottish Government’s website.

The Board’s focus has been on the best ways to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster as a whole. Delivering a successful Just Transition will require the input of all who will be affected. The Grangemouth Future Industry Board will be engaging with both industry and wider interest groups across the coming year to understand how to support the delivery of a Just Transition for the industrial cluster in a way that positively benefits all of those involved.

Question reference: S6W-05268

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration it has given to population-based recommendations and guidance on vitamin D supplementation, in light of Scotland's reported low vitamin D status and evidence that the vitamin may be able to play a role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the study, Therapeutic and prognostic role of vitamin D for COVID-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 43 observational studies.

Our current advice on vitamin D supplementation is based on the consensus of the scientific evidence, as presented to all UK nations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

On 19 June 2021, SACN published a paper summarising the monitoring of recent evidence on nutrition and COVID-19. It is available at

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/992875/SACN_Process_for_monitoring_evidence_on_nutrition_and_COVID-19__June21_.pdf.

SACN concluded that, to date, the monitoring exercise had not identified any new trials in relation to vitamin D and COVID-19 that would change current dietary advice or require the re-review of the rapid guideline published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Public Health England and SACN on 17 December 2020. The rapid guideline states:

people should continue to follow existing advice on vitamin D supplementation to maintain bone and muscle health
there is currently not enough evidence to support taking vitamin D solely to prevent or treat COVID-19

The rapid guideline is available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG187

The UK COVID-19 Therapeutic Advisory Panel (UK C-TAP) is continuing to monitor ongoing COVID-19 related Vitamin D trials. I understand the SACN secretariat is in contact with the NICE surveillance team and officials supporting UK C-TAP to ensure complementary approaches. Evidence on vitamin D in relation to COVID-19 is also being monitored by the multi-agency initiative ‘Research to Access Pathway for Investigational Drugs in COVID-19’.

We will continue to look to NICE and others who are closely monitoring this evidence base.

Question reference: S6W-05365

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent review of the aquaculture regulatory and planning framework will publish its recommendations for further work by the end of 2021, as committed to in the Scottish Government’s and Scottish Green Party’s Shared Policy Programme.