- Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021
Question to be taken in Chamber.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether its COVID-19 vaccine certification app will include an option for people who have certification for antibodies or previous infection.
Answer
On 30 September 2021 we launched the NHS Scotland COVID Status app which was developed for vaccination information initially. We have developed our app to meet the EU requirements so we expect this to be compatible with the IATA Travel Pass. We have and continue to engage with international stakeholders and UK Government to ensure the app is compatible with the other countries requirements of entry.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the evidence on which it has based its COVID-19 advice for people who are shielding and immunosuppressed.
Answer
The Scottish Government obtains information which informs how we identify and advise people at highest risk of becoming severely ill or dying from Covid-19 from a variety of reliable UK and international sources. While that evidence is published and readily available, it is not always easy for people at highest risk to understand or to translate into informed choices about individual behaviours. We are therefore planning to publish a summary of the current evidence that underpins our advice in a form that people find accessible this autumn.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether a digital sales tax will be included in its forthcoming Retail Strategy.
Answer
Exploring the introduction of a digital sales tax in Scotland will be progressed in line with the Scottish Government’s fiscal and tax policy making cycle and will monitor closely the UK Government’s planned forthcoming consultation on the arguments for and against an online sales tax, following the conclusion of their fundamental review of business rates this autumn.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government on what date Test and Protect stopped actively informing schools of a positive COVID-19 PCR test for one of their pupils.
Answer
Test and Protect continues to inform schools of a positive Covid-19 PCR test for one of their pupils where it is deemed necessary after being risk assessed by public health officials. As set out in Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools , parents, carers and young people are also strongly advised when they receive a positive test to inform the school or early years setting.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considered introducing regulations to prevent the price gouging of accommodation during the COP26 conference.
Answer
The Scottish Government is acutely aware of reports of excessively high pricing in the accommodation sector in Glasgow during the COP26 summit and there are existing policies in place designed to address this issue.
Responsibility for consumer protection policy is reserved to the UK Government. Consumer protection enforcement lies with Local Authority Trading Standards Services (LATS) unless it is a market-wide issue which would be considered by the Competition and Market Authority. If people see potential price gouging issues they should contact Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) a national service funded by Scottish Government which is available to all citizens of Scotland. They are available at https://www.consumeradvice.scot/ and also on 0808 164 6000 . ADS will in turn notify LATS and the national team, Trading Standards Scotland (TSS), for further examination.
Although we recognise that this is ultimately a situation of market supply and demand, it is important to note that actions like this are likely to influence consumer attitudes and behaviour in the future. Businesses offering good quality accommodation at a fair price will continue to uphold Scotland’s reputation as a welcoming country, encouraging visitors to return.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) in research and development of plans for a single green public transport network across the region, with smart card access and affordable fares.
Answer
We have strengthened smart ticketing measures for local transport authorities in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to further enable growth in adopting multi-modal smart and integrated ticketing schemes. We continue to work with regional bodies like Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT Zonecard) to support existing schemes move onto smart platforms.
Our vision is that all journeys on Scotland’s public transport networks can be made using some form of smart ticketing or payment and progress has already been made towards achieving this ambition. Scotland is the first in the UK to offer smartcard compatibility across modes – where multiple tickets for different modes can be loaded onto one smartcard - and contactless payment is also now being accepted on over 95% of buses in Scotland.
We are also taking forward our Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares, this will look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry, and will look at both cost and availability of services.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding patients who reportedly received under-doses of the drug, docetaxel.
Answer
Following concerns raised about prescribing practice in 2016, a range of independent reviews were conducted and regular discussion was had with the board of NHS Tayside. In July 2021, following matters raised by a patient group in the media, SG officials reached out to NHS Tayside leaders who committed to investigating the matters raised.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the multi-disciplinary teams, announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in his statement to the Parliament on 5 October 2021, Health and Social Care (Winter Planning), to be in place.
Answer
The Scottish Government set out the local arrangements that should be put in place to provide clinical and professional multi-disciplinary team oversight for social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic in a letter dated 17 May 2020.
These arrangements, which build on the foundations of health and social care integration, have contributed to the protective arrangements for care home and care at home services during the pandemic. The Scottish Government wrote to local MDT oversight teams in March 2021 setting out the expectation that these arrangements should continue for the remainder of the pandemic and beyond, although these will need to evolve taking account of learning and local circumstances.
The additional funding announced will enable both the establishment of new multi-disciplinary teams and strengthening of existing teams.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding how it supports oncologists.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have a weekly call with NHS Tayside’s Cancer Team to track all patients on an urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) pathway and update on service delivery, including workforce.
To support Cancer and Diagnostic services the Scottish Government has invested £10 million to support cancer services during and beyond the pandemic. This will support increased access to cancer diagnostics and staffing. A further £9 million will also be allocated this year to support diagnostic imaging capacity. We have also invested in mobile units located in NHS Highland and NHS Tayside to increase capacity.
