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: S5W-35866

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what financial provision it will make to support businesses that are ineligible for its Self-Employed Hardship Fund due to commencing trading prior to 1 October 2018, and whether it has considered measures such as backdating eligibility to the beginning of the 2018-19 financial year.

The Newly Self Employed Hardship Fund was designed to help alleviate financial hardship for those who are newly self-employed and not eligible for the UK Government’s Self-employment Income Support Scheme. The fund closes to applications on 23 March 2021 and we have no plans to change the eligibility criteria. Based on the uptake in 2020, we expect more than 5,000 newly self-employed individuals to benefit from the fund.

Question reference: S5W-35865

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide financial support to business owners who are otherwise ineligible for self-employment support due to having begun trading after March 2020, are ineligible for universal credit and have received no business rates-based support due to operating as a sole trader on another business ratepayer's premises.

We recognise the significant financial hardship that many of those who are newly self-employed have experienced over the past year as a result of being excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which is why we have introduced two separate rounds of the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund. These have paid out combined grants of £6,000 in total to support the many self-employed people in Scotland who were excluded from the UK Government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) by virtue of being newly self-employed.

Limits on the amount of funding made available to the Scottish Government to provide financial support to businesses means that we are unable to contemplate further direct financial support for businesses or the self-employed without additional funding from the UK Government.

Question reference: S5W-35868

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in line with UK Government policy, it will re-classify garden centres and plant nurseries as essential retail premises in order to allow them to reopen.

The First Minister announced on 16 March that the impact of the current lockdown and the positive effect of the vaccine roll out give us more confidence about mapping a path out of lockdown, with a firmer indicative timeline for lifting restrictions.

This means that garden centres and plant nurseries can open in line with stringent physical distancing and other hygiene measures from 5 April 2021.

We hope to move back to a levels system from the last week in April with a phased but significant re-opening of the economy, including non-essential retail. However we will continue to monitor the impact of these changes.

Question reference: S5W-35869

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 18 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it is making to ensure that local authorities and schools are able to provide adequate classroom space to facilitate face-to-face teaching for all pupils, in light of physical distancing requirements and other related considerations.

To date, we have committed over £375 million to support local authorities and schools to prepare for the phased return to face to face learning. This investment supports costs of necessary safety mitigations in schools such as infrastructure adjustments. It also includes funding for additional teachers, support staff, digital devices and connectivity solutions to support in-school and at home learning as necessary. We have also published a suite of guidance on the return of pupils to schools specifically to support schools and local authorities on reducing risks in schools and to support in-school and remote learning for secondary learners in the run up to Easter.

Question reference: S5W-36025

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to pausing the implementation of the new smoke alarm regulations beyond 2022 pending further consultation with local authorities and community and consumer groups.

Fire safety remains our priority and changes to the requirement for fire and carbon monoxide detectors in all homes mean that everyone will benefit from the same level of protection, whether they own their home or rent.

These changes were due to come into force on 1 February 2021, however, taking cognisance of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have delayed the implementation for one year. The regulations improve protection from fire in people’s homes and, as with many issues in the face of this pandemic, we must consider the overall balance of harms. The one year delay strikes the right balance between the risk to people and their homes and the difficulties some people may experience with compliance.

Question reference: S5W-35867

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that correspondence and appointment scheduling for the COVID-19 vaccination programme is accurate and timeous, and whether it will ensure that those who receive an appointment through correspondence that arrives after the scheduled appointment will be guaranteed a rescheduled appointment.

The updated information at NHS Inform has details about contacting either the helpline or local board if an eligible individual finds their appointment is unsuitable: Rearrange or opt-out of your vaccination appointment | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . This can also be used by individuals who are unable to travel due to a mobility issue, complex medical need or other reason, or just need to rearrange their vaccination appointment or find one at a more convenient location. They can also phone the COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 0800 030 8013.

Question reference: S5W-35864

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether agency workers in healthcare settings are being prioritised for a COVID-19 vaccination along with NHS employees, and whether it will commit to making the vaccination process for agency staff as simple as possible, without an additional administrative burden.

To save lives it is essential that vaccination be given to the first priority groups as set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), and these include frontline patient-facing health and social care workers. This includes staff who have frequent face-to-face clinical contact with patients and who are directly involved in patient care in either secondary or primary care/community settings, including any associated support staff of independent contractors. It should include those working in public, private, third sector and non-standard healthcare settings such as hospices, and community-based mental health or addiction services. Temporary staff, including those working in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, students, trainees and volunteers who are working with patients must also be included. It should also include staff working at COVID-19 test sites for symptomatic people.

Agency staff who work in the NHS are included in the JCVI priority list, cohort 2. For agency and bank staff, the priority is for staff who are active in taking shifts. Staff who have not worked through agency contract in the NHS in the past 6 months would not fall into this priority group.

Question reference: S5O-05125

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the UK’s withdrawal from the EU has had on Scotland’s relationships with countries outwith the EU.

Question reference: S5O-05051

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to decrease class sizes and reduce the prevalence of multi-level teaching.

Question reference: S5O-04844

Asked by: Gordon Lindhurst, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it has made to ensure that both publicly- and privately-owned public transport continues to operate viably, in light of reduced passenger numbers and changing working patterns following COVID-19.