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-14862

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings from the Cameron House Hotel Fatal Accident Inquiry, whether it will make further enforcement powers available to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is an enforcing authority for fire safety in hotels and other relevant premises across Scotland and already has the necessary powers available to them to enforce fire safety .

As an enforcing authority, SFRS work with duty holders in relevant premises to achieve compliance in fire safety through an auditing framework and providing advice and support. Where partnership working does not produce compliance, SFRS may decide to take enforcement or prohibition action where necessary.

Question reference: S6W-14309

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of expenditure for the £147.471 million allocated to Other Board Services and Miscellaneous Income as part of the line for Covid-19 Funding and Other Services (restated) in the draft Scottish Budget 2023-24.

Despite the UK Government stepping back from COVID funding from 2022-23, there remain COVID related pressures and costs across the system. The 2022-23 health budget provides for test and protect, PPE and the ongoing vaccination programme, including costs relating to delivery of Covid-19 vaccinations and the extended seasonal flu vaccination as well as staff, venues and storage. The £147.471 million represents the net of these costs once partially offset by income related to dental and miscellaneous services which is also included in this budget line.

Question reference: S6W-14308

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of expenditure for the £1,067.300 million (fiscal resource) allocated to Social Care Support and NCS Delivery in the draft Scottish Budget 2023-24.

The 2023-24 budget confirms our ongoing commitment to invest in social care and increasing the sustainability of the sector ahead of implementation of the National Care Service.

The 2023-24 Stage 1 budget presented, at level 4, a total investment of £1.2 billion in Social Care support and National Care Service (NCS) delivery. This total represents a social care spending increase of over £800 million compared to 2021-22, demonstrating that we are well ahead of our trajectory to increase spending by 25% (£840 million) over the life of the Parliament.

The £1.1 billion expenditure line supports a number of areas including an additional £100 million for adult social care pay up to £10.90 per hour, £344 million of existing funding to support pay, £124 million for care at home investment, £60 million for the Carers Act and funding to support inflationary uplifts for Free Personal Nursing Care Rates. We note the Report on the Financial Memorandum published on 1 December by the Finance and Public Administration Committee and are currently revising the NCS Financial Memorandum. This will provide more detail on expected spend in 2023-24 and beyond.

Question reference: S6O-01848

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6F-01754

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine, in light of warnings from Jo’s Trust that girls in the most deprived areas of Scotland are missing out.

Question reference: S6O-01816

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when non-urgent elective operations will resume in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Question reference: S6W-13057

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02569 by Kevin Stewart on 9 September 2021, how many short-term mobility aids have been issued by each health and social care partnership since March 2022.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold this information.

Following the publication of Guidance on the provision of wheelchairs on short term loan in March 2021 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-provision-wheelchairs-short-term-loan/ ) Scottish Government officials engaged with individual Health and Social Care Partnerships to initially gauge what progress had been made in implementing the guidance. However, due to the pressures of the pandemic, a full review was not carried out as planned.

That engagement established that there were nine services who were providing a short term wheelchair loan service in house. These were Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde – Acute division.

Following a public consultation we plan to issue revised guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations. Alongside short term wheelchair provision, this guidance includes extensive advice on the effective and timely provision of community equipment and housing adaptations. Accompanying the guidance is a range of good practice guides and self evaluation tools, which we will support services to utilise and evaluate how they are performing against the Key Actions contained in the guidance.

Question reference: S6O-01764

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect primary care services, in light of reports showing the workforce and demand pressures on general practice.

Question reference: S6W-13197

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11516 by Kevin Stewart on 9 November 2022, when work to determine the implications of VAT on the National Care Service and associated Care Boards will be complete, and when any decisions based on this work will be made.

After competitive tender, a contract was awarded to Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP to obtain expert independent advice on the implications of VAT on the NCS and associated Care Boards. This work is ongoing. We are also engaging with HMT. No decisions have been made at this point and a full understanding of the impact of all options will be considered after the co-design process has been completed. The co-design will involve COSLA and Local Authorities as well as people accessing care and support and care workers.

Question reference: S6W-12411

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to S6W-12102 by Kevin Stewart on 16 November 2022, what the current COVID-19 priorities are for which funding is being recouped from Integration Joint Boards.

Current COVID-19 priorities include Test and Protect, vaccinations and PPE provisions.

In line with the Test and Protect transition plan, testing remains in place to support patient treatment and care, protect those in highest risk settings, monitor prevalence and the risk of new variants, and respond to outbreaks.

Covid-19 and extended flu vaccination programmes also continue to provide protection for at-risk cohorts and to help control the spread of the virus. Vaccination programmes may also require acceleration depending on Covid-19 prevalence.

Similarly, PPE provision continues to be informed by infection prevention and control guidance. NHS NSS currently hold sufficient pandemic PPE stock to supply NHS Scotland well into 2023-24 based on current usage rates. Social Care PPE provision continues to be available in case of emergency PPE being required and for unpaid carers and personal assistants.