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-30969

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether charitable organisations such as drop-in centres that provide hot meals and supplies for those who need it are expected to follow the hospitality guidelines for safe reopening, or whether a more specific update will be issued.

Charitable organisations providing hot meals and supplies for those who need it should follow appropriate COVID-19 infection prevention and control guidelines which apply to the catering/food service sector. Food Standards Scotland has published a guidance package for all food businesses which details the measures that should be implemented to protect staff, volunteers and users of these services from COVID-19. The Scottish Government has also produced guidance for the hospitality sector which includes useful advice on measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in settings where food is served.

However, it is also important that those responsible for managing these services contact their Local Authority Environmental Health department for advice on how this guidance applies to their particular circumstances.

Question reference: S5W-30695

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a third sector recovery and renewal fund for third sector health and care organisations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government recognised that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the third sector and that is why we launched the £25 million Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF). This fund was part of a wider £350 million emergency coronavirus funding. Health and social care organisations have received just over £6 million in funding through the TSRF.

The Scottish Government values its relationship with the third sector health and social care organisations. This relationship will continue to support our response to Covid-19 as we consider our ‘Remobilise, Recover, Re-design’ work. We are committed to working with our third sector partners to ensure that there is a person centred approach to re-mobilisation across our health and social care services in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-30295

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many contact tracers have been recruited as part of its Test and Protect strategy, and how many existing NHS staff have been redeployed as contact tracers.

Prior to the formal launch of the Test and Protect system, we asked all NHS Scotland boards to make available up to 2,000 staff to participate in contact tracing activity. As acknowledged at the time, the resource was provided substantially from existing workforce was an estimate of need and it was recognised that not all would be required at any one time. We keep contact tracing capacity under active review, in line with modelling undertaken by Public Health Scotland, with all boards required to maintain a total national capacity commensurate with demand. In commencing 03 August for instance, approximately 836 staff were available within boards to undertake contact tracing activity. The recruitment position within boards is subject to change in line with the national modelling picture, and where local service composition changes as a result of the mobilisation of other NHS services. In line with their service provision responsibilities, the recruitment of staff is devolved to NHS Scotland boards.

Recruitment to the National Contact Tracing Centre (NCTC) is on-going, as week commencing 03 August 2020, the centre had recruited 63 staff, and has a further pool of 66 staff it can readily deploy. Additionally, we continue to make use of the pipeline of candidates identified through national recruitment, with 300 shortlisted applicants currently concluding the interview process. The NCTC is in the process of finalising bank arrangements with NHS Forth Valley to be able to flex the resource into the NCTC; some 200-400 staff will be available through the bank arrangement; this will grow and be kept under review, in line with the modelling, to provide additional resilience.

Question reference: S5W-29909

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been made each week to the COVID-19 helpline, 0800 028 2816, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) NHS board area.

Unlike the 111 service, NHS 24's 0800 Helpline doesn’t capture caller demographics and therefore the breakdown of information by Health Board/Local Authority area isn’t available. Please see detailed information below on the total number of calls to the Helpline per week as well as the total number to date.

Week Ending	Helpline Call Demand
02.02.2020*	53
09.02.2020	142
16.02.2020	321
23.02.2020	161
01.03.2020	1,928
08.03.2020	3,436
15.03.2020	15,335
22.03.2020	26,495
29.03.2020	20,175
05.04.2020	8,520
12.04.2020	5,080
19.04.2020	3,236
26.04.2020	2,367
03.05.2020	2,780
10.05.2020	2,058
17.05.2020	1,677
24.05.2020	1,527
31.05.2020	1,978
07.06.2020	2,593
14.06.2020	2,500
21.06.2020	2,186
28.06.2020	3,063
TOTAL	107,611

* The week ending 02-02-2020 only contains data from 30th January, when the Helpline began.

Question reference: S5T-02339

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that patients have timely access to cancer services, and when cancer surgery will be restored to full capacity across all NHS boards.

Question reference: S5O-04500

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the work of NHS preparations for the end of the Brexit transitionary period.

Question reference: S5W-30834

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the evidence it used to determine that 20 people are permitted to attend a funeral service, while 50 are permitted to attend other church services in the same location with the same safety measures in place.

Funerals are highly emotional and incredibly difficult events in our lifetimes. They are unique and intimate. Unlike most other gatherings, those in attendance are likely to know or be close to many others in attendance. Because of this, it is much more likely that vital public health measures to help mitigate or break chains of transmission of COVID-19, such as observing strict 2 metre physical distancing between households, will be forgotten. This is completely understandable at a time of grief, when people need the support of their close family and friends more than ever.

This has been the basis for us taking a much more cautious and careful approach when it comes to funeral services when compared to other gatherings, as we continue to seek to suppress the virus.

Question reference: S5W-30949

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that there is representation of people with arthritis and their supporters on its Mobilisation Recovery Group.

The Mobilisation Recovery Group, which I chair, is an advisory group established under Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: the Framework for NHS Scotland ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/re-mobilise-recover-re-design-framework-nhs-scotland/ ) to generate key expert, stakeholder and system-wide input into decisions on resuming and supporting service provision, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The full remit and membership of the Group is available alongside the minutes of each meeting at:

https://www.gov.scot/groups/mobilisation-recovery-group/

The membership of the Group, which includes Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, will be kept under review to ensure that it continues to bring together stakeholders and decision makers; guaranteeing that that the delivery of health and social care services maintains a strong focus on quality, equity and person-centred care, within the necessary constraints of the COVID-19 response.

During the pandemic, emergency and urgent care has been provided, including treatment for pain as a result of emergency, acute presentations, infusion pumps for palliative care services and treatment for complex regional pain syndrome. We remain committed to resuming the full range of pain services as quickly as it is safe to do so, and we will shortly publish a COVID-19 Recovery Framework for NHS Pain Management Services to continue to inform this activity.

Question reference: S5W-30948

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether future guidance to NHS boards can include reference to the statutory duty to involve patients in service delivery.

There is already national guidance to support NHS Boards to fulfil their public involvement duties under the NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004.

The CEL 4 (2010) guidance to NHS Boards, “Informing, Engaging and Consulting People in Developing Health and Community Care Services”, which is available online at http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2010_04.pdf , sets out how NHS Boards should inform, engage with, and consult with patients and their local communities.

I wrote to all NHS Boards in June this year to remind them of their duties and the national guidance.

We are working jointly with COSLA to develop updated community engagement guidance which will apply across health and social care. This work was temporarily paused due to the pandemic and will restart when it is appropriate to do so.

Question reference: S5W-30739

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support people with diabetes who are at increased risk from COVID-19, and whether it is considering any additional protections on their returning to work, as well as on the return of other groups of people who are shielding.

The Scottish Government appreciates returning to work will be a worrying time for people living with an underlying health condition, such as diabetes.

The health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and the economy is the priority of the Scottish Government. All employers in Scotland should follow the existing Scottish guidance, support workers to follow health protection advice and have a statutory duty to ensure that workers’ health and safety is protected. This includes undertaking risk assessments of their work activity, assessing the risk from Covid-19 spread in the workplace, and putting in place appropriate mitigating measures.

We published guidance for employers and employees to support people who considered themselves at higher risk of contracting Covid-19 on 30 July 2020. This provides practical measures which should be taken, including risk assessments and prioritising their needs in planning phased returns to physical workplaces. This guidance can be found by following link:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-shielding/pages/returning-to-work/