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-33202

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress made on the new IT system for Disclosure Scotland.

At the end of September 2019, Disclosure Scotland replaced an obsolete IT system with its new processing system, Protecting and Safeguarding Scotland (PASS). This has been used since then to process all disclosure checks. PASS is continually being developed to improve our service. The newly introduced PVG Online service (which is currently being tested with a small number of stakeholders) is a major step forward, consistent with the digital plan for Disclosure Scotland. PVG Online provides a digital application platform for PVG members, new and existing, for the first time and demonstrates progress towards a digital first application service for all of our products.

Question reference: S5W-33194

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment made by the Deputy First Minister to the Parliament on 12 August 2020, and in a letter to EIS, how many teachers, nursery and educational support staff have been tested for COVID-19; where these tests took place, and what percentage of the tests were positive.

We do not hold this information. For people who test positive we have information on their self reported occupation. This is published weekly here: https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/ (see page 15).

For those coming back negative we do not know the occupation as this information is not collected at time of test. For individuals going through the employer referral portal for asymptomatic testing, we cannot easily identify education based referrals compared to referrals from other key workers who are using this portal as employer is collected as free text.

Question reference: S5O-04798

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how people with chronic health conditions are being supported to access GP services, in light of the added pressures resulting from COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-33013

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects all provisions of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to come into effect, and in particular new restrictions on pavement parking.

Question reference: S5W-32743

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the visiting regulations and testing plans for care homes, including those regarding designated visitors being screened on a weekly basis.

Visiting is vital to the wellbeing of people in care homes and their loved ones and it is important that all steps are taken to enable visiting to resume safely. To support this, the Scottish Government published on 12 October updated visiting guidance which offers greater flexibility in visiting arrangements, and indoor visiting in particular, as winter approaches. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-care-homes-visiting-guidance/

We will continue to review the visiting guidance with the aim of maximising the amount of quality time that families can safely spend together.

The Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for the Pandemic, published on 23 October, sets out plans to develop the testing element of Test and Protect over the next three months which focusses on building capacity within NHS Scotland and deploying expansions in UK Government testing capacity and capability to its maximum effect in Scotland.

As set out in our Clinical and Scientific review of the Testing Strategy, the consensus clinical view of the prioritisation of capacity, over and above that required to meet symptomatic demand, clinical care requirements and existing commitments, is that the focus in any extension of routine regular asymptomatic testing should be on protecting those most vulnerable to severe harm. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-review-of-testing-strategy-october-2020/

As testing capacity builds over the next three months, and in line with clinical and public health priorities identified though the review of our testing strategy, this will include considering how best to introduce testing for visitors to those who live in care homes where this can add an additional layer of risk mitigation to enable safe visiting to continue. Further details on the Framework can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-19-scotlands-strategic-framework/

As I have already indicated to Parliament, I will set out the next phase of our testing roll out delivery plan to Parliament before the end of November 2020.

Question reference: S5O-04767

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent statistics that show attacks on emergency workers have reached a record high.

Question reference: S5W-32679

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that colleges are able to deal with any backlog of coursework marking to allow students to progress to the next level of their studies.

We continue to work closely with the college sector on the best approach on all matters relating to the current situation to ensure students receive the best educational experience whilst remaining safe. We are absolutely clear that learners should continue to have their achievements recognised and awarded, such that they can continue with their chosen pathways, whatever that may be.

We recognise that it is important that students have the opportunity to continue with their learning. Limiting access to education has a negative impact on their personal development, their wellbeing and life chances.

Question reference: S5W-32124

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when people who receive and are entitled to the flu vaccination annually will receive a communication enabling them to receive it, and where these will be carried out.

Responsibility for delivering the Seasonal Flu Vaccine in 2020-21 rests with Health Boards and Integration Authorities. Those who are entitled to a free seasonal flu vaccine will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment. The best source of information on this for the public is NHS Inform which can be found here: www.nhsinform.scot/flu or on the information line on: 0800 224488.

We have prioritised the older age group of 65+ along with those who are at risk. This is to ensure that all those who need it most will have access to an appointment and the opportunity to be vaccinated before the start of flu season.

The majority of invitation letters have now issued to people who are currently eligible for a free flu vaccine. We anticipate that the remaining letters will issue within the next two weeks.

Question reference: S5F-04524

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2020

To ask the First Minister what advice has been offered to local authorities regarding which measurements would trigger a move through the new tiered system of COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S5W-32334

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when soft play centres and baby/toddler groups/classes will be able to resume.

Provisional guidance was published on 1 September for ‘Indoor activities for children and young people (unregulated)’. Activities run indoors for children and young people, including babies and toddlers, could resume from 31 August as long as they adhered to this guidance. This guidance was updated on 24 September and 5 October. Organisers should consult the guidance: Staying safe and protecting others to ensure that they are operating within current safety restrictions.

Soft play centres are currently required to remain closed by law. Provisional guidance for the re-opening of soft plays will be published shortly to allow businesses to prepare to re-open. There is no date set for soft plays to re-open, a date will be set when it is deemed safe to do so.