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-03489

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) shortest, (b) median and (c) longest waiting time has been for a toxicology report to be completed in each of the last 10 years.

An analysis of the obtained from the two toxicology providers in Scotland – NHS Grampian which provides approximately 10% of the analysis capability and Glasgow University which provides the rest – is set out in the tables below.

It should be noted however that the extent of toxicological analysis required will depend on the individual circumstances of each case and the extent and nature of substances that are found. Factors such as the need to research the effects of unusual drugs or instruct separate analysis for insulin quantification will result in toxicological reports taking longer to be finalised.

Additionally, in determining the final cause of death, completion of the toxicological report is only one part of a process which involves a number of separate organisations before a final post mortem report can be issued.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding a death, the pathologist(s) may require a number of further investigations to be completed – including further toxicological analysis as well as input from other experts in the fields of neuropathology or histopathology for example – and the findings of all those enquiries must then be carefully considered by COPFS before a cause of death is confirmed.

GU TOXICOLOGY TURNAROUND TIMES

Year	Number of Cases Received	Shortest Reporting Time (Days)	Longest Reporting Time (Including Resubmissions) (Days)	Longest Reporting Time (Excluding Resubmissions) (Days)	Mean (Days)	Median (Days)	Mode (Days)
2012	1678	6	182	115	26.33	26	28
2013	2563	7	240	240	27.12	27	28
2014	2990	8	244	244	27.36	27	28
2015	3180	13	298	98	27.92	27	28
2016	3367	8	366	109	28.99	28	28
2017	3414	12	359	126	31.12	28	28
2018	3714	9	355	154	39.74	41	42
2019	3845	9	337	254	134.20	118	203
2020	3600	8	315	238	112.90	112	105
2021 (to 15th)	2989	5	175	99	42.56	42	41

NHS GRAMPIAN TOXICOLOGY TURNAROUND TIMES

Year	Number of Cases Received	Maximum Turnaround Time (Days)	Average Turnaround Time (Days)	Median Turnaround Time (Days)
2012	439	101	6	6
2013	522	61	6	5
2014	558	103	7	5
2015	568	260	9	7
2016	525	91	8	7
2017	461	76	10	7
2018	502	172	15	13
2019	490	62	13	11
2020	552	168	14	12
2021	385	103	13	12

Question reference: S6W-03213

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report published by the University of Northampton, Sustainable Grouse Shooting?, which stated that “We believe that our conclusions, detailed above, are supported by the currently available evidence. However, we are conscious of the danger of legislation being driven by public (non-evidence based) perceptions of issues such as animal welfare, muirburn, rewilding etc. It is important that policy makers are presented with evidence, in a form that they find useful. This report will help in the production of this useful evidence”, and whether it will take the findings of the report into account when making decisions regarding how it supports grouse moor management.

We published our response to the recommendations of the Grouse Moor Management Group, an independent group tasked by the Scottish Government with assessing the environmental impact of grouse moor management, on 26 November 2020 – Grouse Moor Management Group recommendations: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

And as we set out in 2021 Programme for Government we will – ‘deliver the recommendations of the Grouse Moor Management Review Group as a matter of urgency, including the licensing of grouse moors. Licensing or further regulation will cover the key areas identified in the review, including muirburn, wildlife control, he use of medicated grit and wildlife crime.’

A full public and stakeholder consultation will be undertaken as part of this process.

Question reference: S6W-03212

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that grouse moor management is fully supported, in light of the recent report published by the University of Northampton, Sustainable Grouse Shooting?, which stated that “Compared with upland areas where grouse shooting does not take place, the biodiversity of ‘grouse moors’ seems to be at least as rich, if not richer” and the reported comment by the First Minister that she has an “unwavering commitment to address biodiversity loss across all ministerial portfolios”, and what analysis it has carried out of the biodiversity of these moors.

The Scottish Government recognises that well-managed grouse moors can produce favourable habitats for certain species such as curlews and that land managers have an important role to play in enhancing biodiversity.

As I set out in my response to question S6W-03211 on 20 October 2021 the Scottish Government commissioned Scotland’s Rural College and the James Hutton Institute to undertake extensive research into the biodiversity and economic Impacts of grouse moors and the findings of this research were taken into account when we developed our response to the Werritty review. The research found that whilst some land management actions undertaken on grouse moors could enhance biodiversity, the findings were clear that there could also be a negative impact resulting in species decline.

Our Statement of Intent on biodiversity notes that Scotland’s land delivers multiple benefits to people, providing homes and water supplies, producing food, timber and space for leisure, as well as supporting biodiversity. We have a distinctively strong connection between people, place and nature which makes Scotland special in terms of landscape and access. All landowners and managers have an important role to play in helping to improve the state of nature.

All of these factors will be taken into account when we publish our new biodiversity strategy in Autumn 2022 followed by an underpinning 5 year delivery plan, including changes in the way we use and manage land and our approach to protecting habitats and ecosystems. We have also announced that we will introduce a Natural Environment Bill in year 3 or the current session, which will include statutory, enforceable targets for nature restoration, and actions to deliver on our ambitious voluntary commitment to protect 30% of Scotland’s land and seas by 2030, with 10% highly protected. We will invest at least £500 million in the natural economy over the course of this Parliament, including £150 Million for forestry, ongoing investment in peatland restoration and multi-year funding for the Nature Restoration Fund.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-03410

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the third phase of the Learning Estate Investment Programme.

Question reference: S6W-03138

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which of its departments was responsible for the decision for non-symptomatic school pupils to be offered COVID-19 lateral flow tests, as opposed to PCR tests; who made the decision, and when.

The decision to recommend the use of LFD tests for children, young people and staff in the event of having been identified as a low-risk contact was based upon expert public health advice and through engagement with the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG) and other partners. The decision was confirmed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on the 14 th September, following previous advice from Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues (‘the subgroup’). The minutes of all the subgroup’s meetings are routinely published here .

The updated letter templates to inform staff, parents and pupils of whether they or their child have been identified as a low-risk contact were shared with local authority colleagues on 15 September, although it was made clear that they should be discussed with local health colleagues in each area, and amended where appropriate, prior to issuing to schools.

We know that PCR and LFD testing options play different roles in supporting us to control the virus:

Lateral flow is useful for finding out if a person is infectious now, and able to transmit the virus to others. The level of sensitivity is high enough to detect the vast majority of these cases. Lateral flow testing is less likely to return a positive result outside the infectious window. Results from LFD testing are also available more quickly than PCR tests, which require to be sent to a laboratory. Therefore LFD testing is viewed to be more convenient for regular testing, and provides less disruption to peoples’ lifestyles.
PCR is useful for confirming a suspected case of COVID-19, where the person is already self-isolating and is showing symptoms. Higher sensitivity of PCR means it can identify genetic material from COVID-19 even after the active infection has passed.

Question reference: S6W-03824

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-02308

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme 2021 national report stating that fewer people have been admitted to hospital with a stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic, how many out-of-hospital deaths due to stroke there have been in each reporting period of the last three Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme national reports.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish deaths by cause in their vital events reference tables, including stroke, available under cerebrovascular disease, table 6.04: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/vital-events-reference-tables

Background information on how NRS record deaths can be found at:

Deaths - Background Information | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Deaths with an underlying cause of stroke (identified as ICD-10 codes I61, I63 and I64), by location of death, showed that in 2018, 698 deaths occurred in a non-hospital setting, in 2019, this figure was 682, and in 2020 it was 847. This includes deaths which are categorised as taking place in a Care Home, Home /non-institution or Other institution.

Question reference: S6W-03553

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions its ministers have had with the nightclub sector in (a) North Ayrshire and (b) Inverclyde regarding the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme.

Question reference: S6W-03416

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when a new Public Dental Service contract will be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-03406

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to improve wastewater treatment facilities to prevent chemical pollutants from entering the environment.