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-04544

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff there are in its (a) COVID-19 and (b) flu vaccination centres, broken down by category.

The flu vaccination and covid vaccination is a joint programme in Scotland, eligible citizens are offered both vaccinations at a single appointment. Staff can therefore not be delineated by vaccination type. Management information indicates that during the period 17 – 23 Nov c. 1,470 whole time equivalent (WTE) vaccinators were deployed by Health Boards (1 x WTE = 37.5 hours per week); staffing deployment on the programme is kept under active review Head count will be significantly higher as vaccinations staff work a variety of different working patterns, in line with local needs and clinic opening hours. This figure does not include administration and support staff which varies by both Health Board setting and clinic type.

Question reference: S6W-04728

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it would gather evidence when considering whether proof of COVID-19 vaccine status is required for entry to cinemas.

We must make sure our decisions on all of the COVID protection measures are necessary, proportionate and targeted in delivering our four harms approach to alleviating the direct harms of COVID-19, the indirect health harms, and the social and economic harms. We continue to take and review decisions based on the latest evidence from clinical and scientific literature, from public opinion, and from international experience.

Our review process includes regular engagement with businesses about the protection measures which will help us to break the chains of transmission, and that is set out in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Question reference: S6W-04667

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the amount of affordable housing in rural communities, in light of reports that the projects that it is funding have only been able to build 131 homes up to November 2021.

Over 6,000 affordable homes were delivered in rural and island areas across Scotland during the last parliamentary term. Our Programme for Government commits to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our remote, rural and island communities.

As part of our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, communities will also be supported by the continuation of the demand led Rural and Islands Housing Fund backed by up to £30 million of investment in this parliamentary period. The fund has been described in a Scottish Land Commission report as ‘game changers’ for community-led housing development and were developed in collaboration with community housing trusts.

We have also committed to developing a Remote, Rural and Island Housing Action Plan and will engage with a wide range of stakeholders on its development to ensure it delivers for remote, rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-04687

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date booster vaccinations will be displayed on the NHS Scotland COVID status app.

Question reference: S6W-04853

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03688 by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2021, how many of the Fixed Penalty Notices issued since 25 January 2019 remain unpaid, and, of those, how many have been (a) referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (b) proceeded in the courts, and, of any that resulted in convictions, what the (i) nature of the offence, (ii) value of the original Fixed Penalty Notice and (iii) court disposal was.

Since 25 January 2019 until 13 October 2021, the period covered by S6W-03688, there have been 19 fixed penalty notices unpaid, compared to 93 paid.

This makes a payment rate over the period of 83%.

The breakdown is as follows:

(a) 7 of the 19 cases were referred to the COPFS for consideration of prosecution; and

(b) 3 of these cases resulted in convictions and fines with the breakdown as follows:

	Offence	FPN offered (£)	Court disposal (£)
(1)	Breach of hobby fishermen regulations	2,000	500
(2)	Non submission of statutory returns	2,000	3,000
(3)	Marine Protected Area incursion	4,000	2,000

Question reference: S6W-04241

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many taxi drivers (a) applied for and (b) received a Disclosure Scotland certificate before starting work with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The Scottish Ambulance Service do not directly employ taxi drivers. The Service have accessed taxis through established contracts with territorial Health Boards. These taxis firms are regularly used by Health Boards for transporting patients and staff and have longstanding contracts with the NHS. Drivers who work under the contract have live PVG (Protection on Vulnerable Groups) registration via Disclosure Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04666

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03892 by Humza Yousaf on 12 November 2021, how much the booster vaccination programme costs when delivered by (a) NHS boards and (b) GP practices.

As advised in response to the question S6W-03892, the booster vaccination programme is administered by health boards and GP practices. NHS health board costs across Scotland will vary depending on their location, cost structures, and local delivery mechanisms.

The Scottish Government is conscious of demonstrating value for the public pound and to this extent, it costs £12.58 per vaccination dose (whether first, second, third or booster) when administered by GP practices.

Question reference: S6W-04594

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to restrict the sale of codeine-based products without a prescription.

Question reference: S6W-04697

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it will allocate to NHS Ayrshire and Arran to manage drug-related hospital stays, in response to recent Public Health Scotland statistics, which state that the NHS board had the highest rate of drug-related hospital stays in 2020-21.

Integrated Joint Bodies are best placed to decide how funding can be used to best respond to local needs in their own communities. To allow them to do so, Scottish Government funding to support Alcohol and Drug Partnership projects is transferred to the NHS Boards via their baseline allocations for onward delegation to Integration Authorities. This year NHS Ayrshire and Arran received £6,779,624.

That funding has increased dramatically as part of the national mission to tackle the drug deaths emergency in Scotland: we are allocating an additional £250 million over the next five years to improve and increase access to services for people affected by drug addiction.

We are clear that any opportunities to engage with people in crisis, including those who have experienced near-fatal overdose, should be explored in order to encourage access to appropriate treatment. The implementation of the new Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards will ensure that anyone identified through hospital admission as being at risk of drug-related harms or near-fatal overdose will be identified, prioritised and supported into the treatment that is right for them.

Question reference: S6T-00362

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the British Academy of Audiology report on NHS Lothian's Paediatric Audiology Services, which was requested by NHS Lothian following a review by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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