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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 4 April 2025
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Displaying 693 contributions

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COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 16 December 2021

Brian Whittle

Yesterday, the First Minister announced that an extra £100 million had been secured, if you like, out of the Scottish budget to try to tackle Covid. A further £220 million from Westminster has been announced. That is £320 million. What is the ask, if it is not £320 million? How short are we in terms of what the Scottish Government would like to have?

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Vaccination Programme

Meeting date: 9 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I have a specific question for Derek Holliday. We have not really focused on people who are caught in homelessness and addiction. How do we reach out to those communities, bring them into the fold and ensure that they are offered vaccination along with everybody else?

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Vaccination Programme

Meeting date: 9 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I will move on a little bit from my colleague’s questioning on vaccine hesitancy in the groups that we are discussing. I wonder whether there is inertia and a perceived difficulty in accessing vaccination. Perhaps vaccines are seen as another issue that needs to be dealt with among so many other issues that the people who we are discussing have to face. As Alex Rowley said, do we need to take vaccination to the public rather than waiting for them to come for vaccination? Most people seem to be getting their knowledge from social media and fake news, which is undermining trust. Should overcoming that be the approach that we should be taking? That is a question for Derek Holliday.

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Vaccination Programme

Meeting date: 9 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I am interested in the term “vaccine hesitancy”. I wonder whether there is almost an inertia within that, in that the vaccine is perceived as being too difficult to access or to travel to. To extend the conversation that we have had so far, and in relation to behavioural difference, do we need to take the vaccine to the public and to ethnic minority groups rather than wait for them to come to the vaccine, for want of a better expression? We have talked about social media, fake news and how people access information. Do we need to be more proactive in taking the vaccine into communities?

Do we have Dr Carey Lunan with us? I am sorry; she is on the next panel. I have got that wrong. In that case, I will put that question to Magda Czarnecka.

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Vaccination Programme

Meeting date: 9 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I think that Mohammed Razaq wants to comment, too.

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Vaccination Programme

Meeting date: 9 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I want to finish that line of questioning by taking it to its ultimate conclusion. Do we know who the people are who have not taken up the vaccine? Should we approach them to ask why they have not taken up the vaccine so that we can reassure them that it is a safe way to protect themselves and then offer them the vaccine locally? Is that the point that we are getting to? I put that question to Dr Andrea Williamson.

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 2 December 2021

Brian Whittle

That was really helpful, and it leads me on to a point that I raise reasonably regularly. The committee is looking at holding an investigation into the number of excess deaths in Scotland, which is currently sitting at 12 per cent above the average. Those are not all Covid-related deaths. With the emergence of omicron, the question of how we take such decisions becomes even more acute. After all, there is mortality associated with other non-Covid-related conditions. We will have a look at that at some point, and I am sure that the medical profession is already looking at it much more deeply than we will, but—I know that I keep looking ahead—how do we strike a balance and find a route that allows us to get back to some normality with regard to other conditions that have mortality associated with them?

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 December 2021

Brian Whittle

Good morning. I will be reasonably brief, because a lot of the points that I wanted to cover have already been discussed.

The self-isolation support grant is there to encourage people to self-isolate, and to ensure that they are not put in a position where they have to make a decision on whether they self-isolate or are able to pay their bills. With that in mind, I want to raise a couple of points with Susan McKellar.

You talked about the impact on those who are on zero-hours contracts or in part-time work, who would perhaps feel the inability to work most keenly. They have an issue with having to prove loss of income, given their particular circumstances. Does that cause a difficulty for them in accessing the grant? At the end of the day, it is about ease of access to the grant.

You also mentioned those who do not fall within the criteria for the grant, but whose income versus expenditure may be finely balanced, as it is for many of us, and whose inability to work would seriously impact their ability to pay their bills. Is the scope of the grant wide enough?

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 2 December 2021

Brian Whittle

I know. That changed how I will ask my questions. The scientific and medical communities are examining the impact of omicron on transmission, the severity of the condition and vaccination effectiveness. How are you considering what measures need to be taken while we wait for that information, given that, as one of my colleagues said, it is likely that transmission rates will increase, which could put stress on the NHS? We have heard that the number of cases in South Africa has gone in two weeks from a few hundred a day to more than 8,000 a day. It will take a little time to find out the exact impacts. Where are we with the thought process?

COVID-19 Recovery Committee

Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 2 December 2021

Brian Whittle

Thank you. I have a final quick question, probably to Sandra MacLeod, about the legislation’s impact on the health boards. How would it impact on your health board?