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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-34024

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 7 August 2020 that over 55s would receive an NHS winter flu vaccination by now, for what reason this has reportedly not happened, and when they will receive one.

Question reference: S5W-34750

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has carried out on the most effective message carriers for conveying information and advice on (a) COVID-19, (b) the COVID-19 vaccine and (c) accessing the NHS during the pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-35070

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 12 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether secondary schools have been advised to not hold preliminary exams in the current academic year.

Question reference: S5W-34330

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether identity checks using credit agencies of people seeking to access COVID-19 tests are routinely carried out by health and social care partnerships and, if so, for what reason.

Health and Social Care Partnerships have a limited role in the provision of testing for the general public. They have formal responsibility for Covid-19 Community Assessment centres, and for decisions on where to station Mobile Testing Units. Community Assessment Centres operate in some Board areas, and may, if appropriate, advise people to book a test.

Identity checks using credit agencies of people seeking to access Covid-19 tests are not routinely carried out by health and social care partnerships. They are however carried out by DHSC. DHSC undertakes a basic identity check when people order a kit, to prevent fraud. A TransUnion check is a necessary element of the COVID home testing service to provide an identity verification process as an effective means of stopping fraudulent orders and is based on international evidence.

TransUnion only verifies identity, it does not in any way conduct a credit check. If a user fails the TransUnion check, they are advised to call the Contact Centre 119.

TransUnion does not collect or retain data on individuals that book tests, other than a record of processing in order to meet regulatory obligations. The rights for TransUnion to use the data in any of its other products or service were removed from the contract. All the data is processed and stored within the UK in line with their privacy policy. Further details can be found at:

https://www.transunion.co.uk/legal/privacy%20centre .

Question reference: S5W-34769

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government in which priority group for the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme will teachers in (a) mainstream and (b) special needs schools be included.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination.”

The JCVI priority lists represents 90% of the preventable mortality from COVID-19 and throughout the delivery of the vaccination programme we will be guided by the clinical expertise of the JCVI, the Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency(MHRA), and our own senior clinical advisers.

In line with the UK-wide JCVI clinical advice, staff working with children and young people with the most complex healthcare needs, particularly those with severe neuro-disabilities, are included in those who will be prioritised for the vaccine.

Teachers in the mainstream schools are not on the priority list, however, those who fall in the JCVI priority list due their age or underlying health condition will be offered a vaccine.

Question reference: S5W-34778

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the advice it received in regard to the 12-week gap between receiving the first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The decision regarding the 12 week gap between the two Covid-19 doses was made based on the clinical recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). This information was further communicated by the latest letter by the Chief Medical Officer on 1 st January, 2021.

Statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the prioritisation of the first doses can be viewed via the link below:

Statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the prioritisation of first doses
of COVID-19 vaccines - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Letter from the Chief Medical Officer can be viewed via the link below:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) - vaccine: letter from the Chief Medical Officer
updating on the vaccination programme - 1 January 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S5W-34887

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how the funding for mental health "in excess of" £1.1billion in its Budget for 2021-22 will be allocated, broken down by Level 3 budget categories.

Question reference: S5W-34886

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the (a) frontline NHS budget and (b) total expenditure for the Health and Sport portfolio has been spent on mental health in (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21, and what the equivalent figures are projected to be in 2021-22.

Detail on mental health spending and the NHS budget is made available each year as part of the annual NHS Costs Book publication and the Scottish Budget.

In tracking our achievement on shifting the balance of care in mental health, focus is on overall spending increases rather than share of the budget. 2019-20 expenditure figures for mental health will be set out in the forthcoming Costs Book due to be published shortly.

Question reference: S5F-04791

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-34771

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether student loans will be topped up beyond the current academic year for social work students whose course placements have been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students studying a course of Higher Education (HE) who require to repeat a full year of study are able to access an additional year of funding known as a ‘+1’. Care Experienced students studying in HE are able to access two additional years of funding. HE students who have exhausted their funding options and require to repeat a year of studies due to Covid-19 will have their requests considered under compassionate grounds by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). This includes undergraduate social work students.

We are actively considering the issue of part-year repeat or extended study as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic for all Further and Higher education students and the associated financial support to students.

The Scottish Government is also working with the Social Work Education Partnership to ensure that there are sufficient social work student placements for our future workforce. The Social Work Education Partnership comprises HEIs’, employers, Cosla and stakeholder organisations and works to ensure the quality and consistency of practice learning. It has been working closely with all HEIs to find solutions to the placement issues caused by Covid-19 and a number of measures are already in place including the prioritisation of the provision of final placements, the piloting of a simulated placement module for first placements and the roll out of national Link Worker training.

We have also provided £430k at a national level for a resumption of placement fee to HEIs which will help employers with the costs that may be incurred in providing a placements which now involves increased homeworking (to assist with IT costs or additional training for practice educators).