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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.

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Question reference: S6W-03542

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many confirmed cases of children having COVID-19 there have been in each primary and secondary school in each month since August 2021.

The COVID-19 Education Surveillance dashboard is updated and published every week by Public Health Scotland and includes weekly data on the rate of COVID-19 PCR testing among children and young people of educational age (2-19 years), the number and rate of positive cases and the percentage of tests taken that are positive.

These figures are not broken down to the level of individual school, and there is an overlap between the age groups and the type of school where nearly all 5-11 and 12-15 are primary and secondary school pupils respectively, and 16-17 year olds a more mixed group.

However, the number of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by PCR test at the end of August, compared to w/e 10 October were as follows:

Age range (yrs) W/E 30 August W/E 10 October

5-11 12 3151

12-15 20 1905

16-17 12 382

Question reference: S6W-03380

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to maintain the current NHS waiting time standards following the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and what assessment it has made of the waiting times for NHS operations.

We currently have no plans to amend the existing waiting times standards although recovering our NHS and improving waiting times for patients is a top priority for this Government.

In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic the NHS Recovery Plan was launched on 25 August 2021. The Plan which is backed by more than £1 billion of investment, sets out the Scottish Government’s key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years. While recovery is the immediate task, the Plan is fundamentally about ensuring that the process of recovery focusses on alternative pathways of care that allow people to be treated sooner and closer to home .

Question reference: S6O-00294

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of people being "spiked by injection" or having their drinks spiked in nightclubs across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03543

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of teachers returning a positive COVID-19 PCR test there have been in each month since August 2021.

Since the start of the outbreak, Public Health Scotland (PHS) has been working closely with the Scottish Government and health and care colleagues to support the surveillance and monitoring of COVID-19 amongst the population. There is a large amount of data being regularly published regarding COVID-19. For example, the COVID-19 Education Surveillance dashboard is updated daily and published by Public Health Scotland. COVID-19 PCR test results in educational populations and settings are not broken down individually but are included as part of the wider community-wide surveillance in the PHS COVID-19 dashboard .

We are also reassured by PHS analysis on the risks to teachers when compared to similar working age adults. Analysis published in the BMJ shows that neither teachers, nor their household members, were at increased risk of hospital admission with COVID-19 when compared to similar working age adults from March 2020 to July 2021.

Question reference: S6W-03378

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any reports of cancer surgery being halted in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and, if so, whether it will provide details of these reports.

Officials meet with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s (NHS GG&C) Cancer Team on a weekly basis to ensure every urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) patient is moving timeously through their pathway. These discussions are based on management information, not in the public domain.

The majority of cancer treatments have continued throughout the pandemic. Where changes have been made to a patient’s treatment plan, due to COVID, the decision is made jointly with the clinical team and patient.

NHS GG&C treated 97.1% of cancer patients within 31 days of a decision to treat being made in Q2 2021. Latest statistics are available via:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-april-to-30-june-2021/

Question reference: S6W-03377

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether elective surgery in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been halted, and, if so, for what reason.

While elective surgery has not halted in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, there have been reductions in the number of elective surgeries being carried out in order to focus on cancer and other urgent cases.

The scale-down of elective routine surgery is under weekly review, and an increase in sessions is planned from week beginning 18 October; however, this will be dependent on staffing levels and COVID patient numbers.

Question reference: S6W-01953

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether its plans for certification of COVID-19 vaccination status for international travel include exemptions for people who cannot receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines currently available.

We are working closely across the four nations and international partners on restarting international travel safely. Our discussions are still ongoing with the UK Government and international partners on exemptions for people who cannot receive COVID-19 vaccinations. In the meantime, people intending to travel should check that vaccination status is a requirement of the country they are visiting on the GOV.UK foreign travel advice pages, as PCR testing is also widely accepted.

The number of people for whom vaccination cannot be safely completed with the right support will be very small. Reasons for exemptions would be medical contraindications that might include severe anaphylactic reaction across the range of vaccines and those receiving end of life care. We would encourage people to take a vaccine where they can do so safely and they can contact our national helpline on 0808 196 8565 for support in arranging this.

Question reference: S6W-02811

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that COVID-19 vaccine status checks and vaccine passports will have on (a) vaccine uptake and (b) COVID-19 case numbers.

Evidence from overseas suggests there may be an uptake in vaccination after an announcement to introduce certification.

In Scotland, in the two weeks since the announcement on 1 September, there has been a 10% increase in uptake for 18-29s first doses in comparison to the two week’s prior to the announcement (18 – 31 August).

In addition to the individual level of protection against severe disease or hospitalisation afforded by vaccination, a further benefit of the vaccination programme is to assist in developing widespread community immunity, reducing the force of transmission and viral reproduction rate, in order to help control the prevalence of COVID-19.

Studies have demonstrated that being vaccinated against COVID-19 significantly reduces your risk of being infected. Research by Public Health England (PHE), which monitors vaccine effectiveness within the UK, shows that those who become infected 3 weeks after receiving one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Cominarty) or AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria) vaccine were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass COVID-19 on to their household contacts than those who were unvaccinated.

Further research into the COVID-19 vaccines’ impacts on transmission is underway. Weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports monitoring vaccine effectiveness, including evidence on effectiveness against transmission, are published here: COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

Question reference: S6O-00266

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates there will be a return to face-to-face GP appointments as the default.

I have agreed a joint statement with the BMA on face to face appointments that will be published later today.

As they have for many years, face-to-face appointments form part of a hybrid model also including video and telephone consultations. While we all aspire to return to greater availability of face-to-face, many patients will also wish to continue with telephone or video consultations. In joint communication with the BMA I have set out my expectation that recent changes to guidance should result in an increase in GP face-to-face appointments.

Rather than setting an arbitrary return date, what is most important is that appointments are agreed through shared decision making, balancing patient choice and clinical judgement.

Question reference: S6W-02810

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it used when deciding which venues and settings would require visitors to be subject to a COVID-19 vaccine status check before entry.

We have gathered a range of evidence and in considering the venues and settings we must also consider the behaviour, activities, and interactions that occur within those settings.

Research evidence indicates that being vaccinated reduces the risk that a person will become infected with the virus, and likely further reduces their risk of transmitting coronavirus. Ensuring only those who are vaccinated attend higher risk venues and events therefore directly reduces the risk of transmission.

We will publish a full assessment of the evidence for certification, based on the four harms model that we have used throughout the pandemic, in advance of the scheme coming into force.