- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2020
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by John Swinney on 21 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish further details on Scotland’s approach to reviewing the COVID-19 restrictions currently in place.
Answer
We have today published COVID-19: Framework for Decision Making – Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis , which sets out a phased approach to carefully and gradually changing current restrictions in place to suppress the spread of Covid-19, subject to the evidence supporting that. It makes clear that we will continue to take a cautious approach that ensures that the virus is suppressed, while seeking to restore as much normality as possible when it is safe to do so.
We will also publish a summary of what we have heard through our online platform – open between 5 May and 11 May – through which we received more than 4,000 ideas and almost 18,000 comments on a range of themes.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 May 2020
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 4 May 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its strategy for the introduction of Test, Trace, Isolate in Scotland.
Answer
COVID-19: A Framework for Decision Making set out the approach and principles that will guide us as we make decisions about transitioning out of the current lockdown arrangements. One of the range of public health measures we will deploy in order to ensure low levels of community transmission is the “Test, Trace, Isolate, Support” approach.
The Scottish Government today published a paper titled Test, Trace, Isolate, Support - a Public Health approach to maintaining low levels . The paper sets out the Government’s approach and the extensive work that is now underway to prepare for its implementation. This paper can be accessed here: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781839607271
The framework and paper describes the steps we are taking, and the steps we are asking the public to take, to return as much normality to daily life.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 April 2020
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by John Swinney on 23 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish more detail on Scotland’s approach to transition through the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer
The Scottish Government has today published COVID-19: A Framework for decision-making . It sets out some of the challenges Scotland faces and outlines the approach and principles that will guide us as we make decisions about transitioning out of the current lockdown arrangements. As a government we will listen to the best scientific advice and to the people of Scotland as we make our judgements. This is a living document and will be updated as evidence, modelling, and our assessment of the different options open to us develops. We will seek to engage at every opportunity and be open and transparent as our thinking evolves.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2020
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Michael Russell on 31 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking in response to the Prime Minister’s letter to the First Minister of 14 January 2020.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to giving the people living in Scotland a choice over their future, as the Scottish Parliament voted for on 29 January.
We will ask the Electoral Commission to test the question, ‘‘should Scotland be an independent country?’.
We will invite Scotland’s elected representatives—MSPs, MPs, MEPs and Council Leaders—to establish a new Constitutional Convention, and endorse a modern Claim of Right for Scotland.
And we will publish a series of ‘New Scotland’ papers that will give the people of Scotland the information they need to make informed choices about the future of the country.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 January 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made since publication of the National Health and Social Care Integrated Workforce Plan on 16 December 2019.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working to strengthen the approach to the strategic challenges the Plan identifies, by introducing a new unit. Building on the published guidance and scenarios for health and social care employers, the unit is already:
- discussing actions to improve and further integrate approaches to workforce planning;
- overseeing the coordination of workforce planning across health and social care in implementing the Plan’s measures;
- working directly with NHS Boards on how they can support this.
These developments address recommendations by Audit Scotland and support a more coordinated, strategic approach by the Scottish Government to workforce planning.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2020
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2020
To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the proposed Glasgow Metro rail system that will connect Glasgow Airport to the rail network.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2020
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2019
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 December 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of each Special Adviser, broken down by (a) responsibility and (b) pay band, and what the total cost of employing special advisers was in 2018-19.
Answer
Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.
The total cost of the 14 Special Advisers employed during the financial year 2018-19 was £1,105,289. Total cost includes all salary costs, ERNIC and employer pension contributions. The level of the employer ERNIC and pension contributions is not a matter for the Scottish Government.
Their specific responsibilities are as follows:
Name | Role |
Katy Bowman | Special Adviser Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Policy support to the Chief of Staff. Support for the First Minister and the First Minister’s Private Office. Outreach and stakeholder engagement. |
Jeanette Campbell | Special Adviser Communities, Social Security, and Equalities (apart from Local Government and Planning). |
Ewan Crawford | Senior Special Adviser Europe and Constitutional issues Government Strategy |
Leanne Dobson | Special Adviser Environment and climate change Land reform |
Kate Higgins | Special Adviser Rural Economy & Connectivity. Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill |
Davie Hutchison | Special Adviser Health & Sport Broadcasting First Minister Questions |
Ross Ingebrigtsen | Deputy Political Spokesperson for the First Minister Strategic communications planning |
Liz Lloyd | Chief of Staff to the First Minister First Minister’s Strategic Programme in Government including Inter-governmental relations. Co-ordination of the Special Adviser team. |
John MacInnes | Special Adviser Political Research. Support for First Minister’s Questions and parliamentary debates. Support to Communications and Policy Special Advisers. |
Stewart Maxwell | Special Adviser Business, the Economy, Skills and Fair Work. Business and Economy outreach Veterans |
Colin McAllister | Head of Policy Programme for Government. First Minister’s Questions Senior Special Adviser to the Deputy First Minister. Education – apart from Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill. |
Callum McCaig | Special Adviser Finance Local Government and Planning Energy |
John McFarlane | Special Adviser Justice Transport Parliamentary Business and Parliamentary liaison |
Stuart Nicolson | Head of Communications Senior Political Spokesperson for the First Minister Strategic communications |
The Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ranges currently in place are:
Pay band | Pay Range (£) | Number of SpAds in Band |
1 | 39,445 – 52,904 | 2 |
2 | 52,905 – 65,016 | 6 |
3 | 65,017 – 86,964 | 5 |
3 (premium) | 86,965 - 100,942 | 0 |
4 | 86,965 - 104,462 | 1 |
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on funding for NHS employers' pension costs, and whether the cost will be fully funded by the UK Government.
Answer
The UK Government has taken decisions on pension costs and funding that result in a shortfall of £48.4 million for the NHS in Scotland. This comes on top of a reduction to health funding of £55 million applied through the UK Budget, and therefore a total future shortfall for Scotland of over £100 million per year.
I can confirm today that the Scottish Government will provide additional funding of £48.4 million to meet the increased pension costs for the NHS in Scotland, including GPs and hospices that are members of the NHS pension scheme. By doing this we will continue to prioritise and protect frontline health services in Scotland.
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 May 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the results of the European elections.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 May 2019
- Asked by: George Adam, MSP for Paisley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2019
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it plans to publish a medium-term plan for capital investment in the NHS.
Answer
We will bring forward our medium-term NHS Capital Investment Strategy as soon as is practicable, following greater certainty on the Brexit process and its potential impact on the NHS capital budget beyond 2019-20.
