- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many overseas visitors arrived directly into Scottish airports or ports in 2021, broken down by, where available, (a) the stated reason for the visit, (b) how many of the visitors provided evidence of a negative COVID-19 test at the point of arrival, (c) how many visitors were tested for COVID-19 by health authorities on arrival, (d) how many visitors were found to be positive for COVID-19 on arrival and (e) how many visitors were denied entry on the grounds of public health alone.
Answer
Information on arrivals into the UK are published by the Home Office and can be found here: Immigration statistics, year ending March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
All travellers have to take a COVID-19 test within 72hrs of their departure; evidence has to presented to the carrier prior to boarding the aircraft at their port of origin. To be allowed to enter the country, all travellers need to be in possession of the relevant managed quarantine or test package dependent on which country they have come from or transited through. This is checked at the UK border.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS patients in the Central Scotland parliamentary region have waited over 12 weeks for treatment in each year since 2018-19.
Answer
Information on the number of NHS patients waiting for treatment is published quarterly by Public Health Scotland and can be found at NHS waiting times - stage of treatment 25 May 2021 - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)
This data shows the number of patients on waiting lists and how many have been waiting over 12 weeks. This is shown by NHS Board and can be filtered to show numbers by specialities.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by the COVID-19 vaccination programme management and delivery team in addressing lower confidence in vaccinations in some ethnic minority communities, and in identifying where there are continuing gaps in the take up of the vaccination.
Answer
Our inclusive approach to the COVID-19 vaccination is outlined in the letter to Mr Choudhury dated 8 th June. Our approach is constantly adapting in response to data, feedback from stakeholders and other evidence sources.
Equality data COVID-19 statistical report 2 June 2021 - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the appeal launched by the European Stroke Organisation in May 2021 calling for health ministers across Europe to sign a declaration for action on implementing a Europe-wide stroke action plan, and how its response impacts its Stroke Improvement Plan.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the work of the European Stroke Organisation and we agree that it is vital to ensure improvements are made to stroke pathways and services, including prevention, treatment and care.
Through our Programme for Government commitments and the Stroke Improvement Plan, we are already reflecting the aims of the European Stroke Organisation’s appeal targets.
We will continue to implement our Stroke Improvement Plan which sets out our priorities for improving diagnosis, treatment and care for those affected by stroke alongside the ongoing work to deliver the Programme for Government stroke commitments. We are expecting a report on progressive stroke services by the end of December 2021. This will set the intention for our future actions to improve care for people with stroke.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many planned NHS operations took place in the Central Scotland parliamentary region in each (a) of the last three years and (b) month since April 2021, and how many were cancelled, also broken down by reason for cancellation.
Answer
Information on cancelled planned operations are published by Public Health Scotland on a monthly basis. These details can be found at Cancelled planned operations 1 June 2021 - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)
This information shows the number of cancelled scheduled operations by NHS Board and the reasons for these cancellations.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there are no discrepancies in pay between nurses and other healthcare workers who administer COVID-19 vaccinations.
Answer
We have worked to ensure that nobody is placed at detriment as a result of their participation in the programme as a vaccinator.
Our desire to protect as much of Scotland’s population as quickly as possible has necessitated the deployment of all available resources, and the rate of progress we have seen would not have been possible without the mobilisation at pace of a large, capable and diverse workforce. We are grateful for the contribution nurses have made alongside other Healthcare Professionals.
It is our expectation that reliance on the temporary measures currently in place will reduce as Health Boards continue with efforts to recruit a sustainable vaccinator workforce.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the intensive care bed capacity has been in each week of 2021, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
Baseline ICU capacity in Scotland is 173 adult beds providing level 3 care. NHS Boards retain the ability to double their baseline ICU capacity to 360 within one week, treble to 585 in two weeks and, if required, extend this to over 700, subject to staff and supplies. The double capacity figures by board (excluding NHS Golden Jubilee) are given in the following table and are published in Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic (issue no. 32).
Coronavirus (COVID-19): modelling the epidemic (issue no. 32) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Health Board | Double Capacity and Commitment to deliver in one week |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 20 |
NHS Borders | 10 |
NHS Dumfries and Galloway | 8 |
NHS Fife | 20 |
NHS Forth Valley | 14 |
NHS Grampian | 30 |
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 76 |
NHS Highland | 16 |
NHS Lanarkshire | 40 |
NHS Lothian | 55 |
NHS Orkney | 0 |
NHS Shetland | 0 |
NHS Tayside | 22 |
NHS Western Isles | 4 |
The Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group report on COVID-19 gives regional information on ICU admissions since the beginning of the pandemic. NHS Boards have flexed capacity throughout to effectively meet demand. In 2021 national level 3 ICU occupancy has peaked at 32% above baseline capacity on 02 February 2021.
The latest SICSAG publication can be found here: Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group report on COVID-19 2 June 2021 - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)
The government is committed to ensuring there is resilience and capacity in the health and social care system to aid us in our mobilisation, support staff to recover from previous Covid-19 waves, and to manage the need to remain vigilant against any future waves.
This is exemplified by our investment in health and wellbeing services for NHS staff, and our commitment to increase baseline ICU capacity by 30 to at least 203 beds.
I announced the commitment to increase baseline ICU capacity in parliament on the 01 June 2021.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how information about the take up of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is shared with (a) elected Members, (b) local authorities and (c) NHS boards, and how effective targeting is monitored and supported across all agencies.
Answer
Vaccination data in Scotland are collated by Public Health Scotland (PHS) and published daily. Data on vaccination take-up may be cross referenced by Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Priority Group, NHS Board, Local Authority, age group, and sex. These data are accessible on the vaccinations tab of the PHS COVID-19 Daily Dashboard: https://public.tableau.com/profile/phs.covid.19#!/
The vaccination data published are subject to continual review, development and quality assurance.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what exemptions from the £1,750 COVID-19 hotel quarantine charge it (a) is currently considering and (b) has considered and ruled out.
Answer
There are arrangements in place to allow travellers to travel without pre-payment of the Managed Quarantine Hotel/Testing Package who are claiming Hardship. The Scottish Government have agreed to accept the costs of Scottish residents on Low Income benefits. The list of agreed benefits is:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Council Tax Reduction
- Working Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Carers Allowance
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 18 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for the implementation of the provisions in Part 6 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 that prohibit pavement parking, and by what date these provisions will be fully in force.
Answer
Following a delay due to Covid-19, officials are continuing work with Local Authorities to develop both the secondary legislation required to allow them to enforce the National pavement parking prohibition as well as the Parking Standards Guidance which will underpin the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. Additionally we will need to consult with the public on some areas contained within those secondary legislations and Local Authorities will need around 12 months to undertake an assessment to consider whether they wish to exempt, subject to certain criteria, any areas of pavement from the prohibition.
As such, the majority of the secondary legislation is likely to be in place by 2022. Some aspects however, such as the appeals process for those who wish to appeal a ticket issued for pavement parking, may not be in place until 2023. It is therefore envisaged that local authorities will be in a position to enforce the National pavement parking prohibition by summer 2023.