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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: S6O-01207

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how island communities in Orkney can be involved in decisions about how superfast broadband is rolled out in their areas.

Question reference: S6O-01209

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that Scotland’s education system is properly aligned with the future workforce requirements of the emerging green economy.

Question reference: S6O-01206

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Diversity in the Teaching Profession Scotland Annual Data Report, published in May, which states that there is a continued chronic and disproportionate lack of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools.

Question reference: S6O-01208

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications of its Resource Spending Review are for the roll-out of Social Security Scotland's planned programme of benefits.

Question reference: S6O-01211

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report by Step Change Debt Charity Scotland, which highlighted that clients' average arrears on essential bills had increased by £659 to £2,961.

Question reference: S6W-08615

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) action it is taking to embed suicide prevention within long COVID services and (b) public health messaging is being communicated to raise awareness of long COVID symptoms and the potential impact on mental health and wellbeing, and whether wellbeing assessments will form part of the initial assessment of long COVID symptoms by primary care teams.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA, will publish a new suicide prevention strategy in September 2022. As part of that we will consider how to further embed suicide prevention across health and social care services.

The assessment of people with long COVID is informed by the clinical guideline ‘managing the long-term effects of COVID-19’ developed by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the Royal College of General Practitioners. The guideline recommends using a holistic, person-centred approach when assessing someone for long COVID which should include a comprehensive clinical history and appropriate examination involving physical, cognitive, psychological and psychiatric symptoms as well as functional abilities.

The allocation of £3 million from the long COVID Support Fund to Health Boards across 2022-23 will provide extra resource to support people with long COVID to have a holistic assessment of their needs, both physical and mental, to ensure they can access the community or healthcare support and services most appropriate for their individual circumstances.

Giving people access to clear information is one key part of supporting people to feel more in control of their condition. That is why we have launched a long COVID information platform on NHS Inform, which provides people with information and support including in relation to low mood, depression and anxiety, with signposting to self-help guides that use cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

We have also invested £40,000 in a public awareness campaign, through Community Pharmacies across Scotland about how people can access further advice and support in relation to their symptoms.

Question reference: S6W-08628

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of packaging from theatre equipment at NHS hospitals was recycled in each of the last five calendar years.

The requested information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) has advised waste data collection is not measured by product type or hospital department, therefore the requested information is unavailable.

Within the upcoming NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability strategy there is a commitment to work with our existing suppliers to reduce unnecessary plastic and take steps to ensure that unavoidable single-use items contain a high minimum recycled content and are themselves fully recyclable. This strategy is expected to be published in summer 2022.

Question reference: S6W-08593

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation in the Independent Report from the National Partnership for Culture, published in March 2022, that a dedicated funding stream for culture initiatives should be developed within the health portfolio.

We were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture, and recognise that the broad themes in the report align with our priorities across Scottish Government. Scottish Government officials are working together across the Health and Culture portfolios to review the Health and Wellbeing recommendations. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations will be published shortly.

Question reference: S6W-08766

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are being used to establish eligibility for ongoing COVID-19 booster vaccinations, and whether consideration will be given to allow GPs or local NHS boards to recommend that individuals receive a booster, dependent on their personal medical history, where they fall outside of these criteria.

From the outset, the Scottish Government’s decision-making on the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and senior clinicians.

It is presently anticipated that spring boosters will continue to be offered to those currently eligible according to JCVI guidance until 30 June 2022. On 19 May 2022 the JCVI issued interim advice regarding the autumn 2022 COVID-19 boosters.

Prioritising those most at risk has been our approach from the outset. The JCVI interim advice is to offer the autumn 2022 vaccination to the following individuals:

Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults;

Frontline health and social care workers;

All those 65 years of age and over; and

Adults aged 16 to 65 years in a clinical risk group.

This is based on an ongoing review of all the available evidence including infection rates, hospitalisation, mortality data and evidence of vaccine waning.

There is a clinical referral route available for clinicians to refer anyone who they identify as requiring additional dose(s) of vaccine or a different dosing schedule for clinical reasons (in keeping with eligibility as recommended by JCVI), on a case by-case-basis.

This is interim advice and the JCVI will continue its ongoing review and provide the eligibility criteria for the autumn 2022 booster in the near future and we stand ready to implement any further decisions on eligibility made by the JCVI.

Question reference: S6W-08740

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to legislate for the protection of the estimated up to 15 million cleaner fish (lumpsuckers and wrasse) that are used in the aquaculture industry in Scotland each year.

All farmed fish, including cleaner fish, are protected by the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which places a duty on fish farms to ensure their needs are met. The Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate inspects the legally required veterinary and mortality records held by fish farms. Significant cases of poor welfare observed during inspection are reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The Farmed Fish Health Framework Steering Group, which includes fish vets, regulators, sector representatives and Scottish Government officials, and which is chaired by the Scottish Government Chief Veterinary Officer, provides the appropriate forum within which future policy relating to the health and welfare of farmed fish will be developed.

Currently, there are no plans to introduce further legislation relating to the use of cleaner fish in Scottish aquaculture.