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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: 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-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-01181

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures community representation is maintained on Marine Planning Partnerships.

To date, Scottish Ministers have delegated regional marine planning powers to three Marine Planning Partnerships, which are required by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to include in their governance arrangements representatives with an interest in; the protection and enhancement of the region, its use for recreation and its use for commercial purposes.

The Scottish Government will shortly publish its response to the inquiry of the Scottish Parliament’s former Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee into the development and implementation of regional marine plans in Scotland. This response will include recommendations to support partnerships to identify opportunities to improve community representation in regional marine planning and marine licensing decisions.

Question reference: S6W-08622

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its proposed timetable is for delivering its commitment to establish a National Register of Ancient Woodlands.

Question reference: S6W-08629

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 waste from 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 the most accurate data source on NHS Scotland waste performance are the annual Public Sector Reports on Compliance with Climate Change Duties which are available for each Health Board. These reports are published on the Sustainable Scotland Network website ( Sustainable Scotland Network - The Sustainable Scotland Network ) and are available from the period 2014-15 to 2020-21.

We have outlined clear actions within the upcoming NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability strategy to manage the risk of environmental harm from our activities, promote good environmental stewardship and reduce the impact of our waste. This includes working to improve data recording of waste collections and reporting against the national waste target of recycling and composting 70% of all Scottish waste by 2025, and sending no more than 5% to landfill.

Question reference: S6W-08599

Asked by: Jenni Minto, MSP for Argyll and Bute, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any barriers that tenant crofters have in accessing Woodland Carbon Code funding, and, if so, what steps it is taking to address these issues.

The Scottish Government is taking steps to make it cost-effective for smaller projects to sell carbon credits under the Woodland Carbon Code, which will benefit crofters given crofts are generally much smaller units of land. It is recognised that the finance that could be available through the sale of carbon credits under the Code could make the difference between projects being viable or not viable. The Woodland Carbon Code Secretariat at Scottish Forestry has developed a ‘streamlined’ application process for small woodland creation projects (up to 5 hectares) which simplifies the prediction of carbon sequestration, reduces the requirement for regular plot surveys and has fewer requirements throughout the validation and verification process.

Projects can also be ‘grouped’ together by a project developer for validation and verification which further reduces cost. This removes some of the cost and administrative barriers for smaller projects. This could open the opportunity for crofters to form informal “co-operatives” where they wish to embark collectively on validating and verifying their projects, but any crofters wishing to do this would should contact Scottish Forestry or one of the WCC project developers for further guidance.

Scottish Forestry has also been working with both crofting and farming tenants through the Integrating Trees Network through a series of webinars allowing both crofters and tenant farmers to ask questions and find out more information about tree planting.

Question reference: S6W-08631

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 action it is taking to ensure that clinicians are acting in accordance with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ recently-released clinical guidance on sepsis, in light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reportedly having also agreed to update its guidance on sepsis.

Sepsis improvement is a well-established part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP). The SPSP launched a revised deteriorating patient driver diagram and change package in 2021 which includes sepsis as a core part of recognising and responding to deterioration.

On 27 May 2022, the SPSP issued a statement regarding the Society of Critical Medical Care’s Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis. The statement outlines the SPSP’s revised approach to the identification and management of adults with sepsis.

Furthermore the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) are currently reviewing SIGN Guideline 139 – Care of Deteriorating Patients to include an updated section on sepsis.

Clinical guideline implementation is the responsibility of NHS Boards. The ultimate decision about a particular clinical procedure or treatment will always depend on each individual patient’s condition, circumstances and wishes and the clinical judgement of the healthcare team.

Question reference: S6W-08630

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 for what reason patients with sepsis in Scotland are reportedly instructed to access healthcare using a different symptom list to other parts of the UK, and what steps are being taken to ensure that clinician recognition criteria are aligned with their equivalents in other parts of the UK, using standardised guidelines for recognition and management.

The symptom list on NHS Inform focuses on the early symptoms of sepsis. It highlights the importance of a high or low temperature, which can encompass a wide range of sources of infection that may potentially cause sepsis.

On 27 May 2022, Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) issued a statement regarding the Society of Critical Medical Care’s Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis. The statement outlines the SPSP’s revised approach to the identification and management of adults with sepsis.

Furthermore HIS’s Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) are currently reviewing SIGN Guideline 139 – Care of Deteriorating Patients to include an updated section on sepsis addressing Primary and Secondary Care considerations.

Question reference: S6W-08672

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many foxes there are in Scotland, and how the size of this population has changed annually since records began.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

A 2018 report by the Mammal Society under contract to Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage, which reviewed the status of British mammal populations including the red fox, is the most recent survey to have been carried out.

The full report can be found at: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5636785878597632

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.