- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether funding allocations earmarked for new and existing teaching posts will be made permanent, to enable local authorities to award a greater number of permanent contracts.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to provide secure, sustainable and long-term post-COVID-19 pandemic skills and training opportunities.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
- Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will make available to businesses in light of the continuation of the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider changing its COVID-19 regulations regarding the docking of UK cruise ships to enable passengers to embark and disembark in areas at protection level 2 or lower so that they have the same freedoms as people travelling between Scotland and England via plane, train or bus.
Answer
The Scottish Government has fully considered all of the suggestions made by stakeholders alongside all current data, scientific evidence and clinical advice available to us. Based on this assessment, subject to the relevant guidance being in place, our recommendation is that cruise restart when all of Scotland reaches Level 1.
While we would have been keen to provide a date, we need to work with the data available and any date would have been subject to review. This decision has been informed by the combination of risks that exist with both cruises and within the wider travel context, such as: the current trajectory of Covid infections and the unknowns around the new Delta variant, the close-proximity form of leisure that cruises offer that has high risk of uncontained rapid transmission, and, the opportunities to spread Covid through multiple stops in different levels around Scotland. These are only some of the risks, and although some of them could be mitigated through good protocols, it is the compound effect of all the risks involved which has led to this decision.
We are committed to reviewing restrictions every 3 weeks as part of the phased national easing through the Levels. The next review point is scheduled ahead of the planned easing of restrictions from 28 June. Our aim is to enable a restart to cruise as quickly and safely as possible and we are keen to continue to work with the sector on any required guidance ahead of this date.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason care home visitors can no longer perform a COVID-19 lateral flow test prior to their visit, and now must take one on site, and for what reason visits to care homes have been restricted to 30 minutes.
Answer
Open with Care: supporting meaningful contact in care homes was published on 24 February and sets out how indoor and outdoor contact should gradually increase while minimising COVID-19 risks to residents, staff and visitors. We have been providing testing kits to care homes to facilitate visitor testing and the guidance sets out how visitors may be supported in being tested and that providers provide testing facilities for indoor visiting. We are currently reviewing whether the roll out of community testing now makes it possible for visitors to test prior to their visit to care homes, subject to care homes discretion.
The guidance recommends that the frequency and duration of meaningful contact should be maximised where possible. The guidance does not stipulate that visits should be restricted to 30 minutes but recommends that the frequency and duration of meaningful contact should be maximised where possible. Care homes can access advice and support from local oversight partners when considering relaxations to visits to ensure everything is safe and suitable for all.
As detailed in my Answer to Question S6W-00352 on 10 June 2021, the Open With Care National Oversight Group is monitoring implementation of the guidance, identifying any additional support that might be required, and will report on progress in due course.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how often the Council of Economic Advisers has met since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how often it is scheduled to meet in the next year.
Answer
The Council of Economic Advisers has met virtually on a number of occasions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members calls with officials took place on 8 June 2020, 1 September 2020 and 11 December 2020. A full meeting was held on 29 October 2020 with the attendance of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance. A further full meeting of the Council was held on 4 March 2021, with the attendance of the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture. Minutes of these meetings will be published on the Scottish Government website.
Arrangements are being put in place to establish the new Council for Economic Transformation, which will shape and drive our 10 year National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We have already publicly committed to do this within the our first 100 days and we will update with regard to progress, including how it interacts with other advisory groups such as the Council for Economic Advisers, shortly.
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how the remit of the Council of Economic Advisers will be impacted by the Council for Economic Transformation.
Answer
Arrangements are being put in place to establish the new Council for Economic Transformation, which will shape and drive our 10 year National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We have already publicly committed to do this within the our first 100 days and we will update with regard to progress, including how it interacts with other advisory groups such as the Council for Economic Advisers, shortly.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-35465 by Michael Matheson on 9 March 2021, whether it will provide an update on the electrification projects on the (a) East Kilbride and (b) Barrhead railway lines.
Answer
Network Rails Contractor, SPL, is undertaking on-site activities between Muirhouse South Junction and Busby Junction as part of the East Kilbride / Barrhead Enhancements project. This includes piling and the construction of steelwork foundations to support future electrification.
This demonstrates that positive progress is being made with early construction activities whilst the necessary development work for the complete project is progressed.
Future updates can be sourced via the dedicated project pages in the Scotland’s Railway website:-
https://scotlandsrailway.com/projects/east-kilbride-enhancements
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33536 by John Swinney on 10 December 2020, whether the summary of the returns and analysis has been published and, if so, where.
Answer
A copy of all local authority returns and an analysis of the returns was published in May 2021. The material was published as part of a Freedom of Information release and the local authority returns and analysis can be found in parts 1 and 2 of the released documentation at: Correspondence relating to counsellors within schools: FOI Release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to improve the booking system for COVID-19 vaccinations, and how it is addressing any reported issues or concerns that have arisen since the current system was implemented.
Answer
The Scottish Government aim is that is that the public should be able to access COVID- 19 vaccinations they require, at the time and in the format that they need it in. We are actively investigating more interactive appointing systems, while recognising that this will not work for everyone and will be need to be accompanied by other ways of securing appointments.
As a Government we always looking to improve service delivery, and building on the success of the unpaid carers and 18 to 29 years old self-registration service, lessons learned from the implementation of the National Vaccination Scheduling Systems, is that there is an opportunity to move to a more person- centred appointments services with benefits for individuals and communities, alike.
