Chamber and committees

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-00255

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the National Digital Academy.

Question reference: S6T-00183

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding lorry driver shortages and related fuel shortages.

Question reference: S6W-03006

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when free dental care for 18- to 25-year-olds will be rolled out.

Question reference: S6O-00109

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to invest in social security support over the next five years.

Question reference: S6O-00072

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has had from the UK Government that decisions on spending on the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be taken in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-01617

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how the £10 million funding announced on 28 June 2021 will be used to improve cancer waiting times.

The £10 million funding, announced on 28 June 2021 will primary be used to support additional staffing, capacity for cancer services and will allow for more patients to be seen, diagnosed and treated, with the aim of ensuring patients receive the care they need as soon as possible.

Cancer has and will remain a top priority for this Government with Early Cancer Diagnostic Centres coming on stream as of June this year enabling GPs to refer patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer (such as fatigue, weight loss and nausea) onto a fast-track diagnostic pathway to get the care and treatment they need sooner.

Question reference: S6W-00639

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date procedures such as earwax removal treatments, will recommence at GP practices.

General practice has continued to provide services to patients throughout the pandemic. However, due to the pressures of the pandemic some routine disease management has needed to be paused but only in those instances where it is safe to do so.

General practices are following Public Health Scotland’s advice to reserve face to face appointments in primary care settings for those consultations where the GP decides it is clinically necessary. This is not just to prevent the general transmission of the coronavirus but to protect general practices as medical spaces for patients who have a clinical reason for face to face attendance.

Public Health Scotland's advice is not tied to the levels Scottish local authorities are in. General practices will remain open regardless but will continue to manage face to face appointments consistent with this advice. At present all patients are still able to get an appointment by telephone or video call.

How to treat ear wax is a clinical decision for GPs; ear syringing is no longer the preferred procedure and many GPs did not routinely provide it before the pandemic led to GPs reducing face to face appointments where possible.

Question reference: S6W-00589

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider adapting the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme to offer people with a history of heart disease and stroke and concerns regarding blood clots the option of having the Pfizer vaccine.

All of our decision making in the approach to responding to Covid-19 is guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) , advice from Health Protection Scotland and our Chief Medical Officer. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides advice on immunisation to all UK Health Departments, including on the efficacy and safety of vaccines.

Decisions to prioritise one population group over another are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice from the JCVI.

It is also worth noting that this is the case with many other vaccines. People are not routinely offered a choice of the type of vaccines in other vaccine programmes in Scotland. The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce an option for receiving either Covid-19 vaccine, beyond a clinical recommendation.

Following the statements by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) we want to stress that the evidence shows that, overall, the benefits of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks and it continues to be a safe and effective vaccine.

However, the Scottish Government will follow the JCVI recommendation to offer alternative vaccines to adults under 40 without underlying health conditions.

The JCVI and MHRA continue to monitor this carefully and are in regular contact with other regulators.

JCVI recommendations are set out in the Green Book, available at COVID-19 Greenbook chapter 14a (publishing.service.gov.uk)

GPs may make a recommendation for their patients to receive a specific vaccination if they believe there is a clinical need.

If the JCVI recommend a specific vaccination for any specific group we will of course take up this advice immediately.

Question reference: S6W-00590

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that all quarantine hotels for people entering Scotland can cater for all dietary requirements for people self-isolating.

Standard operating procedures at the hotel include recording of traveller’s dietary requirements which will be met, where practical.

The Scottish Government has close working relationships with all services providers, including the hotel teams directly in Scotland. This enables issues to be raised locally, solutions agreed quickly and, where practical, special measures for guests to be put in place at short notice.

The hotel teams in Scotland encourage travellers to get in touch with the Scottish Government where they feel their needs are not being adequately met by the hotel. This can include dietary requirements. We will do all that we can in liaising with the hotel to ensure that the traveller’s needs can be met and that their stay is as comfortable as possible.

Question reference: S6W-00594

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it anticipates will be taken against football clubs in light of the Scottish Football Association's Report of the Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football.

The Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football was commissioned by the Scottish FA Board in late 2016 and began work in the first quarter of 2017. In summary the terms of reference (developed in conjunction with some survivors) were to examine what was known at the time of the abuse in Scottish Football, who knew and what action was taken as a result.

The purpose of the Review was not to find fault or to attribute blame but rather was about learning from the experiences of the past with a view to improving the way that Scottish football assures the safety, rights and wellbeing of children involved in the game today where necessary. This is set out at para 1.2 of the full report when it says “the Review is not concerned with attributing culpability or liability” and further “Attributing blame and engaging in a finger-pointing exercise is not helpful and is almost always unproductive, detracting from ensuring that the right change takes place with the commitment of us all” and “the narrative of ‘failure’ and ‘blame’ is one which the Review is keen to resist in order to focus on learning and improvement which is of more productive value.”

The Review accepts that knowledge and practices were markedly different in the past than they are now, and recognises the recent efforts of the Scottish FA and its members to put in place a Child Protection and Wellbeing Strategy. It makes clear that continued culture change is imperative – this includes continuing to work closely with survivors to improve processes, challenging distorted thinking about sexual conduct or violence and creating positive attitudes to mental health. The Scottish Government fully support those aims.