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: S6W-04336

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw MSP (on behalf of the SPCB) on 23 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it considers to be its obligations under the Fair Work Convention with regards to staff employed directly by MSPs.

The SPCB is not the employer of MSPs’ staff. The SPCB’s responsibility is to fund the provisions of the Reimbursement of Members’ Expenses Scheme, including the Staff Cost Provision, which funds MSPs to employ their staff. MSPs, as the direct employers of their staff, are responsible for ensuring that they meet their legal obligations as employers and that staff are treated fairly, with dignity and respect.

Notwithstanding this, the SPCB has put in place a wide range of measures to support MSPs to adopt good employment practices, including a training and development programme which includes career management guidance and support; fair, consistent and competitive pay ranges and job families, underpinned by a commitment to ensure that MSPs are able to pay their staff at least at the rate of the Living Wage; support with recruitment and policies that aim to support a positive workplace culture. The SPCB also provides dedicated HR resources to support MSPs in their capacity as employers.

The SPCB understands that various parliamentary groups have entered into agreements with trade unions that represent their staff and that some MSPs are applying the principles of the Fair Work Framework. The SPCB, through the People and Culture Group, will continue to support MSPs to do so. In particular, the SPCB has committed to a strategic objective to support MSPs to attract, recruit and retain skilled, motivated and engaged staff who are recognised for their contributions and skills and who work in a positive workplace culture.

Question reference: S6W-03695

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow professionals who support people seeking asylum to request proof of COVID-19 vaccination status on behalf of their clients.

A representative may support someone with the process of accessing proof of COVID-19 vaccination status. However, the person requiring a certificate will ultimately need to confirm their identification either via the App or by calling the Covid Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565.

To support accessibility, we have created Easy Read, Audio and British Sign Language versions of the guidance explaining what information the Certificates contain and how to use them. These can be found on NHS Inform. Translations of the guidance into community languages have now been completed and are available.

Question reference: S6W-03694

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how people who are seeking asylum but are without a passport or driving licence can access proof of vaccination through its COVID-19 vaccination status app, and whether improving such access will be considered a matter of priority when developing updates.

The vaccine offer is universal in Scotland. For asylum-seekers who have received COVID-19 vaccines in Scotland, they can request their record of vaccination be sent to them by calling the Freephone COVID-19 Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565.

These paper certificates are fully equivalent to the certificates provided via the app, and can be used for access to domestic venues and will also permit smoother inbound entry to the UK. The Scottish Government have published ‘ Vaccine certification scheme – information for business and event organisers ’; ‘ Vaccine certification scheme – information for customers ’; and a ‘ toolkit ’ which provides guidance and example certificates, so venues are fully aware that they should be accepting the certificate issued to medically exempt individuals for entry to their venue or event.

Security features of the COVID Status Certificate App includes an automated user identification and verification process to allow access to sensitive personal medical information. If a user does not have the required photo ID they cannot use the app.

Question reference: S6O-00427

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported backlog in at-home COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine appointments in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

Question reference: S6W-04138

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the provision of community rehabilitation services for people with neurological conditions.

Question reference: S6W-04137

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures unwarranted geographic inequalities in MS and neurology services, and what plans it has to address any such inequalities.

As part of delivering the Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action and meeting the National Health and Well-being Outcomes, we are working closely with health and social care services to contribute in reducing health inequalities. We will continue this work over the course of the Framework, ensuring the necessary resource is directed at addressing the underlying causes of health inequalities.

We anticipate that resources such as the Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register will inform this work, through enhancing our understanding of the MS epidemiology and landscape in Scotland, and helping us to identify where we can focus work to further drive up standards of care.

Across the Scottish Government, and with COSLA and Public Health Scotland, work to drive improvement in health and wellbeing at a community level is being progressed. We will do this by developing a framework to support a coherent place-based approach to tackling health inequalities within communities.

Question reference: S6W-04136

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the provision of physiotherapy rehabilitation services for people with neurological conditions.

We are working to implement our ‘ Framework on Recovery and Rehabilitation from COVID-19’ , which puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings. A National Advisory Committee on Rehabilitation has been convened to oversee the implementation of the ‘Recovery and Rehabilitation Framework’. The board meets regularly, and minutes of these meetings can be viewed on our webpage here .

The rehabilitation programme has undertaken a significant scoping exercise through a self-assessment process to understand the current status of rehabilitation services in Scotland, from the perspective of the staff working in them.

The self-assessment tool has been circulated to all NHS Boards, Health & Social Care Partnerships, COSLA, third sector organisations, and Leisure Trusts as part of Local Authorities. The outputs from the self-assessment tool along with demand and capacity data will help us shape priorities, understand challenges and opportunities and inform funding decisions.

We will develop and implement a rehabilitation plan that will ensure everyone who requires rehabilitation will be able to access it, including those with a neurological condition.

Question reference: S6W-03155

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the QR code for its COVID-19 vaccine certification system is wholly compatible with vaccine certification apps in (a) Germany and (b) all other countries.

Question reference: S6O-00406

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it last met trade unions representing Scottish Parliamentary Service and MSP staff.

Question reference: S6W-03727

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, within Control Period 6 of the East Kilbride Corridor Enhancement project, whether it still plans to deliver (a) double-tracking of the single-line section between East Kilbride and Busby railway stations, (b) the relocation of Hairmyres railway station to a new location approximately 600m to the west, (c) enhanced passenger facilities at East Kilbride railway station, including a new station building and improved passenger circulation space and (d) a four trains per hour, eight-car, zero-emissions service during peak times between East Kilbride and Glasgow Central.

Within the current control period, 2019 – 2024, it is the intention to (a) deliver the full electrification of the existing single track route between East Kilbride and Glasgow central and b) to deliver the relocation of Hairmyres railway station approx. 600 m to the west transforming it into an active travel hub.

In addition the project will c) enhance passenger facilities and circulation at East Kilbride with a new station building and d) continue to operate a four trains per hour service at peak times using cleaner, greener trains offering a zero-emissions service between East Kilbride and Glasgow Central.