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: S5W-31236

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place for its agencies to seek approval for their staffing structures and the (a) number of promoted posts and (b) pay grades attached to such posts, and what routine periodic inspections of the staff and grading structures of its agencies takes place.

The continuing authority to determine the most appropriate staffing structures rests with the Accountable Officer within each Agency which is in line with the delegation of civil service terms and conditions of service by the Minister for the Civil Service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992. For those Agencies which are staffed with employees on Scottish Government Main (SGM) terms and conditions of employment, the evaluation and grading of posts takes place via Scottish Government People Directorate guidance. Table 1 below details the current pay and grading structure within SGM. Table 2 details the Agencies within SGM showing the number of staff at each level. Promotion is available between all pay ranges within the SGM pay and grading structure from A3 onwards.

Table1 - SGM Pay and Grading structure with effect from 1 April 2020

	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	BF	C1	C2	C3
Max-3			£26,155	£30,652	£38,541	£30,400	£48,930	£64,057	£74,038
Max-2	£20,064	£23,344	£27,150	£32,138	£39,663	£33,266	£52,478	£66,285	£74,884
Max-1	£21,148	£24,107	£28,172	£33,624	£42,194	£35,184	£56,122	£69,163	£75,728
Max	£22,232	£24,909	£29,192	£35,110	£46,599	£37,578	£61,006	£73,935	£76,574

Table 2 - staffing structure of SGM Agencies as at 31 July 2020

Agency	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	BF	C1	C2	C3
Accountant in Bankruptcy	41		46	24	12		4		1
Disclosure Scotland	141	32	55	32	26	1	6	3	1
Education Scotland	31	7	11	21	48		42	146	18
Scottish Public Pensions Agency	19	135	80	31	13	1	10	4	1
Student Awards Agency for Scotland	113	15	46	21	25		8	3	2
Transport Scotland	34	26	41	98	139	7	79	38	10
Social Security Scotland	164	36	191	130	83	3	40	14	1

Those Agencies outwith SGM should be approached separately and will be able to provide the data specific and relevant to them.

Question reference: S5W-31235

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-3085, S5W-30852 and S5W-30853 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, when it last asked the Water Industry Commission for Scotland to review its air travel policy for the conduct of its business, and what action it took to ensure that this policy was consistent with the published guidance.

Question reference: S5W-31233

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-3085, S5W-30852 and S5W-30853 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, whether it considers the Water Industry Commission for Scotland's policy on the (a) use of economy, business and first class air travel and (b) air travel loyalty schemes is consistent with the published guidance.

Question reference: S5W-30888

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29782 by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2020, how many care home residents in (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute have received COVID-19 tests since it announced the expansion of testing, whether they were symptomatic or not.

Question reference: S5W-30887

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29355 by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2020, how many COVID-19 tests have been carried out at the centres in (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute.

Question reference: S5W-31234

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 25 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S5W-3085, S5W-30852 and S5W-30853 by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020, what steps the Scottish Government takes to monitor the policies of its agencies to ensure they are consistent with the published guidance on air travel to help meet the objective of this.

Under section 46 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, around 180 public bodies listed in The Climate Change (Duties of Public Bodies: Reporting Requirements) (Scotland) Order 2015 must report annually to the Scottish Ministers on compliance with the climate change duties placed on them by section 44 of the Act.

The format of the required report includes whether public bodies have plans or strategies covering specific climate change topics, including business travel, as well as any targets for transport and travel.

Question reference: S5W-31052

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what planning it has done to support businesses and employees to minimise any economic impact in the event of a second wave of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an economic challenge on an unprecedented scale. The Scottish Government continues to take a holistic and inclusive approach to the mitigation of COVID-19’s economic impacts.

We established an independent Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, and published a response and implementation plan on 5 August 2020. Our response focusses on protecting jobs and supporting business recovery and sustainable green growth. In addition to our ongoing analysis and modelling, we continue to press the UK Government for additional resources and necessary changes to the Fiscal Framework.

Further economic policy measures, to support businesses and employees, will feature in the forthcoming Programme for Government as well as in our Infrastructure Investment Plan and our Climate Change Plan update. However, Scotland's established Zero-Covid approach remains the best way to address the risk of a second wave and the associated economic impacts.

Question reference: S5W-30826

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid by the US military to Glasgow Prestwick Airport (a) in each year since 2013 and (b) to date in 2020.

Question reference: S5W-30552

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many agency care workers are employed in the care sector; how many of these have been tested for COVID-19, and how regularly these tests are carried out.

Scottish Government does not hold information on how many agency workers are employed in the care sector, which as the member knows is delivered by a mix of private, independent and local authority providers.

Guidance has been developed to ensure that all staff deployed to care homes for adults and older people from staffing agencies are tested for COVID-19 prior to deployment. Agencies who provide staff to these care homes should utilise the UK Government employee referral portal to proactively ensure that a cohort of staff have been tested who can then be deployed in to care homes at short notice as required.

Agency staff who work in care homes on longer term contracts should be tested in the same way as substantive staff are tested in the care home, every 7 days, regardless of whether there has been a confirmed Covid-19 case in the care home or not.

Symptomatic agency care workers, not working in a care homes, can access key worker testing. More information on testing is available on the Scottish Government website - https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested/pages/overview

Question reference: S5W-30856

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Water Industry Commission for Scotland keeps separate accounts for any contracted work that it undertakes in other countries in support of the Hydro Nation initiative.