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-35495

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the 50 mph speed limit trial for HGVs on the A9 between Dunblane and Inverness, and when the results of the trial will be published.

Question reference: S5W-35496

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with external organisations regarding extending the 50 mph speed limit trial for HGVs on the A9 to other single-carriageway trunk roads.

We have not had any discussions with external organisations on extending the 50 mph speed limit trial for HGVs on the A9 to other single-carriageway trunk roads. The recently published Road Safety Framework to 2030 has committed to undertaking a National Speed Management Review; this will include the consideration of HGV speed limit policy. The review will commence during the current year and will consider appropriate vehicle speeds within a Scottish context. The process, which will include stakeholder and public consultation, will thereafter consider whether any changes to speed limits may be beneficial for specific locations on the trunk road network.

Question reference: S5W-35497

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of a 50 mph speed limit for HGVs on single-carriageway trunk roads in England and Wales.

My officials have had continued engagement with officials from the UK Government ahead of the publication of the Department for Transport three year evaluation of HGV Speed Limit Increase in England and Wales. The recently published Road Safety Framework to 2030 has committed to undertaking a National Speed Management Review; this will include the consideration of the outcomes of their report as well as other evidence from across the world that is relevant to HGV speed limit policy. The review will commence during the current year and will consider appropriate vehicle speeds within a Scottish context. The process, which will include stakeholder and public consultation, will thereafter consider whether any changes to speed limits may be beneficial for specific locations on the trunk road network.

Question reference: S5O-05098

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria the tourism sector must meet to ensure that people's summer holiday bookings will be honoured.

Question reference: S5W-35200

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are waiting for cataract operations.

Data at sub-specialty level on patients waiting for cataract surgery is not currently available.

However, information on patients awaiting treatment across all surgical sub-specialties in ophthalmology is available and is published quarterly by Public Health Scotland. Information on patients waiting for inpatient and day cases treatment as at 31 December 2020 is due to be published 9 March 2020 on the IDS Scotland website .

Question reference: S5W-35199

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that people waiting for cataract operations can access surgery at the earliest possible date.

Health boards have resumed cataract services as far as possible however due to the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for infection prevention control measure to be in place, is it inevitable that fewer patients are being treated.

To supporting cataract waiting lists throughout the pandemic an additional £3 million was made available to support capacity for out-patient reviews of hospital eye services’ patients.

In line with guidance issued by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, a risk stratification process has been introduced to ensure that patients at most risk of permanent sight loss are prioritised for treatment. In addition, we continue to explored all options to increase the number of surgeries that can be safely undertaken including reviewing the current capacity and available workforce to deliver treatments.

Question reference: S5W-35201

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many cataract operations have been carried out in each of the last three years by (a) NHS Golden Jubilee, (b) the other NHS boards and (c) other providers of services to the NHS.

The following table outlines details of the number of Ophthalmology procedures carried out in all treatment settings from 2017 to the most recent published data in 2019-2020.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold sub speciality data on cataract procedures. Information held is only at speciality level as set out below .

NHS Board of Treatment	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
NHSScotland	42,014	44,810	45,865
National Waiting Times Centre (Golden Jubilee)	6,798	7,492	8,823
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	3,300	2,492	2,599
NHS Borders	1,161	1,135	1,238
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	1,641	1,724	1,918
NHS Fife	2,404	2,532	2,530
NHS Forth Valley	1,644	1,718	173
NHS Grampian	2,056	3,126	4,109
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	8,310	8,283	8,789
NHS Highland	2,630	2,833	2,460
NHS Lanarkshire	1,829	2,181	2,258
NHS Lothian	4,474	6,480	6,237
NHS Orkney	131	121	123
NHS Shetland	111	140	124
NHS Tayside	3,895	3,540	3,496
NHS Western Isles	295	333	313
Non-NHS Provider	1,335	680	675

Question reference: S5W-35142

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Managed Isolation Welfare Fund will be launched for travellers in enforced quarantine; what level of financial support applicants to the fund will be able to receive, and when eligible travellers will receive their funding.

The Scottish Government is actively working with the UK Government to ensure that financial support can be provided to eligible travellers. The UK system that enables travellers to book managed isolation facilities and pay associated fees has been set up at pace and changes need to be made to that system in order to waive fees in certain cases. This support will be available as soon as it can practically be delivered.

Question reference: S5W-35147

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether a review has been carried out of the (a) scope and (b) timescale of the A96 dualling project.

The Scottish Government remains committed to providing a dual carriageway between Inverness and Aberdeen.

All Major trunk road projects are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we deliver the right schemes and keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum and the A96 Dualling is no exception to that.

Details of the outcome of each stage in the design and assessment process which have been progressed to date for each section in preparation are available from the Transport Scotland website at https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/a96-dualling-inverness-to-aberdeen/ .

Delivery of each section of the programme can only commence if approved under the relevant statutory procedures and thereafter a timetable for progress can be set.

Question reference: S5W-35149

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is carrying out an analysis of what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the (a) delivery and (b) cost of the A96 dualling project and, if so, whether it will publish the findings of this before a decision is made on the East of Huntly-Aberdeen route.

Where it is possible to do so, our consultants continue to advance design work during the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst complying with current restrictions. While we continue to progress as much as we can during this time, there have been some delays to progressing some preparatory work due to the pandemic, for example essential site surveys.

As such it is likely that there will be some impact on each of the sections comprising the A96 Dualling however it is too early to say what that full impact will be.

Following conclusion of route option assessment work, a preferred option for the East of Huntly to Aberdeen section was announced in December 2020. A copy of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Stage 2 Scheme Assessment Report, which reports on the outcome of the route option assessment process, is available on the Transport Scotland website https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/dmrb-stage-2-assessment-report
-east-of-huntly-to-aberdeen-a96-dualling/ .

The next stage in the design process is to progress the detailed development and assessment of the preferred option and during this stage the estimate cost of the scheme will continue to be refined and updated as the design becomes more developed. Further consultations will also be undertaken as part of this process and the vital feedback received will be taken into account as we further develop the proposed scheme.