- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce levels of littering and fly-tipping.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 December 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration it has given to making routine COVID-19 testing available for care home visitors.
Answer
As outlined to Parliament on 25 November, lateral flow devices will be used to offer testing to designated care home visitors on the day of their visit. This will be rolled out to 14 early adopter care homes across five Local Authorities by 7 th of December, learning from this will be used to inform wider rollout. Testing kits will start to be delivered to care homes across Scotland from 14 December. It is possible that not all homes will be able to start lateral flow testing before Christmas, therefore PCR testing will also be available over the festive period.
Twice weekly testing using lateral flow devices will be rolled out to healthcare professionals who visit care homes from the beginning of December, as part of a wider extension of routine testing including all patient-facing NHS Staff in hospitals, in the Scottish Ambulance Service and in COVID assessment centres. From 11 January this will be extended to non-NHS staff including independent contractors or statutory body staff who attend care homes or provide care at home at least twice per week and have to be within 1 metre of residents, clients or patients.
Testing is only one measure of protection against COVID-19, alongside a strong emphasis on robust infection prevention and control measures, including the use of PPE, the extended use of face masks, physical distancing and good hygiene.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, The Picture of Anti-Social Behaviour in Scotland.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2020
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 December 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how it is responding to the findings of the Independent Review of Complaints Handling, Investigations and Misconduct Issues in Relation to Policing.
Answer
Dame Elish’s very significant and substantial report contains a wealth of evidence and recommendations, covering many aspects of complaints, investigations and misconduct issues. It is right that we now take time to digest this carefully and engage with the partner organisations involved. A Scottish Government response to Dame Elish’s report will be published in the new year and will indicate the way forward in terms of implementing recommendations.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31498 by Humza Yousaf on 14 September 2020, whether it will provide a further update on the progress of the Sheku Bayoh inquiry.
Answer
I am pleased to confirm that the Inquiry will formally begin its work on 30 November 2020. The Inquiry setting up date marks the point at which I hand over full responsibility of the Inquiry to Lord Bracadale and the work of the Inquiry will commence.
One of the key elements to be completed was the appointment of assessors to support Lord Bracadale in his work. I am also pleased to announce today the appointment of two highly experienced individuals – Raju Bhatt and Michael Fuller. Both bring a wealth of knowledge to the role and I am confident they will bring diversity, balance and vital experience to support Lord Bracadale during the Inquiry.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32371 by Jenny Gilruth on 3 November 2020, who was invited to participate in the roundtable with academics from partner countries and the UK on approaches to international development; whether it will publish a list of those individuals who attended, and how the invite list was determined.
Answer
As detailed in the PQ you highlight here, all the academic institutions represented at the academics roundtable on 1 October, together with a summary note of the discussions can be found on this webpage: https://www.gov.scot/policies/international-development/2020-covid-19-review/ .
A more expansive list of academics from a wider range of institutions were invited to the event and key criteria for inviting them were their academic credentials on the subject of international development; and those with ID, social and economic expertise working in academic institutions in our partner countries. To encourage a frank and honest conversation on the direction of international development and the impacts of Covid-19, I conducted the meeting under Chatham House Rule, which also extends to those who were invited but did not attend. As you will be aware, this means when a meeting, or part thereof, is held under Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but not the identity of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. However in support of transparency and openness for this review, as previously stated, the list of academic institutions represented together with a summary note of the discussions are fully available on our website.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32368 by Jenny Gilruth on 3 November 2020, whether it will accept written submissions to its review of its approach to international development, and what opportunity there is for engagement in the process beyond the events listed on its website.
Answer
As I outlined in the PQ you reference in your question, we are not running a formal written consultation in the way that we did in 2016, where at that time we were aiming to arrive at a new Scottish Government international development policy. Within this 2020 review, our partner countries are not changing. What we are looking at and reviewing instead is our approach to our work: to ensure that going forward we are re-focusing our work on areas where we can make the biggest contribution and difference in our partner countries against the backdrop of the new reality of COVID-19; and with a resulting refresh of our Strategy in mind.
I believe that events are the best way to hear people’s views and the full list of events which I have held or have attended as Minister for Europe and International Development, some of which are still to take place, is available on the Scottish Government website. A number of these events have been targeted at getting views for both our oversee partner countries and Scottish stakeholders and have been open access. For example to get views on the principles guiding the ID Review, I ran two such events online to ensure the maximum amount of people could attend and I am pleased to say over 115 Scottish and partner-counties’ stakeholders, from over 85 organisations, attended.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government when its estimates on the impact of COVID-19 on fuel poverty rates will be reviewed and updated.
Answer
We have no plans to update the experimental analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on Fuel Poverty Rates, which we published in September. The report provided estimates of the likely effects on fuel poverty rates under a wide range of scenarios. These considered the impact of varying levels of unemployment, while also taking account of the rate of furlough and modelled assumptions about the likely effects of factors such as the increased prevalence of home working on household heating and energy costs. The scenarios presented in the report are still considered to be valid and we believe they continue to cover comprehensively the range of possible impacts on fuel poverty rates arising from the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 24 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what COVID-19 guidance it has published regarding the delivery of in-person private music tuition for woodwind and brass instruments outside school hours, and what plans it has to update this.
Answer
In light of the publication of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Scotland's Strategic Framework on 23 October 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19): organised activities for children guidance for organised activities and services for children was updated on 12 November 2020. The guidance is not an instruction for all services and activities to open up at this time, since this will be based on the requirements that need to be met, relevant to each individual delivery setting. Private providers should read this guidance in conjunction with guidance for small businesses: Coronavirus (COVID-19): small and micro businesses guidance
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 November 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what flexibility there is within the Business Contingency Fund for local authorities to choose which types of businesses are eligible for support.
Answer
The first phase of the Contingency Fund was announced on 27 October and will provide grants of up to £50,000 to nightclubs and pay to play soft play centres in recognition of the fact that, prior to the introduction of the Strategic Framework, they have been closed by regulation nationally since March. As the first phase of the fund was targeted specifically at these two sectors there is no flexibility for local authorities in distributing this funding. We have, however, worked closely with both local authorities and sector representatives in developing the eligibility criteria and delivery mechanism for this financial support.
On 17 November, the First Minister also announced a £30 million discretionary fund for local authorities. How local authorities choose to spend this fund in supporting businesses is at their discretion based on the specific needs of their local economies - such as supporting supply chains. Further details of this fund will be announced shortly.
We are continuing to consider where the remainder of the Contingency Fund would be most effectively deployed in supporting businesses impact by restrictions.
