- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish a new workforce plan at this stage in the COVID-19 vaccination programme and whether any such document would include proposals to reduce the presence of independent contractors in delivering vaccines.
Answer
Detailed workforce planning, in partnership with NHS Scotland health boards is underway to enable delivery of the next stage of COVID-19 vaccinations, alongside the seasonal influenza vaccination programme. On 05 July 2021, we provided health boards with the latest available planning assumptions and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. This included workforce deployment requirements, broken down by health board, alongside planning information to enable health boards to continue to work towards building a sustainable vaccinations workforce. We will share further workforce planning information with MSPs shortly on the plans for the delivery of Covid-19 and seasonal influenza vaccinations across NHS Scotland this coming autumn.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 30 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to lifting the temporary suspension of the breast screening self-referral service for women aged 70 and over where an individual has a family history of breast cancer.
Answer
The option for all women aged 71 and over to self-refer for a breast screening appointment will resume once capacity in all screening centres returns to pre-Covid or close to pre-Covid levels. This is based on the recommendation of the Scottish Screening Committee, the National Screening Oversight and the Breast Screening Programme Board, all three of whom are keeping the situation under regular review. They are also working closely with Health Boards to increase appointments and meet this criteria as soon as possible.
As breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, it can occur in more than one family member by chance, and most cases of breast cancers are not hereditary. However, particular genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, can increase the risk of developing breast cancer, and these can be passed on from parent to child. Arrangements have therefore been made to ensure that women aged 71 and over can continue to be screened for the duration of the self-referral pause if they have been identified as being at very high risk because they have BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes.
We also continue to emphasise that everyone should remain symptom aware and report any symptoms to their GP immediately for these to be investigated.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regarding the possible future use of the drug, ivermectin, to treat COVID-19 patients.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s office of the Chief Medical Officer is working closely with the UK Department of Health and Social Care and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to prioritise potential treatments for COVID-19. Further results of well-designed randomised controlled clinical trials exploring treatment efficacy of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 are awaited.
The MHRA, together with an independent advisory group, continues to review the emerging body of evidence regarding potential medicines for treatment or prevention of COVID-19, including Ivermectin.
The MHRA advises that, at this time, no application has been received for a licence for ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19, in the UK. However, should an application for a licence be made, then the MHRA has processes in place to expedite such an application, as required.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many independent contractors, including GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, are fulfilling the role of vaccinator in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, and what percentage of the total vaccination workforce is comprised of independent contractors, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
While the Scottish Government has access to management information (MI) on the number of independent contractors participating in the Covid-19 vaccination programme. This MI has not been subject to the same level of validation and checking as National Statistics or Official Statistics. Therefore, the data are not publicly available; however, as individual Health Boards have responsibility for local deployment decisions, they are best placed to advise on the composition of their respective workforces.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the research studies and clinical trials that have taken place in a number of countries to determine whether ivermectin could be used to treat COVID-19.
Answer
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK agency responsible for the approval of both clinical trials in the UK and of marketing authorisations (licences) for new medicinal products.
The MHRA is aware that ivermectin, administered orally, is being studied for safety and efficacy in numerous clinical trials worldwide. This includes an exploratory study being conducted within the UK: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04632706 . Potential new therapeutic approaches to COVID-19 are being tested through the UK-wide platform trials, including RECOVERY, PRINCIPLE and REMAP CAP. These trials are active in Scotland. The PRINCIPLE study is a UK-wide clinical trial led by the University of Oxford, evaluating potential treatments for COVID-19 including ivermectin.
The Scottish Government is closely monitoring all emerging evidence on the effectiveness of COVID-19 treatments and their clinical effectiveness in particular patient groups to ensure medicines with the greatest impact in treating COVID-19 are available for patients in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered introducing an equivalent provision in Scotland to paragraph 2.18 of the Department for Education's School Admissions Code, published in December 2014, regarding the allocation of school places for both the children of UK service personnel and crown servants.
Answer
The Scottish Government is wholehearted in its commitment to supporting our Armed Forces, veterans and their families in Scotland. We want Scotland to be the destination of choice for Service Leavers and their families and that includes Scotland being the best place in the world in which children and young people grow up and learn .
In relation to school admissions, in Scotland, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide education in their area and publish arrangements for admission of pupils to schools they manage. Local authorities can also reserve places in schools in anticipation of children who may move into the area during the school year. Our expectation is that local authorities, especially those with a significant local military presence, make efforts to engage with local armed forces bases to monitor new demand for places and work with them to identify suitable school places. We have no plans to place additional requirements on local authorities in this regard.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities on how they should process school applications from parents returning to Scotland after spending a period overseas in the role of crown servants.
Answer
In relation to school admissions, in Scotland, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide education in their area and publish arrangements for admission of pupils to schools they manage. The Scottish Government has published Choosing a School: a Guide for Parents which sets out the procedures that parents and local councils should follow in relation to school admissions. It includes specific advice for families moving into a local authority area which will also apply to Crown servants returning from a period abroad. Local authorities can also reserve places in schools in anticipation of children who may move into the area during the school year. Our expectation is that local authorities, will monitor new demand for places in order to meet increases in demand.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether indoor, close contact music lessons can take place under COVID-19 restriction level (a) 0, (b) 1 and (c) 2 provided the household and person limits are not exceeded and if music tutors are permitted to make use of instruments in another person's home for teaching purposes.
Answer
Indoor music lessons for both children and adult pupils can take place under COVID-19 restriction levels 0-3 in households or other suitable premises with relevant mitigations including appropriate hygiene measures, physical distancing, use of face coverings where it does not interfere with playing and provided the household and person limits are not exceeded. Remote or online tuition is recommended as the lowest risk option at all levels.
There are no restrictions on which instruments can be used during tuition, but the sharing of instruments is not advised, particularly brass and woodwind instruments due to the increased risk of spreading the virus. The tutor should cover this in the required risk assessment.
Further information can be found at:
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement that the UK-Australia free trade agreement will remove tariffs of up to 5% on Scotch whisky.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2021
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the average (a) hourly, (b) weekly and (c) monthly pay is of COVID-19 vaccinators, based on professional background.
Answer
Hourly rates of pay for Agenda for Change Staff are published online . Bank staff participating in the programme who do not also hold contracts of employment with the host health board are paid at the grade and pay band as specified in their bank contract, relating to the role profile pursuant to which they have been deployed.
The Scottish Government has set sessional rates of £230 and £231 for independent contractors (GPs, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists) taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. These rates, which cover a 3.5 hour session, reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals and the roles being filled in the programme.
