Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-00006

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing COVID-19 vaccinators with the same rate of remuneration, irrespective of professional background.

Our desire to protect as much of Scotland’s population as quickly as possible has necessitated the deployment of all available resources, and the rate of progress we have seen would not have been possible without the mobilisation at pace of a large, capable and diverse workforce. We have worked to ensure nobody is placed at detriment as a result of their participation in the programme as a vaccinator.

It is our expectation that reliance on the temporary measures currently in place will reduce as Health Boards continue with efforts to recruit a sustainable vaccinator workforce.

Question reference: S6W-00114

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the role played by private agency workers in supporting health and social care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government is deeply grateful for the role that all health and social care workers have played during the Covid-19 pandemic, whether employed directly or through agency contracts.

Our health and social care systems have experienced extraordinary levels of service demand during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although permanent recruitment is always the primary solution to NHS staffing needs, we have encouraged NHS Boards to make full use of NHS bank, agency and locum staff where necessary, to address immediate staffing needs during the emergency stages of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-00115

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many professional private agency staff have supported the health and social care response to the COVID-19 pandemic, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of private agency staff employed by NHS Boards. Data is published annually, in June, by NHS Education for Scotland on the total medical agency spend by NHS Scotland Boards; and the total WTE hours and cost for Nursing and Midwifery bank and agency staff. This data is not broken down by the number of individual staff members involved.

This information can be found in the ‘Medical and Dental’ and ‘Nursing and Midwifery’ dashboards, available through the following link:

https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/workforce-official-statistics/nhsscotland-workforce/publications/01-june-2021/

Question reference: S6W-00116

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will give further consideration to extending the £500 bonus for health and social care staff to all private agency workers who have supported the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are hugely grateful to the efforts of health and social care staff across Scotland who have risen to the challenge of responding to the pandemic. This thank you payment recognised the particular debt we all owe to NHS and social care staff who have been on the front line of this crisis, helping to save lives and to protect us all.

For people working for private employers such as an Agency, it would be for their employer to determine their remuneration and any additions to existing pay which may be appropriate for these staff.

Agency staff are free to apply for and take up a post in the NHS or Social Care if they wish to enjoy the same benefits as the NHS or Social Care workforce. There are many flexible options available including working via the NHS Staff Bank, part-time and term-time working, all of which allow individuals to balance work and other commitments.

Question reference: S6O-00024

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the research led by Newcastle University and published in The Lancet into outcomes arising from Minimum Unit Pricing.

Question reference: S6W-00002

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to allowing university students arriving back in the country from studying abroad to (a) be exempted from the requirement to enter a period of managed isolation at a quarantine hotel for 10 days or (b) complete the period of quarantine at their home address.

The Scottish Government has been exploring with the university sector how student accommodation could be used for the purposes of managed isolation for students returning to Scotland after a period of study abroad.

Restrictions around international travel are in place to limit the risk of importing new cases and variants to Scotland. Currently, only students arriving back in Scotland from studying abroad in a ‘red-list’ country need to go into managed isolation in a hotel. Students arriving from amber list countries can complete their period of self-isolation at their home address.

Question reference: S6W-00003

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 25 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on university students arriving back in the country from studying abroad being asked to pay £1,750 for a 10-day period in a quarantine hotel, and whether it will consider reimbursing their full costs.

The Scottish Government has been working with the university sector to explore what measures can be put in place for students returning to Scotland after an education exchange programme, who may be subject to managed isolation arrangements.

These students can apply for financial hardship support from the £22 million Higher Education Coronavirus Discretionary Fund and £3m Further Education Coronavirus Discretionary Fund. These funds were allocated to the universities and colleges in February. Institutions' assessments and awards are based on the individual circumstances involved. However, the eligible scenarios can include costs associated with travel to and from Scotland if their travel is essential and in line with current travel restrictions / exemptions, and they are in financial hardship and can demonstrate this through the institution's hardship assessment process.

Question reference: S6W-00004

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what differences in pay there are between the different professional groups that are performing COVID-19 vaccinations, and for what reason some vaccinators delivering the same service are reportedly paid less than others.

All staff employed to work on the programme are paid in accordance with nationally set terms and conditions and are working to agreed job roles.

A substantive Band 3 vaccinator is paid £20,700 rising to £22,594 (per annum). A Band 5 immunisations nurse is paid £25,100 to £31,649, in line with Agenda for Change rates. Substantive staff from other areas of the health service working overtime and redeployed staff are paid according to their terms and conditions of service. Bank staff 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 reflect both the market conditions for hiring these professionals, and the roles being filled in the programme.

The above arrangements have supported the temporary deployment of staff during the initial phases of the vaccination programme, while work is taken forward to build a sustainable vaccination workforce.

Question reference: S5W-35933

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 4 May 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) purchasing respirator hoods and stealth masks for dentists who are unable to be face fit tested for FFP3 masks, so that they can continue to undertake aerosol-generating procedures, and what assessment it has made of the costs of doing so.

It is vital that frontline staff from all clinical groups receive the protective equipment they require. For instance, National Procurement within NHS National Services Scotland (NP) are currently providing £1.5 million of PPE per week free of charge to dental contractors providing NHS care. Dentists previously sourced their own PPE. NP are also working hard to ensure a continued supply of the right PPE across a range of sizes.

Infection Prevention and Control guidance recommends use of an FFP3 respirator during Aerosol Generating Procedures in medium- and high-risk pathways (and in low-risk pathways, if staff choose this following an individual risk assessment). As such, the primary focus is on finding an appropriate FFP3 fit.

To deliver well-fitting FFP3 respirators to as many health and social care staff as possible, NP have a contract with a Scottish company to manufacture FFP3 respirators across a range of face sizes. This means NHS Scotland are receiving FFP3 respirators to a specification that better recognises the staff demographic within the health sector.

If an individual is ultimately unable to use an FFP3 respirator, and a powered respirator hood is judged by a Health Board to be the only alternative, this can be considered; but in every case this must be a clinically-led judgement and is not a matter for the Scottish Government to determine.

Question reference: S5W-35873

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many road traffic incidents there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2016-17, also broken down by the number of incidents where it was recorded that an animal was (a) injured and (b) killed.

Reported Road Casualties Scotland provides information on accidents reported to the police where one or more people have been injured. The latest statistics available are up to 2019.

The following tables show a) the number of injury accidents by council area and b) the number of injury accidents where a vehicle is recorded as hitting an animal (not including ridden horses) in the carriageway. Details on the injuries sustained by the animals are not recorded.

a) Injury road accidents by council area

	2016	2017	2018	2019
Aberdeen City	175	155	137	116
Aberdeenshire	334	252	242	198
Angus	111	135	126	96
Argyll & Bute	178	174	156	144
Clackmannanshire	69	48	34	36
Dumfries & Galloway	269	236	259	195
Dundee City	135	120	96	130
East Ayrshire	179	131	163	103
East Dunbartonshire	93	88	59	69
East Lothian	158	158	128	104
East Renfrewshire	95	95	71	65
Edinburgh, City of	1,140	905	772	744
Eilean Siar	24	17	21	25
Falkirk	235	216	166	128
Fife	452	317	328	304
Glasgow City	1,279	1,077	910	856
Highland	383	309	393	337
Inverclyde	112	91	79	97
Midlothian	166	134	119	116
Moray	75	60	50	53
North Ayrshire	186	165	147	127
North Lanarkshire	483	444	382	346
Orkney Islands	25	11	10	23
Perth & Kinross	175	204	184	128
Renfrewshire	289	260	211	162
Scottish Borders	202	185	173	149
Shetland Islands	26	16	13	22
South Ayrshire	205	157	125	123
South Lanarkshire	466	395	383	335
Stirling	177	141	127	128
West Dunbartonshire	128	114	85	72
West Lothian	331	308	283	216
Scotland	8,355	7,118	6,432	5,747

b) Injury road accidents involving animals by council area

	2016	2017	2018	2019
Aberdeen City	1	0	0	0
Aberdeenshire	2	1	3	2
Angus	1	2	1	0
Argyll & Bute	5	3	0	1
Dumfries & Galloway	2	2	1	1
East Ayrshire	0	2	0	0
East Lothian	1	1	1	1
Edinburgh, City of	1	0	0	2
Eilean Siar	0	0	1	1
Falkirk	1	1	0	0
Fife	1	0	2	0
Glasgow City	1	0	0	2
Highland	8	4	6	3
Inverclyde	1	0	0	0
Midlothian	0	1	0	0
Moray	1	1	0	1
North Ayrshire	0	0	0	1
North Lanarkshire	0	0	0	1
Perth & Kinross	2	1	1	1
Scottish Borders	2	1	1	1
Shetland Islands	0	0	1	0
South Ayrshire	1	1	0	0
South Lanarkshire	0	1	2	0
Stirling	1	1	0	1
West Lothian	1	0	0	0
Scotland	33	23	20	19

Chamber and committees