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-32332

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Childminding Association's statement on 25 September 2020 that almost half of all professional childminding businesses in Scotland are on the edge of financial viability and require further financial support from the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S5W-32384

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the most recent COVID-19 restrictions are based on NHS board area, rather than local authority area, in light of this approach resulting in Inverclyde being included in the strictest restrictions despite it having a lower infection rate than other areas that are not included.

The geographical extent of the current measures for the Central Belt of Scotland, which include Inverclyde, is based on clinical judgement, not only of incidence and prevalence, but also of the resilience and workload of public health teams. The Scottish Government considers that Health Boards are the appropriate administrative unit to form the basis of the geographic extent for this reason.

In terms of infection rates within Inverclyde, as well as looking at the levels of confirmed cases per 100,000 people at any given day, it is also important to look at the pace of change in confirmed cases. Two days before the announcement from the First Minister on 7 October, the rate of cases in the last week per 100,000 in Inverclyde was 44. This rate had doubled since the previous week. What was also clear is that there was evidence of the movement of cases between neighbouring areas. As such, the neighbouring areas to Inverclyde had cases significantly higher at the start of October.

Question reference: S5W-32108

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to care homes to help increase indoor visiting, in light of the winter period approaching, when the weather will not make outdoor visiting possible for many residents and visitors.

I announced on 12 October 2020 that the guidance to support care homes with visiting had been updated. This guidance provides additional advice to help care homes better balance safety with the need for family and visitor contact and it also offers greater flexibility for indoor visiting in particular, as winter approaches.

The guidance recommends easing restrictions on visiting in a range of ways, including extending indoor visits to up to four hours, and having longer outdoor visits with more people, including children and young people with safety measures such as physical distancing and PPE in place. The importance of essential visits is also emphasised, with increased flexibility being recommended such that these visits can be supported generously to prevent or respond to residents’ wellbeing, as well as in circumstances approaching end of life. The new guidance also supports increased personal interaction, as long as strict PPE and infection prevention control measures are met.

These changes will be implemented once care homes are satisfied that they can be accommodated safely, alongside existing safety measures such as the weekly testing offered to all care home staff, sample testing in homes with no cases and care homes being COVID-19 free for 28 days.

Care Home Staff Testing is a critical preventative safety measure to protecting people living in care homes and we are currently transitioning testing from UK Laboratories to NHS Regional Hubs and will continue to do this over the coming weeks.

The updated guidance is available at : https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-care-homes-visiting-guidance/ .

Question reference: S5F-04438

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2020

To ask the First Minister what extra support the Scottish Government can provide to Police Scotland to assist with the additional pressures being placed on officers dealing with COVID-19 measures.

Question reference: S5W-31822

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on pregnant teachers working in schools after 28 weeks.

The SG has published detailed guidance on the safe return to school. This is designed to safeguard the wellbeing of children, young people and staff. Whilst it sets out general guidance for all those involved in schools settings, it also recognises the importance in some circumstances of risk assessments and conversations between individuals and their healthcare professionals.

There is no suggestion that pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus than the general population as a result of their pregnancy, or are more likely to be ill. It is expected the large majority of pregnant women will experience only mild or moderate cold/flu like symptoms. Guidance for pregnant women and their employers advises that women should discuss their return to work with their employers and a risk assessment should be undertaken to ensure appropriate measures are in place to ensure safety. The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG) and The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have provided more information for both employers and pregnant women including specific advice for women who are
‎ 28 weeks pregnant and beyond. https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/2020-09-10-occupational-health-statement-rcog-rcm-fom.pdf

Question reference: S5F-04388

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the highest proportion of positive COVID-19 tests is among young adults.

Question reference: S5W-31441

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its COVID-19 guidance states regarding whether hand driers in public places can be used.

The Scottish Government published the Coronavirus (COVID-19): opening public and customer toilets guidance on 27 June 2020. https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19
-public-and-customer-toilets-guidance/pages/hygiene-measures/

The guidance was developed in consultation with the Health Protection Scotland National COVID response team. It states that as part of hygiene measures hand-drying facilities should be provided – either paper towels with appropriate and frequent waste disposal or electric hand dryers.

We are committed to keeping the guidance under constant review and it will be updated based on the latest advice from the Health Protection Scotland National COVID response team.

Question reference: S5O-04557

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Inverclyde Council, Transport Scotland and Scottish Water regarding their plans to eliminate flooding in Inverclyde.

Question reference: S5W-31185

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given consideration to introducing an official form of ID for people who are exempt from wearing face coverings due to a medical condition.

Question reference: S5F-04295

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 August 2020

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the SFA and SPFL to allow football clubs to utilise their local COVID-19 testing facilities.