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: S6W-00523

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the total catch is that has been landed by domestic and foreign vessels in Scottish ports in each month between (a) January and May 2020 and (b) January and May 2021.

Provisional monthly data on landings (liveweight tonnes) by UK and foreign vessels into Scottish ports, January-May 2020 and January to April 2021

Month	2020	2021	% change
January	31,776	46,605	47%
February	28,839	12,224	-58%
March	21,902	20,445	-7%
April	12,007	22,236	85%
May	14,701
Total (January- April)	94,525	101,511	7%

Taken from the Marine Management Organisations national statistics publication of monthly sea fisheries statistics

Monthly UK sea fisheries statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

These statistics are provisional and will be subject to change. In particular data for the most recent months are likely to increase.

May 2021 data is currently unavailable but is due to be published on 25th June 2021.

Question reference: S5W-35324

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people on the transplant list had received their COVID-19 vaccination by 22 January 2021, and what impact the change in its prioritisation policy towards this group had.

The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that the risk increases exponentially with age. Additionally the committee considers frontline health and social care workers who provide direct care to vulnerable people a high priority for vaccination.

JCVI has provided a definition of clinically vulnerable, which is separate from extremely vulnerable, but with some overlap. Under the JCVI definition, solid organ, bone marrow and stem cell transplant recipients are considered to be clinically vulnerable.

Individuals who are defined as clinically extremely vulnerable will have been vaccinated as part of group 4. JCVI priority group 4 includes all those 70 years of age and over, and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

163,111 people who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (91% of the shielding list) have received their first dose as of 11 March 2021.

Question reference: S5O-05095

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recommendation by the Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change that policies for the agricultural sector must be created rapidly to protect the environment and meet emissions targets.

Question reference: S5O-05078

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Minister for Older People and Equalities takes to ensure that its policies do not contribute to loneliness and isolation.

Question reference: S5O-05045

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is on the economy of the Highlands for the current financial year.

Question reference: S5O-05031

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the new HMP Inverness will be completed.

Question reference: S5O-04981

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Communities Secretary last met the Chief Executive of The Highland Council.

Question reference: S5O-04965

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether all children with learning disabilities in early years education are being identified and diagnosed to ensure that they are receiving targeted support.

Question reference: S5W-33218

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Lot 1 of the R100 high-speed broadband programme, whether it is on track to finalise the contract award to BT by the end of 2020; when the contract award with BT will be finalised, and when it will announce the revised delivery schedule for Lot 1.

We are in the final stages of finalising the R100 North Lot (Lot 1) contract award and remain on track to sign the contract by the end of this calendar year. The contract will ensure delivery of future-proofed broadband infrastructure to homes and businesses across the North of Scotland, including in some of our most remote parts and all of our islands communities.

Once the contract is signed, we will work with BT to finalise planned coverage, taking into account the latest information on commercial coverage, and immediately start site surveys and build. Parliament will be kept informed and the online checker, available to the public, will be updated in a timely manner as premises level detail flows through.

Our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS), which has now launched, will ensure that everyone who requires a superfast broadband connection by the end of 2021 can have one - including those in the R100 North Lot.

Question reference: S5W-33217

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 3 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Lot 1 of the R100 high-speed broadband programme, how many properties (a) are eligible and (b) have applied for each level of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, and, in the event that applications are made to the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme prior to its link-up with the UK Government’s Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme, whether applicants can benefit from the top-up retrospectively.

At present, any premises in the North of Scotland (Lot 1) of our £600m R100 Superfast Broadband programme that are not able to access a superfast speed of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) or above is eligible for a ‘main’ voucher – worth up to £5,000 – through the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS). As of 18 November 2020, the SBVS team has received 53 requests for vouchers in the Lot 1 area.

Suppliers have also now been made aware of the link-up we have secured between the UK Government’s Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme vouchers (RGVS) and the SBVS vouchers since the launch of the SBVS on 14th September 2020, so there is no requirement for retrospective SBVS applications to be made. This enables these benefits from our £5,000 per premises voucher, under SBVS, to receive a top-up under RGVS of a further £3,500 for an SME business or £1,500 for a residential address.