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-28174

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh will be able to accept patients.

Question reference: S5W-28924

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many times ministers have met representatives of Murray Capital and/or Charlotte Street Partners to discuss the Garden District project, and which ministers attended.

Question reference: S5W-28842

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether non face-to-face communications should be excluded from the Lobbying Register (a) during the COVID-19 outbreak and (b) at any other time, and what action it will take to amend the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 in light of COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-28385

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the advice it received from the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and National Clinical Director that supports its policy not to carry out widespread community testing for COVID-19.

The Scottish Government does not routinely publish advice to Ministers of this kind. The remit, membership and minutes of the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group, which considers the scientific and technical concepts and processes that are key to understanding the evolving COVID-19 situation and potential impacts in Scotland, can be found at the following link.

https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-government-covid-19-advisory-group/

Question reference: S5W-28422

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set for testing for COVID-19 each week since 1 February 2020, and how it has performed against each target.

Question reference: S5W-28658

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it was advised by (a) its and (b) the UK advisory group on COVID-19 that there should be a lockdown in response to the outbreak, and whether it will publish the advice that was provided.

Our decision making in the approach to responding to Covid-19 has been and continues to be guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M), which feeds into SAGE.

SAGE advises both COBR and the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) Group which comprises of the CMOs from all four administrations in the UK. Scottish Ministers received further advice from the Scottish CMO and the Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group.

Advice and guidance on moving into lockdown was provided by these groups and all decisions were made following scientific and medical advice.

Published papers from SAGE and the Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group can be found on the UK Government website and the Scottish Government website .

Question reference: S5W-28660

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it decided to introduce a lockdown in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and whether it will publish the advice that it received that led to this decision.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28658 on 18 May 2020 ; advice and guidance on moving into lockdown in response to the Covid-19 outbreak was received through SAGE, COBR, and the Scottish CMO and all decisions were made on the scientific and medical advice.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-28665

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the (a) status and (b) location of patients who were in hospitals waiting on care packages (delayed discharge cases) and who have been discharged to increase capacity for COVID-19 patients on each day since 1 February 2020.

Reducing delayed discharge is a long standing objective given the clinical benefit to patients. Following the Covid-19 outbreak the Scottish Government commenced the collection of daily delayed discharge management information from Health and Social Care Partnerships. Since recording began on 4 March over 1,000 patients whose discharge was delayed were discharged from hospital to a community setting, a 63% reduction (as at 30 April 2020).

This information does not include destination on discharge. However, based on data collected by Public Health Scotland for the February Delayed Discharge census returns suggests that around 71% of delayed discharges return to their own home, and 29% are admitted to a care home. Local information from Health and Social Care Partnerships suggests this trend has continued through the current crisis, albeit there may be some people who move temporarily to care homes before returning home.

Figures for calendar month February 2020 are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Number of discharges following a period of delay where the delay reason was awaiting completion of care arrangements or place availability 1 ; Calendar month February 2020

		Discharged To
Date of Discharge	Day of Discharge	Home 2	Placement 3	Total Discharges
01-02-2020	Saturday	13	8	21
02-02-2020	Sunday	8	1	9
03-02-2020	Monday	80	16	96
04-02-2020	Tuesday	49	19	68
05-02-2020	Wednesday	56	21	77
06-02-2020	Thursday	56	24	80
07-02-2020	Friday	52	23	75
08-02-2020	Saturday	11	5	16
09-02-2020	Sunday	3	1	4
10-02-2020	Monday	77	25	102
11-02-2020	Tuesday	51	19	70
12-02-2020	Wednesday	46	22	68
13-02-2020	Thursday	52	24	76
14-02-2020	Friday	64	27	91
15-02-2020	Saturday	10	6	16
16-02-2020	Sunday	3	0	3
17-02-2020	Monday	60	21	81
18-02-2020	Tuesday	53	29	82
19-02-2020	Wednesday	56	21	77
20-02-2020	Thursday	39	25	64
21-02-2020	Friday	42	22	64
22-02-2020	Saturday	10	3	13
23-02-2020	Sunday	5	1	6
24-02-2020	Monday	60	18	78
25-02-2020	Tuesday	51	22	73
26-02-2020	Wednesday	60	21	81
27-02-2020	Thursday	41	17	58
28-02-2020	Friday	52	15	67
29-02-2020	Saturday	8	8	16
Total in February 2020		1,168	464	1,632

1 Includes delays awaiting completion of arrangements in order to go home or awaiting place availability in a care home or other facility.

2 Home includes discharges home, and discharges home with support.

3 Placement includes discharges to care home, and other placements including Intermediate Care.

Source: Public Health Scotland

Ref: IR2020-00471

Question reference: S5W-28173

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of for what reasons the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh is not safe for patients.

The hospital is currently undergoing construction work to address the issues identified in both NSS reports I published in 2019.

Please find attached links to both National Service Scotland Reports:

Phase 1 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-national-services-scotland-review-water-ventilation-drainage-plumbing-systems-nhs-lothian-royal-hospital-children-young-people-department-clinical-neurosciences/

Phase 2 – https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-lothian-royal-hospital-children-young-people-department-clinical-neurosciences-review-fire-systems-electrical-systems-medical-gas-installations/

Question reference: S5W-28165

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all advice it has received from (a) the Chief Medical Officer, (b) the National Clinical Director and (c) any other government advisers regarding testing for COVID-19.