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: S5O-05087

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much the finance secretary has allocated to support outdoor education centres during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5O-05022

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it gives to the development of new railway infrastructure.

Question reference: S5W-35110

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 February 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to further develop the Protect Scotland app.

Close to 2 million people have already downloaded Protect Scotland, and almost 40,000 users have been advised to self-isolate by the app. However, due to the anonymous nature of the app to date those who have only been asked to self-isolate via the app – and have not been identified via the traditional contact tracing process – have not been able to use the app to provide proof for any claim for self-isolation support payments. Following careful consideration from 10 February we will introduce a mechanism for unique self-isolation certificates to be generated. These can be sent to employers or to Local Authorities in support of an application for a Self-Isolation Support Grant.

The process being applied is already live in Northern Ireland, has been ratified by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and is designed to minimise the risk of fraud.

At the same time, following a previous announcement by Apple, we will make Protect Scotland available on older iPhones. Members will recall the frustration of many users of older iPhones who were unable to use the app. Apple have now made the Exposure Notification System available on these older phones, and from 10 February Protect Scotland will be available for download onto the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.

Question reference: S5O-05003

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to coastal communities to mitigate the impact of climate change and reduce the risk of flooding.

Question reference: S5W-34822

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 28 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work being carried out to support the health and wellbeing of Scotland’s health and social care workforce at this time.

The Scottish Government is very grateful to all health and care staff for their hard work, commitment and professionalism over the Covid-19 response.

As we outlined on 22 January, the Scottish Government is pleased to be able to make £500,000 available to Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to fund additional practical support this financial year, in recognition of the support that health and social care staff may need at this time.

Today I have written to the Health and Sport Committee outlining the range of measures that the Scottish Government is taking to support the health and social care workforce.

This includes an update on the funding being allocated to Health Boards to enable them to recruit psychologists and other staff dedicated to supporting the mental health of the health and social care workforce. This funding will create up to 16 FTE posts to support the workforce over the next two financial years.

This funding to Boards is one component of a wider programme of work through the Health and Social Care Mental Health Network to support the wellbeing and mental health of the workforce, in line with the commitments made through the Programme for Government.

This includes the development of our National Wellbeing Hub and digital resources, a National Wellbeing Helpline and a new Workforce Specialist Service.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners across health and social care to respond to the emerging needs of the health and social care workforce.

Question reference: S5O-04914

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the design of new and innovative projects that can help to tackle climate change.

Question reference: S5O-04885

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how important it considers grassroots-level sport is to the health and wellbeing of communities.

Question reference: S5O-04863

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it considers the UK Internal Market Bill will have in Scotland on food standards, environmental standards and public health policies such as minimum unit pricing.

Question reference: S5O-04828

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in meeting its target of achieving net-zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.

Question reference: S5O-04784

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to small and medium-sized businesses facing difficulty as a result of the pandemic.