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: S6O-00030

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the local government minister has had with the finance secretary regarding creating a permanent financial settlement for local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-00148

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to disseminate information on the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 to communities in the northeast of Scotland, and who is responsible for this.

The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 removed the common law defence of “reasonable chastisement” from the law of Scotland on 7 November 2020.

That Act also provides that the Scottish Ministers are to take such steps as they consider appropriate to promote public awareness and understanding about the removal of the defence.

The Scottish Government has taken a variety of steps to achieve this, including:

Information about the Act on gov.scot Information about the Act on Mygov.scot A dedicated page about the Act on ParentClub
The publication of a news release
Social media activity:
The ParentClub Instagram account - post on the Act
The ParentClub Facebook account - post on the Act
Scottish Government education tweet about the Act
Scottish Government tweet about the Act
The creation and publication of promotional materials about the Act for parents and carers, and for children and young people
The publication of an Easy Read factsheet about the Act
Writing to organisations, including local authorities and health boards, with information about the Act:
May 2020 letter
October 2020 letter and framework document
Arranged for information about the Act to be included in Ready Steady Baby

More generally, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting parents. The Scottish Government has run a marketing campaign which promotes positive parenting. This can be seen on the ParentClub website .

Working with the Implementation Group formed by the Scottish Government to consider work required to implement the Act, we will continue to explore options for raising public awareness and understanding about the removal of the defence.

Question reference: S6W-00181

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of people receiving letters saying they have not attended their COVID-19 vaccine appointment after receiving their first dose, and whether it can confirm that (a) medical records will not be affected and (b) people will still be invited for their second dose of the vaccine.

I’m sure you can appreciate the vaccination program has been delivered at a pace and scale we have never experienced before and as such this is one of the largest and most complicated logistical exercises ever undertaken in peacetime. Over 3,267,290 people have received the first dose and 2,075,231 people have received the second dose of the Covid vaccination in the period 8 December to 7:30 am Tuesday 01 June. This is over 71% of our eligible population for the first dose and 45% for second doses.

With any operation of such scale, it is regrettable the administrative errors have occurred.

In a small number of cases across different health boards, some people have received letters incorrectly saying that they had not attended their first vaccination appointment, when they had.

If someone has received one of these letters, and they have had their 1st dose vaccination – they should phone the national phone line on 0800 030 8013 – to help us make sure your central record is up to date and ensure your 2nd appointment is provided for you. We apologise for the inconvenience or confusion that this has caused.

Question reference: S6W-00401

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when dental work under the NHS will be available again for all new mothers up to their child’s first birthday.

Throughout the pandemic NHS patients, including new mothers, have been able to receive care and treatment, including aerosol generating procedures (AGPs), through one of 75 urgent dental care centres in Scotland. We have taken a precautionary approach to the remobilisation of NHS dental services but work has been carried out at pace to improve our understanding and risk management of COVID-19 transmission in dental settings, and since 1 November 2020 dentists have been able to provide the full range of NHS care and treatment to patients.

Question reference: S6W-00065

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are to introduce vaccine certification for people who have received their COVID-19 vaccine.

Question reference: S6W-00195

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether people travelling to Scotland will be able to buy PCR tests from providers such as Eurofins, in line with other parts of the UK, as opposed to more expensive COVID-19 travel tests purchased through the CTM Booking Portal.

To date, we have required travellers to use the NHS tests, which can be booked through the UK Government’s booking portal for international travel.

The purpose of these tests is to identify any positive cases as quickly as possible so that contact tracing and genomic sequencing can be carried out and minimise the chances of delays and the risk of community transmission of the virus.

A robust and fast flow of data from laboratories to Public Health Scotland is therefore essential, and we have had concerns that private sector tests would not be able to meet these requirements.

However, we fully understand how difficult the restrictions on international travel are, both for the sector and for individuals who are keen to travel to see family, as well as for other important reasons. We are therefore exploring options to allow private sector testing to be used for people arriving in Scotland, provided we can ensure the swift and accurate flow of data to Public Health Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-00281

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the telemedical abortion care, “pills by post”, which is provided to women who are unable to access a hospital or specialist clinic for the administration of the medication required to terminate pregnancies, will still be made available after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early medical abortion at home and the changes adopted in March 2020 to enable women to take the first abortion drug, mifepristone, at home where this was felt to be clinically appropriate for them and where the patient wished to do so has been an important measure to ensure abortion services continued to be delivered throughout the pandemic, without delays. The ‘Pills by Post’ service is an English service, which is not provided in Scotland. While many NHS Boards in Scotland are following similar arrangements, medication is in most cases delivered or collected from a clinic, rather than being sent by post.

The Scottish Government launched a public consultation on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home on 30 September 2020, which closed on 5 January 2021. Responses to the consultation have been published on the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space website. The future arrangements for early medical abortion at home are being considered in light of the findings from the consultation and other available evidence and the Scottish Government plans to confirm our approach this summer.

Question reference: S6W-00118

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what COVID-19 protections will be in place for the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, which will be held in Aberdeen.

Domestic and international elite sporting events are permitted to take place in all strategic framework levels.

Any event organiser must comply with the protocols set out under the Resumption of Performance Sport guidance and run their event in a strict ‘bubble’. Events must have specific Covid secure plans in place and ensure that they have an appropriate testing regime; a clear statement on minimising or eliminating any unavoidable encroachment of physical distancing within the event environment; restrict movement of participants to designated accommodation, training and competition sites; and have contact only with other accredited event participants unless for other exceptional reasons such as medical need or legal requirements. Event participants must also adhere to the international travel regulations for Elite Sportspeople.

The Scottish Government and the sportscotland Institute of Sport (SIS) reviewed the comprehensive plans put forward by the World Curling Federation in advance of the event being approved.

Question reference: S6W-00101

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence is available to support the continued need for pupils to wear face coverings in schools.

The Covid-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues discussed the issue of face coverings in secondary schools at its meeting on 1 June. While vaccination is being rolled out, non-pharmaceutical interventions such as face coverings are the main public health tool against COVID-19. There is a wealth of evidence supporting the efficacy of face coverings, and their use is supported by the WHO in its checklist to support school re-opening . Given the current uncertainty around the transmissibility and impact of the new variant of concern (B.1.617.2) the sub-group felt it was best to take a precautionary approach and has advised, therefore, that the current guidance on face coverings in school settings should remain in place. The sub-group will continue to keep the issue under review. You will find all the minutes of sub-group meetings, as well as the sub-group's advice and associated evidence at Coronavirus (COVID 19): Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-00140

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the COVID-19 vaccination status letter complies with foreign border requirements, particularly those for green list countries.