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-31853

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 30 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government between what dates it plans to make flu vaccinations available to the public in 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-31839

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the need to ensure that families are able to visit loved ones who are recovering from treatment in hospital during the current pandemic.

In normal circumstances, the Scottish Government supports a person-centred, flexible approach to visiting in NHS Scotland so that people have access to families and loved ones while they are in hospital.

In the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, measures to restrict visiting were taken with great reluctance to protect patients, visitors and staff in line with public health and scientific advice.

However, mindful of the evidence that contact with, and support from, loved ones plays an important role in healing, recovery and aspects of patient safety, since July people have been able to have visits from a designated visitor in addition to the essential visits that had previously been allowed. We have produced guidance on this to support practitioners and a leaflet for members of the public, both of which are available on the Scottish Government website.

Recent increases in cases have meant that in some local authority areas it has been necessary to return to essential visits only, some examples of which include:

A parent accompanying a child or a birth partner supporting a woman during hospital visits.
When someone has reached the end of their life.
When people have a mental health issue such as dementia, autism or a learning disability, and not seeing a loved one would cause distress.

Measures to restrict visiting are being continually monitored and will be further relaxed when it is safe to do so.

Question reference: S5W-31837

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 23 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered including dementia on its list of shielding medical conditions, and to what extent it considers that people with dementia would benefit from support similar to that provided to those shielding at the height of the pandemic.

On 22 September the First Minister confirmed that Shielding would not be reinstated at this time. We will continue to monitor the evidence, and if the risks increase – whether nationally or locally – we will take the steps necessary in order to keep people as safe as possible.

At the outset of the pandemic, the four Chief Medical Officers covering Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, published a list of six groups where people would be considered to be at highest risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19.

Evidence on potential clinical risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19 has been kept under review in order to advise on whether to add or remove specific conditions to the highest risk group.

In addition, clinicians have been exercising their clinical judgement in determining who needs to be in the shielded category where patients are clinically at ‘highest risk’ of severe morbidity or mortality from COVID-19, but are not included in the above six groups.

Many people with dementia are aged over 80 years old and are considered a high risk due to advanced age and the prevalence of COVID-19 in older age groups. It is also known that there is high comorbidity between dementia and other health conditions which are already covered within shielding criteria.

We wanted to ensure people were only advised to shield themselves when it is absolutely necessary, as these measures can significantly impact on their quality of life and increase social isolation.

The lack of human contact for people living with dementia can have a detrimental effect on their condition and their general health. Continuity of care and regular communication with others can often help minimise the symptoms of confusion and loneliness associated with dementia, therefore, keeping life routine and as ‘normal’ as possible is beneficial in the longer term.

Question reference: S5W-31538

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the surgical capacity of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has been each month since May 2020.

Data on scheduled theatre operations is published monthly by Public Health Scotland in their Cancelled Planned Operations publication. The latest data for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary shows that there were 465 operations scheduled in theatres in May 2020, 689 in June 2020 and 772 in July 2020.

Data is published on the first Tuesday of each month, with data for August 2020 due to be published on 6 October 2020. You can find the full publication here: https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/healthcare-resources/waiting-times/cancelled-planned-operations/ .

Question reference: S5W-31537

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how may beds NHS Grampian has procured through its lease agreement with BMI Albyn Hospital.

The Scottish Government have overseen national use of Independent Sector capacity throughout the pandemic. Our strategy has been to ensure this capacity is available to the NHS, providing a COVID free environment for urgent elective, primarily cancer, procedures to be undertaken. Under these arrangements, BMI Albyn have carried out 494 outpatient appointments and 996 urgent elective or cancer surgical procedures.

Question reference: S5T-02386

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent figures showing that Scotland’s daily COVID-19 cases are at a four-month high.

Question reference: S5O-04560

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle littering in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S5O-04520

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking in response to the UHI publication, The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community.

Question reference: S5W-31084

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 18 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it determined that the number of people who can attend places of worship for communal services and prayer should be limited to 50.

I recognise how difficult it has been for Scotland’s faith communities to be unable to come together in large groups within places of worship at this challenging time, and understand the important role of congregational worship in supporting spiritual wellbeing. We do not want restrictions to last any longer than is necessary but must ensure that people who enter places of worship to undertake congregational activities will be safe.

Decisions about what restrictions to place on sectors or activities on our route out of lockdown have been guided by the principles set out in our Framework for Decision Making. We have sought to reduce broader health, economic and societal harm, but always with the necessity to suppress the virus. This has led to some difficult decisions about how best to balance the various harms.

For many of our faith communities, places of worship are also community spaces where individuals meet to worship, pray and interact with others from across their congregation. To support this, places of worship are not caught by the same restrictions on household gatherings as, for example, hospitality settings such as pubs and restaurants.

In order to limit the risk of transmission of the virus, we must take a cautious approach and ensure that the total number of people interacting with each other within places of worship remains at a manageable level. This is currently set at 50 people at a time. Our guidance on safe capacities was developed in discussion with our faith communities and we will continue to work closely with them as we move towards fully reopening places of worship as soon as it is safe to do so.

The 50 person limit will be reviewed on 20 August as part of our commitment to review restrictions every three weeks, as outlined in the Framework for Decision Making.

Question reference: S5T-02313

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 37 hospital patients were transferred to care homes after testing positive for COVID-19.