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-33156

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many doses of vitamin D supplements the NHS has, and how it anticipates this supply will be used throughout the winter months.

Question reference: S5W-33155

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with care homes in anticipation of offering vitamin D supplements to all care home residents.

Current advice for all age groups on the use on vitamin D is available at: www.gov.scot/publications/vitamin-d-advice-for-all-age-groups .

The Scottish Government will work with stakeholders along with the UK Government and devolved administrations to consider and review emerging evidence for care home residents but decisions on whether to prescribe vitamin D for people in care homes are made on an individual basis. Clinical advice has been sought and we have asked the Clinical and Professional Advisory Group for Care Homes to consider this matter. Guidance will be developed and issued to care homes as appropriate.

Question reference: S5W-33157

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent Académie Nationale de Médicine study in France, which states that vitamin D is effective in tackling illnesses that can affect the respiratory system, such as COVID-19.

The Scottish Government is guided by the consensus of scientific evidence as presented to all UK nations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

We note the study in France. SACN and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published the outcome of reviews on vitamin D and COVID-19 in June this year. Both found no compelling evidence to suggest vitamin D can improve COVID-19 outcomes, or that vitamin D supplementation can prevent acute respiratory tract infection in the general UK population. SACN’s statement is at:

https://app.box.com/s/g0ldpth1upfd7fw763ew3aqa3c0pyvky

The summary of NICE’s review is at:

https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/es28/chapter/Key-messages

We will continue to be guided by SACN as the evidence base on vitamin D develops.

Question reference: S5W-33238

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken an assessment of the impact of undiagnosed dyslexia in workplaces.

At present, a national assessment of the impact of undiagnosed dyslexia has not been undertaken. However, we continue to work with Dyslexia Scotland on different aspects of Disability Employment Policy, including involvement in the Scottish Access to Work Stakeholder Forum.

Dyslexia Scotland receive funding through The Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) fund, as well as further funding of £200,000 p.a from the Support and Wellbeing Unit in Scottish Government to provide information, advice and support to people with dyslexia and those who support them.

Question reference: S5W-33239

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people currently in receipt of Universal Credit have been diagnosed with dyslexia, and what specific support is offered to people with the condition to help them return to employment.

As Universal Credit remains a reserved benefit, The Scottish Government does not produce or hold this management information and your request should be directed towards the UK Government.

People who have been diagnosed with dyslexia and require support to return to work may be eligible for Fair Start Scotland.

Fair Start Scotland is the first fully devolved national employment support service and supports those further removed from the labour market. The service provides flexible support to individuals, taking into account personal circumstances and removing barriers to accessing work. The most recent statistics published show that large numbers of people with health and learning related barriers have already been supported, with over 24,000 people participating in the service and over 7,000 people moving into work.

The Scottish Government publishes quarterly statistics on Fair Start Scotland. The most recent publication can be found at the link below.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-7/

Question reference: S5W-33240

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Skills Development Scotland’s five-year MA Equality Action Plan, which was published in December 2015, in relation to people with dyslexia.

Each year, Skills Development Scotland publishes an annual progress report for the Apprenticeship Equality Action Plan detailing the actions it has taken to ensure that individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds, including individuals with dyslexia, can access work-based learning opportunities such as Apprenticeships and achieve equitable outcomes.

This year’s report was published on 9 November 2020 and highlights the work undertaken in 2019-2020, to help individuals access Scotland’s Apprenticeship Family of offerings and to support employers develop inclusive approaches to recruitment. It also summarises Skills Development Scotland’s planned activity for 2020-21 and can be viewed at: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/47244/equality-action-plan-2020.pdf.

Question reference: S5T-02550

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any relaxation of restrictions over the Christmas period.

Question reference: S5W-33229

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £23 million in reserve for the Scottish Welfare Fund has been used, and whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority of where it has been allocated.

We announced on 20 October that Local authorities are to be given flexibility to use £20 million of the £23 million previously held in reserve to meet the needs of people in their communities. This may include supplementing local budgets for the Scottish Welfare Fund to meet demand, providing financial support to tackle food insecurity or to meet fuel costs, or boosting local funding for Discretionary Housing Payments.

The remaining £3 million of the £23 million has been allocated to support the provision of Discretionary Housing Payments and will be distributed to local authorities shortly.

Once allocations are made, the amounts provided to each local authority for both purposes will be visible on the Communities Funding Mapping Tool: https://community-funding-mapping-1-1-scotgov.hub.arcgis.com/

Question reference: S5W-33033

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 18 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide funding to Scottish Water for the period 2021-27 in order for rural communities to be connected to the public water network, in light of concerns regarding inadequate sewage systems in some areas.

In the coming investment period 2021-27 Scottish Water must address many investment priorities across the water and sewerage networks within a finite set of resources, and the focus will be on meeting legally binding standards. Scottish Water is working with stakeholders and customers to develop a new investment prioritisation framework which will identify and assess development needs across the networks on a rolling basis throughout the period. This may include rural provision schemes where the need is identified as urgent or appropriate.

Question reference: S5O-04768

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Police Scotland to tackle crime in the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency.

This year the Scottish Government has increased funding for policing in Scotland by £60 million to more than £1.2 billion. This 5.1% rise, compared to 2019-20, is ensuring that Police Scotland can maintain officer numbers, enhance its community policing capability and maintain and modernise its estate.

At 30 September 2020, there were 17,249 officers, which is significantly above the level inherited in 2007, with a higher number of officers than at any time during the previous administration.

It is encouraging to note where progress has been made within the Scottish Borders, including a 27% fall in dishonest crime and a 58% fall in vandalism since 2006-07. We also know that people living in Scotland’s rural areas are less likely to be a victim of crime now than a decade ago.

However we must not be complacent, we will continue to bear down on crime in Scotland, through protecting police budgets and substantial investment in preventative programs.