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: S6W-01591

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider expanding the number of suppliers offering COVID-19 testing kits to those travelling abroad.

The Covid-19 test kits are home PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace. Currently, we are not using private test providers for international travellers arriving into Scotland from green and amber list countries.

We are having on-going discussions with the UK government on using private test providers, particularly about the speed and reliability of the flow of data from private companies. We are keen to understand fully the key performance indicators (KPIs) that have been recently set for these companies and the process should these not be met.

Question reference: S6W-01298

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will offer COVID-19 vaccinations to 17-year-olds entering further or higher education in 2021-22 prior to the start of the academic year.

All young people 16 to 17 years of age are now being offered the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination in Scotland. In line with the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), they will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. People who are 16 or 17 in mainland Scotland will be invited to register their interest through the online portal at NHS Inform, and will then be sent an appointment via SMS or email. Eligible young people in Shetland, Orkney and Western Isles will be contacted by their health board and invited to attend clinics.

Drop-in clinics are available for 16 to 17-years-olds. Anyone who doesn’t register an interest or attend a drop-in clinic, will be sent an appointment invitation through the post.

Question reference: S6W-01856

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what support is being offered to dental practices to assist them in addressing long waiting times for patients.

The dental sector has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Pre-COVID levels of patient volume are currently not achievable within the current framework of infection, protection and control (IPC) measures.

The Scottish Government has recently announced a 50 per cent increase in free PPE to dental practices and new funding of £5m to support improved ventilation facilities in dental surgeries. Both these measures are intending to increase the productivity of practices, enabling them to see more patients, within the current set of IPC constraints.

We can also confirm that we are working closely with UK partners as part of the review of IPC Guidance as we emerge from this pandemic. The intention is to ensure that as soon as it is safe to do so dental services can resume normal levels of activity.

Question reference: S6W-00442

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there are no discrepancies in pay between nurses and other healthcare workers who administer COVID-19 vaccinations.

We have worked to ensure that nobody is placed at detriment as a result of their participation in the programme as a vaccinator.

Our desire to protect as much of Scotland’s population as quickly as possible has necessitated the deployment of all available resources, and the rate of progress we have seen would not have been possible without the mobilisation at pace of a large, capable and diverse workforce. We are grateful for the contribution nurses have made alongside other Healthcare Professionals.

It is our expectation that reliance on the temporary measures currently in place will reduce as Health Boards continue with efforts to recruit a sustainable vaccinator workforce.

Question reference: S6W-00576

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been recorded on the palliative care register in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

This information is not collected centrally on a national palliative care register, however, under the Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (Scotland) Directions 2018, Health Boards should each have a local Palliative Care Scheme in place to ensure that patients within their areas who reach the last days of their life receive appropriate high quality care. Health Boards are responsible for contracting with GP practices in their areas to assess patients appropriately.

Question reference: S6O-00040

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, 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 action it is taking to support the arts and cultural sector in Glasgow, in light of the continued impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-00113

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support homeowners who are facing difficulties in selling their properties due to building cladding.

Homeowners whose flats have external cladding are being offered a safety assessment, costs of the ‘Single Building Assessment’ announced on 19 March will be met by the Scottish Government. The whole building approach, will release affected buyers and sellers from difficulties in accessing mortgages without them having to pay for the current External Wall System (EWS1) Report on their individual property.
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The phased approach to the introduction of SBA, started on 31 March with an invitation to affected homeowners to submit data about their buildings and ‘expression of interest’ in participating in a pilot exercise in June.

Where problems are identified with the cladding system in place this will help to identify the scale of funding needed to take necessary remedial work. Where problems are not identified, this will assist with the property sale process.

Question reference: S5W-35981

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the cleaning sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, our support for business totals more than £3 billion, more than a third of total COVID-19 funding. We recognise that businesses which have been able to remain open, such as those in the cleaning sector, have also been affected by restrictions. This is why we increased our support through the discretionary fund to £120 million enabling local authorities to support businesses in their area which had not yet received any financial support based on local economic needs.

Question reference: S5W-36142

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been (a) built and (b) refurbished through the Islands Housing Fund.

Question reference: S5W-36139

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been (a) built and (b) refurbished through the Rural Housing Fund.

There have been 80 homes completed through the Rural and Islands Housing Funds. Of these 54 have been built and 13 refurbished through the Rural Housing Fund. Eight homes have been built and five refurbished through the Islands Housing Fund. A further 85 homes are currently under construction of which 25 are on islands.

A total of £17,900,505 has been allocated from the Rural and Islands Housing Funds, which includes the full £5 million of the Islands Housing Fund.

The Scottish Government announced on 11 November 2020 that these demand-led funds would continue beyond March 2021 as a continuing scheme with up to £30 million being made available as part of our future Affordable Housing Supply Programme.