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-04938

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its advice is for people who received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in England and their second dose in Scotland and are unable to access their COVID passport.

We have established a process for individuals who have received one of their first coronavirus vaccinations outwith Scotland which allows them to upload official proof of vaccination from that country to their Scottish Vaccination record through NHS Inform . This will allow those individuals to receive a combined fully vaccinated status to show for international travel and domestic purposes.

Individuals who have been vaccinated in England or Wales can provide confirmation that they are fully vaccinated through NHS COVID Pass for domestic purposes.

Question reference: S6W-04920

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, broken down by NHS board, in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-04929

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis local authorities are able to set short-term let licensing fees, in light of there being no baseline data on the (a) number of premises to be licensed, (b) number of staff required to resource the scheme, (c) set-up costs, (d) implementation fees, (e) cost of inspections and (f) cost of appeals.

The Scottish Government published an updated Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on 23 November. The BRIA sets out the baseline data currently available and trends, including information from the non-domestic rates valuation roll and about Airbnb, which show a significant growth in the number of properties which are being used for short-term lets.

The BRIA sets out the costs to local authorities and recovery through fees, and provides indicative average fees for a low and high cost scenario. The assumptions behind the average indicative fees for a short-term lets licence have been informed by discussions with local authorities.

The Licensing Order allows local authorities to raise revenue from fees to cover the costs of establishing and running their licensing scheme. The actual fees to be charged will be determined by local authorities following Scottish Government guidance and are likely to include higher and lower tiers, reflecting the varying sizes of premises to be licensed.

The licensing scheme will help to build a comprehensive picture of short-term let activity across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04912

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) prisoners and (b) staff have received COVID-19 tests in each prison in each month since April 2020, and how many test results were (i) negative and (ii) positive.

Question reference: S6W-04931

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations in the Cross-Party Group on Heart Disease and Stroke report, A Focus on Atrial Fibrillation in Scotland, published in January 2018.

The Scottish Government published our Heart Disease Action Plan in March 2021. This sets out a number of actions to enable us to achieve our vision of minimising preventable heart disease and ensuring equitable and timely access to diagnosis, treatment and care for people with heart disease. It is relevant to a number of the recommendations of the CPG inquiry report.

Within Priority 1 of the Action Plan, there is a focus on improving the detection, diagnosis and management of risk factor conditions, including atrial fibrillation. Work is underway to deliver the commitments outlined.

In particular, the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE) is developing reporting on atrial fibrillation. This will allow GP practices to monitor patients on particular medications and make sure they are getting the right follow-up care.

The Action Plan also makes commitments to addressing the challenges facing the cardiac physiology workforce. Work is progressing on this. Furthermore, we are progressing commitments in the Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan (2019) for Scotland to promote recruitment of cardiac physiologists over the next 3-5 years into Scientist Training Programmes and Practitioner BSC Programmes.

The CPG inquiry report also identifies the importance of improving access to data to drive improvement. In April 2021 we commissioned Public Health Scotland to develop the Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme. Extensive clinical and patient engagement is currently underway to develop the audit. Two key work streams within that engagement are atrial fibrillation and cardiac devices.

Question reference: S6W-04934

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to update the SIGN guideline on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Question reference: S6W-04881

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government who designed the questionnaire for the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-04669

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03933 by George Adam on 12 November 2021, what percentage of correspondence to (a) cabinet secretaries and (b) ministers since January 2021 was answered within 20 working days, broken down by (a) month, (b) portfolio and (c) whether the correspondence was from (A) an MSP and (B) a source other than an MSP.

Question reference: S6W-04670

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03933 by George Adam on 12 November 2021, what the (a) longest and (b) average time has been for it to respond to correspondence to each (i) cabinet secretary and (ii) minister since January 2021, broken by (A) month, (B) portfolio and (C) whether the correspondence was from (1) an MSP and (2) a source other than an MSP.

Question reference: S6O-00619

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to encourage people, who are able, to donate blood, particularly during the winter period and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.