- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether existing air quality monitoring sites have been verified as best placed for including monitoring of non-exhaust emissions (NEE), and if monitoring of NEE currently takes place.
Answer
The Scottish air quality monitoring network consists of around 100 central government and local authority operated sites across the country. Monitoring sites are generally located at known pollution hotspots where there is relevant public exposure, and also at background sites to provide a baseline for comparison.
Air quality monitoring measures the total concentrations of pollutants in ambient air from all sources. Emissions from specific sources such as NEE are estimated taking into account a range of information such as monitoring data, national statistics and other datasets.
Annual emissions estimates for tyre wear, brake wear and road abrasion arising from fine particulate matter and benzo(a)pyrene for the period 1990 to 2018 (the most recent year for which data are available) can be found in the report 'Air Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:1990-2108' - https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/assets/documents/reports/cat09/2010220959_DA_Air_Pollutant_Inventories_1990-2018_v1.2.pdf
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01221 by Maree Todd on 23 July 2021, what consideration it has given to a voucher scheme that could be administered on a first-come, first-served basis, as opposed to an entitlement, in order to take the action outlined without the requirement for primary legislation.
Answer
The Scottish Government has committed to the removal of all NHS dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament.
All dental charges were suspended in the initial period of lockdown through to 31 October 2020. Pregnant women and nursing mothers who required urgent or emergency dental care would still be seen during this period.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01291 by Maree Todd on 26 July 2021, what date has been decided for the restarting of the over-70's self-referral breast cancer scheme, and, if no decision has been reached, whether it can confirm if the scheme will be expected to restart by the end of 2021.
Answer
The timing for restarting the over-70’s self-referral scheme is regularly reviewed. The Breast Screening Programme Board (BSPB) agreed criteria to resume the option for women over 70 to self-refer in line with the programme’s recovery route map. The option for women over 70 to self-refer into the breast screening programme will resume once all screening centres are able to offer those aged 53-70 their breast screening appointments within 39 months of their previous screening. Progress towards this criteria is being closely monitored, and the National Screening Oversight, National Screening Committee and BSPB continue to work with Health boards to increase the number of available appointments within the programme.
Regardless of their age, women should remain symptom aware and report any symptoms to their GP immediately for these to be investigated.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 August 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide funding to cover the repair of vandalised defibrillators, to ensure this equipment can be returned to service as soon as possible.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not routinely provide funding for Public Access Defibrillators (PAD). The purchase of PADs is usually through fundraising in the community, from charitable sources or business resources. Charities and organisations including the British Heart Foundation provide access to subsidised defibrillators.
In March this year, the Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS) partnership published an updated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest strategy and a key part of this programme of work is to ensure mapping, maintenance and accessibility of defibrillators.
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is committed to supporting and improving the use of defibrillators across Scotland. SAS support and advice on Public Access Defibrillators (PAD) is available to any council, community, organisation or business from their community resilience teams. Further information can be found at:
www.scottishambulance.com/YourCommunity/Default.aspx .
We would encourage anyone wishing to install a PAD to work with a community group, if possible a specific community PAD group, who will offer support should a PAD be vandalised.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many people aged (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 29, (c) 30 to 39, (d) 40 to 49, (e) 50 to 59, (f) 60 to 69, (g) 70 to 79 and (h) 80 and over have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in each week since 3 May 2021, also broken down by how many had been given a (i) first and (ii) second vaccine dose prior to their admission.
Answer
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2021
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether the people who received the Novavax vaccine as part of the clinical trial, which includes 400 volunteers from the NHS Grampian area (a) will be given a "fully vaccinated" status and allowed to partake in any greater freedoms that this status may soon bring, (b) will be able to download their vaccination status from the NHS Inform website, and, if so, by what date and, if Novavax is not approved, when these volunteers can expect to be offered an alternative vaccine.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises that clinical trials for vaccinations are critical for responding to COVID-19 and we would like to thank all those who have volunteered to take part in these trial, you are providing a great benefit for our society and indeed the rest of the world.
On 11 June 2021 the Deputy Chief Medical Officer wrote an open letter to UK residents who have volunteered to take part in COVID-19 vaccine studies outlining that those participating in such trials should not be disadvantaged in terms of any future domestic vaccine certification, if introduced, compared to anyone else who has had their vaccines under the standard NHS programme.
Those involved in clinical trials will shortly receive a letter confirming their involvement in the trials. This letter can be used for domestic purposes as proof of trial status. We are also working on a technical solution that will enable them to access their record on NHS Inform.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to set a national standard for ventilation improvements and monitoring of CO2 levels in public buildings.
Answer
The Scottish Government has issued guidance emphasising the need to ensure good ventilation across all indoor settings.
Our Covid-19 ventilation guidance includes reference to the possibility of monitoring carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels in buildings, with a link to the more detailed information on CO 2 monitors provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
We are currently considering what further steps we can take to support good practice in ventilation across all settings and this includes consideration of the role of CO 2 monitors and standards.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what types of tree will be planted in its forestry expansion programme, broken down by (a) the relative ability of each species to absorb carbon and (b) the proportion of the programme each species will represent.
Answer
a) Scottish Government set targets for forest creation and for native woodland creation within that. In the current year, 2021, the woodland creation target is 13500 ha and of this 4000 ha will be new native woodlands. Scottish government and its agency Scottish. , do not pre-determine the type of trees that will be planted by landowners that are supported by the Forestry Grant Scheme. There are a number of grant options provided for applicants and landowners in order to help achieve Scottish Government targets and policy priorities. For example, a grant option is provided to enable applicants to create new native woodlands in order to promote biodiversity and meet the targets under the Biodiversity Strategy.
The FGS does not guide applicant’s schemes based on carbon sequestration and species choice. Each scheme is guided by the principles of sustainable forest management as set out in the UK Forestry Standard.
The existing forestry grant scheme works to support the three principle objectives of Scotland’s Forestry Strategy. As of May 2021, conifer and diverse conifers accounted for 58% of the woodland creation programme, broadleaves and small farm woods, 4%, native broadleaf woodlands including native Scots pine, 32% and natural regeneration, 6%.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what water conservation measures it has (a) introduced in the last five years or (b) plans to introduce.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working with key business sectors, Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and other stakeholders to make sure water is used efficiently through conservation measures.
We continue to invest in the public network, reducing leakage and increasing water efficiency which helps conserve water in the environment, and we are working to develop technologies and other approaches to enhance resilience. Scottish Water encourages its customers to use water efficiently. In the last year alone, Scottish Water Business Stream has helped its business customers save over £14 million through water efficiency savings, and since 2008 it has saved £213 million and conserved more than 38 billion litres of water.
