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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: S6O-00162

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will address the backlog in NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-02490

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported pressures faced by (a) health and social care partnerships and (b) the third and independent sectors, what plans it has to introduce additional measures to ensure that the needs of (i) people who require care and (ii) unpaid carers are met.

We are in daily contact with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) facing the greatest challenges and are monitoring the situation closely. Health Boards and HSCPs have provided assurances that people in need of the most urgent care will continue receiving care during this challenging period.

We are working with local partners to address these pressures at a local and national level, including putting in place measures to support recruitment and multi-disciplinary working. Some of the immediate actions we have taken include: funding support to advertise vacant posts on a dedicated social care webpage; and targeted communication with Further and Higher Education nursing students and Social Work students, to encourage applications to join the workforce.

We have allocated an additional £380 million to Health Boards to help with costs arising from the pandemic. This comes on top of the £1.7 billion already provided to Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships last year.

For unpaid carers, we have invested an additional £28.5m for local carer support in this year’s budget, bringing total investment in the Carers Act to £68m per year. The previous Cabinet Secretary wrote to authorities in March to highlight the importance of using this additional funding to expand carer support. We also added a further £1.1m last year to the annual £3m voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund and have committed an additional £570,000 this year, enabling more families/carers and young carers to take a break from caring.

Question reference: S6W-02436

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what trial or pilot projects of the edoc waste monitoring system it has undertaken since 2016.

The Electronic Duty of Care (edoc) system has been operational since January 2014. We are taking forward the commitment to move towards the use of a mandatory system for waste monitoring as part of our work to implement an electronic waste tracking system, set out in our update to the Climate Change Plan.

A range of trials have been undertaken as part of work to develop an electronic waste tracking system, including as part of a GovTech Catalyst competition. In 2019, as part of phase 1 of the competition, 5 technology suppliers each developed proof of concept electronic waste tracking solutions. Of these, 2 were selected and developed into prototype systems to test the key elements of waste tracking in 2020. These proof of concepts and prototypes were informed and tested by a user research panel of businesses, which currently includes around 450 businesses operating across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-02322

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing advice on the maximum recommended dose of vitamin D supplement according to age and weight.

Our current advice is based on the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), as set out in its 2016 report Vitamin D and Health. SACN advises all devolved nations and UK Government on nutrition related matters.

Factors such as age and sex are considered by SACN when developing dietary recommendations, alongside additional requirements for pregnancy and lactation or differences by ethnic group or body weight.

The SACN report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-vitamin-d-and-health-report

Taking too many vitamin D supplements over a long period of time can cause excess calcium to build up in the body, and this can weaken bones and damage the kidneys and the heart. Our advice is that:

adults and children over 11 should avoid daily high dose vitamin D supplements containing more than 100 micrograms (4000 IU)
children aged 1 to 10 years should avoid supplements with more than 50 micrograms (2000 IU)
infants under 12 months should have no more than 25 micrograms a day (1000 IU).

Some people have certain medical conditions which mean they may not be able to safely take as much. They should seek advice from their clinician if they have any doubts. If a clinician has advised someone to take a different amount of vitamin D, they should follow their advice.

No specific recommendations on maximum dosages have been made by SACN based on weight.

Our advice is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/vitamin-d-advice-for-all-age-groups/

We will continue to be guided by SACN and will review our advice as necessary based on their recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-02257

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to classify dementia developed through sport as an industrial disease.

Question reference: S6W-02437

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how far it has progressed on the development of an electronic system for (a) hazardous waste and (b) transfrontier shipment of waste, and what the cost has been of (i) each project and (ii) the staff hours dedicated to each project.

The development of an electronic system for hazardous waste is being taken forward through a multi-agency project which proposes to implement a mandatory electronic waste tracking system. We plan on consulting on these proposals in the Autumn. Accurate costs and staffing hours for this multi-agency project are not held centrally.

The transfrontier shipment of waste is a reserved matter. We will work with Defra to consider any changes to improve data collection on transfrontier shipment of waste.

Question reference: S6W-02358

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what EU legislation has been passed since the UK's exit from the EU that it plans to keep pace with using the powers in the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.

Question reference: S6W-02415

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01875 by Michael Matheson on 16 August 2021, what plans it had to introduce the edoc waste monitoring system referenced in the strategy, Making Things Last: a circular economy strategy for Scotland, before agreeing to a four nations consultation.

Question reference: S6W-02282

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions there have been of jet ski owners for infringements on Loch Lomond since the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park was established.

The Scottish Government criminal proceedings database does not hold information on the specific type of vessel involved in charges prosecuted under Loch Lomond Byelaws.

The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service were able to manually search relevant case records and confirmed that 3 people have been prosecuted for offences involving a jet ski under Loch Lomond Byelaws 2013 B3.5(1)&3.17 - Knowingly/recklessly/negligently navigate and behaviour of vessel.

Question reference: S6W-02008

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue with its approach of aligning with or exceeding EU environmental standards, and what its response is, regarding the potential impact on Scotland, to the UK Government’s reported proposals to change the application of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 in England.

The Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to maintain or exceed environmental standards in place upon EU exit, and to maintain alignment with developing EU standards, as far as possible. We have legislated under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (“the Act”) for a discretionary power to align devolved law with EU law, where appropriate and practical to do so.

Scottish Ministers are currently preparing the policy statement, as required by section 6 of the Act, which will set out the approach to be taken, the factors to be taken into account and the process to be followed when considering whether to exercise this discretionary power.

The Scottish Government is committed to action to protect its natural environment. The policy on the protections and standards afforded by the Habitats Regulations remains unchanged following our departure from the European Union. The proposed amendments to the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 must not result in a reduction of the level of environmental protection.

The UK Internal Market Act was imposed against the will of the devolved administrations and is a risk to our ability to exercise devolved decision-making powers across a wide range of policy areas, including environmental policy. The Scottish Government will seek to ensure that regulations made by the UK Government take into account potential cross-border impacts on Scottish interests.