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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-03362

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it takes to ensure that people who wish to take up beekeeping are made aware of its guidance on importing and exporting bees.

International trade represents a risk for the spread of pests and diseases of honey bees. To protect the health of bees in Scotland we have a framework of legal requirements and trade rules to minimise these risks.

Scottish Government works with the Animal and Plant Health Agency's (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU) in providing guidance on their website Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com) including a section on import and export requirements.

Specific guidance for export and import of honey bees following changes made after EU Exit is also available on the SG website: Importing bees into Scotland: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

As part of the Honey Bee Health Strategy changes in policy are discussed with stakeholders in advance and highlighted to beekeepers through articles in the Scottish Beekeepers Association magazine and the Bee Farmers Association magazine, talks to local associations and Bee Health training days.

Question reference: S6W-03361

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it allocated to the Islands Communities Fund, and how much the Fund has paid out.

Applicants to the Island Communities Fund have all been notified of the outcome of their application. I am delighted to confirm that this will deliver £2 million of ‘on-island’ capital investment for 29 successful island-based community groups and businesses, spread across 23 islands.

This Fund provides grants of up to £150,000 for projects focusing on developing sustainable economic activities on islands, while also supporting the delivery of the Scottish Government’s National Islands Plan.

The programme is in the early stages in terms of spend.

Question reference: S6W-03360

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide further funding similar to the Islands Communities Fund in the near future.

The Island Communities Fund was announced in summer 2021 and closed on the 16 th of June 2021. We have recently notified applicants to the Island Communities Fund of the outcome of their application.

Supporting island communities remains a Scottish Government priority. Decisions on further funding will be taken as part of future budget setting exercises and alongside continued stakeholder engagement and project evaluation of the full Islands Programme.

Question reference: S6T-00218

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures public sector agencies, including the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Crown Office, will take to increase efforts to ensure women are protected from harassment and violence.

Question reference: S6W-02332

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Gilead Sciences, which is a manufacturer of sacituzumab govitecan, also known as Trodelvy, to ensure that patients in Scotland are able to access this drug for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Question reference: S6W-02804

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to supporting the creation of a strong evidence base regarding mitigation methods for offshore noise such as low-order deflagration, in order to help reduce any damage to marine species and ecosystems from the proposed expansion of offshore wind.

The Scottish Marine Energy Research Programme (ScotMER), a Scottish Government initiative, is actively developing the evidence base required to facilitate the sustainable development of offshore wind. This programme works with key stakeholders and scientific experts to identify and address priority evidence gaps across environmental and socioeconomic interests.

Under this programme, the implications of underwater noise and efficacy of mitigation techniques have been identified as key evidence gaps, and we are working with industry and academia to deliver new research to inform future planning, consenting and licensing of offshore wind.

More information on ScotMER is available on: https://www.gov.scot/policies/marine-renewable-energy/science-and-research/

Question reference: S6W-03228

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the registered suppliers of the R100 Broadband Voucher Scheme have confirmed that they are able to provide installations across all (a) areas in Shetland and (b) rural and island communities.

As of 23 September 2021, there are nine suppliers registered to the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) who have indicated that they have delivered a commercial service to properties on Shetland.

In total, there are currently 73 suppliers registered to the SBVS. The whole list - which can be broken down by Scottish Local Authority area - is available on the Scotland Superfast website at https://www.scotlandsuperfast.com/how-can-i-get-it/scottish-broadband-voucher-scheme/ .

Question reference: S6O-00209

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate housing shortages and rising housing costs.

Question reference: S6W-02750

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01134 by Graeme Dey on 15 July 2021, whether it will provide an update on its position regarding the Island Communities Impact Assessment on Highlands and Islands Airports Limited’s (HIAL) Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy, and whether ministers now plan to discuss the outcomes of the impact assessment with HIAL.

Modernisation and investment in Air Traffic Control is essential if we are to ensure safe, reliable and sustainable air services for the future in the Highlands and Islands. Ongoing implementation of the Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy, including potential mitigation measures arising from consideration of the Islands Communities Impact Assessment, remains an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.

Question reference: S6W-02691

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 03 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to assess the suitability of COVID-19 vaccines for patients with autoimmune conditions.

Emerging data suggests that some individuals with suppressed immune systems may not mount a full immune response to COVID-19 vaccination.

The multi-centred OCTAVE study led by colleagues from Glasgow University published their preliminary findings with widespread media coverage. The study funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council (MRC) was designed to evaluate the immune responses following COVID-19 vaccination in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases including inflammatory arthritis and Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) (an auto-immune disease affecting small blood vessels) who have received Rituximab treatment, along with a host of other conditions with various degrees of immunosuppression.

Initial findings suggest that in total about 40% of those across the patient groups studied produced a low antibody response to two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and the proportion varied depending on the nature of the immune impairment.

The OCTAVE group presented their findings to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Committee took into account these findings to make their recommendation on a third primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine for severely immunocompromised people.

A second study called OCTAVE DUO, led by the same researchers and also funded by UKRI, is examining whether a third dose will give a stronger immune response in people with impaired immune systems.

Information about these studies is available at: Vaccine responses in patients with impaired immune systems – UKRI

New study tests third jab for people with weakened immune systems – UKRI