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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: S5W-31238

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 1 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all of its current special advisers, broken down by (a) job title, (b) role and (c) salary scale.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26805 on 19 December 2019. In addition Mairi McAllan, Special Adviser, Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, was employed with effect from 6 January 2020, initially to provide maternity cover. Stewart Maxwell is no longer a Special Adviser. We will shortly publish the annual list of special advisers.

The Special Adviser pay bands, and numbers within each band are:

Pay Band	Pay Range	Number of SpAds in each Band
1	£39,445 - £52,904	1
2	£52,905 - £66,317	7
3	£65,017 - £88,564	5
3 (premium)	£86,965 - £100,942	0
4	£86,965 - £104,462	1

Question reference: S5W-31274

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has ever waived legal privilege to release legal advice given to ministers regarding (a) past court proceedings against them, (b) policy or administrative matters and (c) the making of potential decisions.

By virtue of the right to legal professional privilege which attaches to all clients including Governments, the content of any legal advice received by the Scottish Government is confidential.

Successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the source or content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.

The Scottish Ministers have authorised disclosure of legal advice in the particular circumstances of a very limited number of cases which each involved a judicial inquiry: the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, the (UK) Infected Blood Inquiry and the Trams Inquiry.

Question reference: S5F-04344

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2020

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that the Test and Protect system is functioning effectively.

Question reference: S5W-31319

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is being provided to schools on social distancing during transfers between classrooms in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

The published Guidance on preparing for the start of the new school term in August 2020 contains a section on minimising contact between individuals and groups (paragraphs 40 to 60). This section notes that within specific school settings, risk assessments should consider the ways in which busy corridors, entrances and exits could be avoided, with mitigations that could include one way and/or external circulation routes.

The guidance has been updated to note that face coverings should (unless exemptions apply) be worn by adults and young people in secondary schools when moving about the school in corridors and communal areas, where physical distancing is particularly difficult to maintain.

Question reference: S5W-31300

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure continued uptake of school milk, in light of its reported plan to leave the UK Nursery Milk Scheme.

Question reference: S5W-29524

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has set aside to support hospices during the COVID-19 outbreak, and how much has been allocated so far, also broken down by (a) hospice and (b) date of payment.

On the 29 June, I wrote to Scottish Hospices to confirm that their funding requests related to loss of income during the pandemic during the first financial quarter of 2020 would be met in full, and that £10.1m in total would be provided to Scottish Hospices for this purpose. Integration Authorities and NHS Boards were also notified of this on the same date, and the funding was processed for onward allocation to hospices at the end of quarter 1 (June 2020). The funding that has been provided to each hospice as per their request has been broken down in the following table.

It is important to reflect that this funding was provided on a one off basis to account for loss of income during the pandemic, and that we expect the existing commissioning arrangements between hospices and Integration Authorities to be maintained going forward.

When we have clarification on the total consequential funding we will receive this will be allocated in full to Scottish Hospices.

Hospice	Amount
Accord	£396k
Ardgowan	£396k
Ayrshire	£792k
Bethesda	£99k
CHAS	£1287k
Highland	£792k
Kilbryde	£320k
Marie Curie	£1,584k
P&PW	£1,089k
St Andrew's	£891k
St Columba's	£792k
St Margaret	£396k
St Vincent's	£297k
Strathcarron	£990k
Total	£10.1m

Question reference: S5W-31135

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29778 by Jeane Freeman on 3 August 2020, for what reason it has not provided resources to local authorities to ensure that all care home staff are tested.

The Scottish Government has agreed with COSLA to meet additional costs incurred through Covid-19. We continue to work closely with Integration Authorities and care homes and will provide further funding so that care homes have the resources needed throughout this pandemic. We have released an initial £50 million to Health and Social Care Partnerships to meet these additional costs. A second tranche of funding, an additional £50 million, was announced 03 August.

Question reference: S5W-31136

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29778 by Jeane Freeman on 3 August 2020, for what reason there was a three-week delay between announcing routine testing for all care home staff and guidance on this being issued.

This guidance was as a result of changes to the nurse director and public health director role set out in a cabinet secretary letter published on 17 May and this is additional guidance to that already issued to care homes by HPS and Scottish Government and also earlier letters and advice about testing routes issued to directors of public health. The letter referenced on the 17 May is attached: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2020/05/coronavirus-covid-19-care-home-oversight/documents/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-for-health-and-sport-regarding-multi-professional-oversight-in-care-homes---may-2020/letter-from-cabinet-secretary-for-health-and-sport-regarding-multi-professional-oversight-in-care-homes---may-2020/govscot%3Adocument/Letter%2Bfrom%2BCabinet%2BSecretary%2Bfor%2BHealth%2Band%2BSport%2Bregarding%2Bmulti%2Bprofessional%2Boversight%2Bin%2Bcare%2Bhomes%2B-%2B17%2BMay%2B2020.pdf

Question reference: S5W-31059

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what checks it makes of the standard of PPE supplied to public bodies, and whether all PPE provided during the COVID-19 outbreak has been to the required standard.

Public bodies operate independently from Scottish Ministers for their procurement activities and are therefore responsible for running their own tendering exercises and for the decisions they take as part of those exercises. It is their responsibility to ensure that any PPE they acquire is fit for purpose. Therefore, questions about the standard of PPE acquired by a public body should be addressed to the public body in question as we do not hold this information centrally.

To further support public bodies and ensure that PPE standards were clear, in March 2020 the Scottish Government issued a policy note to raise awareness on handling certain procurement related issues that arose as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. This contains information for public bodies relating to urgent purchases and can be seen at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/procurement-regulations-during-covid-19-outbreak-sppn-4-2020/ .

Question reference: S5W-31060

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 August 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the required standard of PPE has been to protect staff of public bodies in Scotland during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Public bodies operate independently from Scottish Ministers for their procurement activities. Responsibility for purchasing PPE to protect their staff sits with each public body, but they must comply with all relevant legislation and guidance. Therefore, questions about the standard of PPE acquired by a public body should be addressed to the public body in question as we do not hold this information centrally.

Health & Safety is a reserved matter and all employers must comply with the relevant legislation, undertaking risk assessments as required. That legislation has been used to develop guidance on PPE for health and social care settings in Scotland. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-infection-prevention-and-control/covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe