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: S5W-35290

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the 2021-22 draft Budget it has allocated to (a) the Bus Partnership Fund and (b) other bus priority infrastructure schemes.

£35 million of capital funding has been allocated to bus priority infrastructure on local and trunk roads in the 2021-22 financial year. This is part of the Future Transport Fund. The allocation will be split between the Bus Partnership Fund (BPF) and reallocation of road space on the strategic transport network, but the proportions will not be known until applications to the BPF close and the scope of the next stage of motorway and trunk road work is defined.

Question reference: S5W-35102

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking during the COVID-19 lockdown to mitigate the impacts of reduced mobility and the subsequent impact this can have on the incidence of conditions such as venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism.

We recognise that supporting people to remain physically active and keep mobile can reduce the incidence of both venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism.

Being physically active is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as this not only has significant benefits for our physical health but also our mental health.

In April 2020, the Scottish Government launched the ‘Clear your Head’ campaign to help people look after their own mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included an emphasis on keeping active. Working with partner organisations, the campaign was shared via television, radio and digital mediums in order to provide practical advice and tips on coping with the restrictions and signpost people to further sources of information and support ( www.clearyourhead.scot ).

Question reference: S5W-35101

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that patients presenting to healthcare settings with breathlessness are being assessed for (a) venous thromboembolism and (b) pulmonary embolism, in addition to COVID-19.

We expect clinicians to deliver care in line with all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing patients who present themselves at healthcare settings with breathlessness. SIGN Guideline 122 on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism was introduced in 2010 and updated in 2014. Implementation of SIGN guidelines is the responsibility of each individual NHS Board and local ownership of the implementation process.

Question reference: S5W-35287

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding for the (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) recording of the prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis will be provided as part of the Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-35100

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether a timeline has been agreed for the resumption of reviews into SIGN guidelines that have been paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) is reliant on the capacity of front line health and social care professionals working in guideline development groups. Given the current demands these individuals are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the normal SIGN programme remains on hold, while SIGN focuses on supporting the response to COVID-19. This situation is kept under regular review.

Question reference: S5O-05064

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of mental health services in rural areas.

Question reference: S5T-02673

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that passengers entering Scotland from non-red list countries via airports in England are quarantined in approved hotels.

Question reference: S5O-05036

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding long-term replacements for EU funding streams.

Question reference: S5W-34670

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34126 by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 January 2021, whether it will provide an estimate of when work on each of the R100 lots will be completed.

The build for both the £83 million Central lot contract and the £133 million South lot contract is estimated to be completed by 2024, with the overwhelming majority of work having been completed by the end of 2023. All build in the South of Scotland lot area and around 79% in the Central lot area will be fibre to the premises (FTTP) enabling connection speeds of up to one gigabit per second, and well ahead of the projected roll out of the technology in much of the rest of the UK.

While we know that more than 85% of the build under the £384 million contract for the North lot area will also be full-fibre, we cannot, at this time, provide an estimated completion date for the North lot until BT’s survey and remodelling work has been completed following the contract award in December. However, discussion is taking place to identify premises that can be progressed early in the build programme and to progress deployment of the 16 subsea cables to islands that have been secured as a result of the contract award.

In the meantime, in order to honour our commitment on the roll out of superfast broadband, we are providing support to ensure that all premises can access superfast broadband by the end of 2021 through the three R100 contracts, our interim and main vouchers under the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) and through commercial investment in new coverage.

It is important to reiterate that anyone whose home or business broadband speed is less than 30 Megabits per second (Mbps), and where there are no plans, either through R100 or commercial build, to bring superfast broadband to their address by the end of 2021, will be eligible for a voucher.

Question reference: S5O-05002

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress being made in developing proposals for remedial action to clean up the Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.