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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: S5W-34823

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the national protocols for each COVID-19 vaccine will be published and communicated to healthcare officials.

Question reference: S5W-34935

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the resolution of the Parliament on motion S5M-23629 on 9 December 2020, what action it has taken to recruit an additional 2,000 teachers.

Local authorities have already recruited more than 1,400 additional teachers and over 200 support staff this year with the additional funding provided by the Scottish Government.

In addition, a further package of £45 million of new funding was announced in January to support the delivery of remote learning. This funding is sufficient to employ an additional 2,000 teachers during this financial year, and a further £25 million has been made available to local authorities to support this to the end of the school year. To ensure that local authorities and schools can recruit the staff they need most to support our children and young people depending on local circumstances, the new funding can be used flexibly by local authorities to recruit teachers, classroom assistants, administrative staff, home/school link workers or other support workers who are vital to education recovery.

This money is additional to the £160m that we have already committed for education recovery since the start of the pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-34925

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of delays and disruptions to services on the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry route in 2020.

Question reference: S5W-34927

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish an updated Ferries Plan.

Question reference: S5W-34928

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the CalMac vessels that are beyond their 25-year life expectancy will be replaced, and when the replacement vessels will be in operation.

Preparatory work is underway on our next Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan and, as set out in the Programme for Government 2020-21, we will consult on and ultimately finalise a long-term plan and investment programme for vessels and ports as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, by the end of 2022.

Our Infrastructure Investment Plan, published on 4 February 2021, allocated a total of £580 million on ferries investment over the next 5 years. We are currently engaging with our stakeholders on specific proposals for vessel renewal on a number of routes.

Question reference: S5O-05037

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the draft bill for an independence referendum announced in its Programme for Government for 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-34929

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in the absence of the delivery of the MV Glen Sannox, what action it will take to improve the reliability of Arran ferry services, in order to reduce the risk of disruption.

The MV Glen Sannox will be delivered and, based on the work programme shared with Parliament by the Turnaround Director of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, Mr Tim Hair, the vessel should be delivered to CalMac for deployment on services on the network by April-June 2022, following sea trials.

We continue to invest in the reliability of vessels in Clyde and Hebrides network through the Resilience Fund which was set up to improve the future reliability and availability of vessels, including both vessels operating on the Ardrossan to Brodick route and for ensuring the resilience of the Lochranza service.

This funding has been in place since 2018 and has been used to upgrade or replace key systems and equipment on the vessels throughout the CalMac fleet to reduce the risk of breakdowns.

Question reference: S5W-34926

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery timetable for Hull 802.

Question reference: S5W-34939

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns raised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the long-term closure of schools could lead to a “lost generation” of pupils.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) observation report, published on 1 February, summarises the impact of the pandemic across a range of factors including the impact on learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Our 2021 budget plans set out more than £127 million in pupil equity funding to go towards supporting learners from disadvantaged circumstances and a further £30m to support schools to cope with the ongoing effects of Covid.We will continue to engage with professional associations, teachers and education experts as we develop and refine our recovery plans. Our approach will be guided by a range of reports, including the Scottish Government’s Equity Audit (published in January 2021).

The IFS report itself does not refer to a "lost generation" and the Scottish Government does not view the current generation of learners as a lost generation. The government will continue to take every necessary step to ensure that all of our learners, whatever their background or circumstances, are supported to re-engage with their learning and to obtain the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to succeed.

Question reference: S5W-34924

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery timetable for the MV Glen Sannox, and whether the vessel will be operating the Ardrossan-Brodick route by the end of 2022.