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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-32124

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 4 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when people who receive and are entitled to the flu vaccination annually will receive a communication enabling them to receive it, and where these will be carried out.

Responsibility for delivering the Seasonal Flu Vaccine in 2020-21 rests with Health Boards and Integration Authorities. Those who are entitled to a free seasonal flu vaccine will be contacted by their Health Board letting them know where they will receive the vaccine and how to book their appointment. The best source of information on this for the public is NHS Inform which can be found here: www.nhsinform.scot/flu or on the information line on: 0800 224488.

We have prioritised the older age group of 65+ along with those who are at risk. This is to ensure that all those who need it most will have access to an appointment and the opportunity to be vaccinated before the start of flu season.

The majority of invitation letters have now issued to people who are currently eligible for a free flu vaccine. We anticipate that the remaining letters will issue within the next two weeks.

Question reference: S5F-04524

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2020

To ask the First Minister what advice has been offered to local authorities regarding which measurements would trigger a move through the new tiered system of COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S5W-32334

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when soft play centres and baby/toddler groups/classes will be able to resume.

Provisional guidance was published on 1 September for ‘Indoor activities for children and young people (unregulated)’. Activities run indoors for children and young people, including babies and toddlers, could resume from 31 August as long as they adhered to this guidance. This guidance was updated on 24 September and 5 October. Organisers should consult the guidance: Staying safe and protecting others to ensure that they are operating within current safety restrictions.

Soft play centres are currently required to remain closed by law. Provisional guidance for the re-opening of soft plays will be published shortly to allow businesses to prepare to re-open. There is no date set for soft plays to re-open, a date will be set when it is deemed safe to do so.

Question reference: S5T-02441

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify the role that education settings would play in any "circuit-breaker" strategy.

Question reference: S5O-04663

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme funding has been allocated.

Question reference: S5W-31588

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) primary and (b) secondary school attendance rate has been since August 2020.

The percentage attendance in primary schools was 95.8% on 17 August, before dropping to 84.1% on 28 August and rising to 95.0% on 10 September.

The percentage attendance in secondary schools was 95.0% on 17 August, before dropping to 83.5% on 1 September and rising to 89.3% on 10 September.

Note that figures from 7 September onwards are provisional and subject to change.

Note that these are figures on percentage attendance and percentage of pupils not in school. This is a different basis to what is normally published. Some of the pupils not in school because of a Covid-19 related reason will be undertaking education provision, and would be recorded as being in attendance in the biannual statistics publication.

Daily attendance and absence in schools in Scotland
Date	Percentage attendance - PRIMARY	Percentage attendance - SECONDARY
17-08-2020	95.8%	95.0%
18-08-2020	95.6%	94.2%
19-08-2020	95.3%	93.7%
20-08-2020	94.1%	93.2%
21-08-2020	91.6%	92.0%
24-08-2020	87.6%	90.4%
25-08-2020	86.5%	88.2%
26-08-2020	86.7%	87.7%
27-08-2020	86.1%	86.4%
28-08-2020	84.1%	84.4%
31-08-2020	88.1%	84.1%
01-09-2020	90.0%	83.5%
02-09-2020	91.4%	84.5%
03-09-2020	92.0%	85.1%
04-09-2020	91.0%	84.1%
07-09-2020	93.7%	87.6%
08-09-2020	94.6%	88.1%
09-09-2020	95.0%	88.9%
10-09-2020	95.0%	89.3%
11-09-2020	93.6%	88.0%

Question reference: S5O-04641

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it is allocating to support the aviation sector to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

Question reference: S5T-02399

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for the 2021 exam diet.

Question reference: S5W-31589

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to enforce the use of face coverings in secondary schools.

Updated guidance, published on 25 August 2020, states that face coverings should - unless exemptions apply - be worn by pupils and staff in secondary schools in corridors and communal areas, where distancing is particularly difficult to maintain. Education Scotland have worked with Young Scot to develop awareness raising materials for schools in support of the guidance.

Implementation of the agreed guidance is the responsibility of local authorities and schools, working closely with their school communities. However, we are working with partners to carefully monitor how the guidance is being applied in practice. We seek regular feedback from partners via the Education Recovery Group about the experiences of pupils and staff in schools for these purposes. Where there is a need to take action, either by updating our guidance or ensuring it is being given practical effect, we will work with partners to do so.

In addition, we are aware that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have carried out 500 initial telephone sample checks and schools have to date achieved a compliance rate of over 80%. The HSE will be undertaking follow up visits where there are any areas of concern.

Question reference: S5W-31590

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects to achieve the target set out in the Programme for Government of recruiting an additional (a) 1,400 teachers and (b) 200 teaching support staff.

Local authority recruitment of additional teachers and support staff is underway, informed by ongoing assessment by schools and local authorities of the needs of children and young people during the first few weeks of their return to school. Once this process has concluded, we will be in a position to provide the number of additional teachers that have been recruited.

Current estimates from local authorities suggest that an additional 740 teachers have already been recruited, with plans in place to recruit another 250. We would expect this number to increase as schools continue to assess the needs of children and young people over the coming weeks.