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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-05201

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that people who have referred concerns to the General Teaching Council for Scotland about professional standards have received a response indicating that, unless the referral has been subject to an employer investigation, it is considered "frivolous".

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), as the Independent Professional and Regulatory Body for teachers in Scotland, has a published Fitness to Teach Threshold Policy which sets out what GTCS will investigate under its fitness to teach procedures. It is available on the GTCS website and members of the public are encouraged to read it prior to submitting a referral to GTCS regarding a registered teacher.

The Scottish Government is aware of these issues and continues to have regular dialogue with GTCS on these matters.

Question reference: S6W-05205

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make commit to passing on in full any Barnett consequentials arising from the UK Government’s sector-specific funding announcements in response to COVID-19 to the relevant sector.

Question reference: S6W-04938

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its advice is for people who received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in England and their second dose in Scotland and are unable to access their COVID passport.

We have established a process for individuals who have received one of their first coronavirus vaccinations outwith Scotland which allows them to upload official proof of vaccination from that country to their Scottish Vaccination record through NHS Inform . This will allow those individuals to receive a combined fully vaccinated status to show for international travel and domestic purposes.

Individuals who have been vaccinated in England or Wales can provide confirmation that they are fully vaccinated through NHS COVID Pass for domestic purposes.

Question reference: S6W-04978

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support natural flood management.

Natural flood management measures reduce, slow or otherwise manage flood waters across catchments and along the coast; they include salt marsh creation, wetland restoration, floodplain reconnection and woodland planting.

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 recognises the important role of natural flood management and promotes and encourages the use of natural flood management techniques.

Natural flood management aims to reduce, but not necessarily replace, the need for traditional engineering, and is often used as part of a blended approach where natural flood management techniques are used alongside traditional engineering as part of a whole catchment approach.

The Scottish Government supports local authorities to take action to reduce the impacts of flooding through the flooding component of the general capital grant (currently £42m pa). 20% of this (£8.2m pa) is available for actions such as natural flood management. We have also increased the overall flooding budget by 70% from £210 to £360 million in the next 5 years. The distribution of this additional funding is currently under discussion with local authorities.

The Scottish Government is supporting the long term Eddleston Water research project which is developing an evidence base to improve our understanding of natural flood management . It shows that natural flood management can delay flood peaks, deliver multiple benefits and help mitigate climate change impacts.

We also recognise the important role natural features play in protecting the coastline from erosion and sea level rise. The Scottish Government funded Dynamic Coast 2 project helps us to identify where the greatest risks from coastal change erosion and sea level rise are, this decade and into the future. Output from this project indicates that natural coastal defences protect £14.5bn of assets.

Based on these research results we are taking an adaptive planning approach to building resilience to coastal change. We have introduced a new capital budget for £12m over 4 years for coastal change adaptation which will be available from 2022-23. Guidance on how to produce Coastal Change Adaptation Plans is also being developed to help local authorities.

Question reference: S6O-00564

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to enact sections 5 to 7 of the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019.

Question reference: S6W-04649

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce the waiting times for orthopaedic surgery in NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work with the operational and clinical teams in NHS Dumfries and Galloway to support the remobilisation of all services, including surgery for orthopaedic patients.

Whilst local capacity for surgery has been reduced, due to ongoing pressures, the Board have utilised orthopaedic capacity at Golden Jubilee National Hospital for a mix of routine long waiting patients and urgent patients.

To support the system as a whole we published our NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by more than £1 billion of investment, sets out how we will take forward our aim of increasing NHS capacity by at least 10% in order to address the backlog of care and meet the ongoing healthcare needs of the country.

Question reference: S6W-04647

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding is available for (a) Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes and (b) other lifeline charities whose fundraising activities continue to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March 2020, we announced a funding package of £350m for an emergency communities fund to ensure local authorities, community groups, the third sector and social enterprise sector were able to support people and communities affected by COVID-19.

This included the £25 million Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) and the
‎ £40 million Community and Third Sector Recovery Programme (CTSRP).A further £22.5 million was added to the CTSRP fund in 2021-22 to enable it to continue through to late summer.

These funds are now closed however third sector organisations may also contact their local Third Sector Interface for advice and information on funding sources. Here are the contact details for your local interface, Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway: www.tsdg.org.uk

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, SCVO, has a website, ‘Funding Scotland’ offering a one stop shop for information about possible sources of funding for third sector organisations and providing details of possible sources of funding from public sector organisations, corporate and charitable trusts - http://www.funding.scot

Question reference: S6O-00544

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support the promotion of cultural assets connected to Robert Burns in Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6W-04646

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Skills Development Scotland has extended contracts issued during the commissioning process for 2021-22; if so, for what reason, and what its advice is to others seeking to bid for contracts.

Skills Development Scotland wrote to contracted training providers and employers in October 2021, setting out their intention to extend Modern Apprenticeships (MA) contracts. This extension was for a period of 12 months from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. SDS can extend these contracts for a further 12 months from 2023 to 2024. Any extensions are subject to budget allocation for that financial year.

SDS have made clear that any organisation seeking to bid for MA contracts out with the commissioning period can do this as a sub-contractor, working with an existing contracted provider.

SDS may also extend other contracts such as for IT services or facilities, in line with normal practice for these type of contracts.

Question reference: S6W-04648

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a domestic replacement for the EU school milk subsidy scheme, in light of the rollover of funding expiring at the end of the current academic year, and what plans it has to consult with stakeholders on the details of any new scheme.

Prior to October 2020, Scottish local authorities could claim for subsidy from the EU School Milk Scheme to put towards their local school milk schemes. Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the Scottish Government committed to providing funding to allow Scottish local authorities to continue offering subsidised milk in their schools.

This funding arrangement will continue for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year during which time we will be working with our local authority partners to develop a free school milk scheme which provides for children’s dietary needs. Stakeholder engagement will take place appropriately during that process.