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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: S5O-04899

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that older people who are shielding receive appropriate support.

Question reference: S5F-04694

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the First Minister what reassurances the Scottish Government can give to communities in the Borders regarding exemptions to travel restrictions between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Question reference: S5W-33652

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish figures for the number of doses of opioids prescribed during the COVID-19 pandemic for severe pain, and what assessment it has carried out of any increased usage due to the postponement or cancellation of operations.

Information on prescribing in the community is available on the Public Health Scotland website. This can be accessed here https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/prescriptions-in-the-community

However, it is not possible to provide the information in the manner requested as the reason prescriptions are provided to a patient is not given. It is not possible to differentiate between the different reasons opiates could be prescribed. In addition, it is not possible to identify if an increase in usage is due to a change or worsening in symptoms or due to delayed procedures.

Question reference: S5W-33653

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported rising number of cases of child abuse as a result of lockdown restrictions.

The safety of children is always paramount and our children and young people have the right to be protected from all forms of harm. The Scottish Government has invested significant effort since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, to carefully monitor data from a range of sources, to ensure that robust child protection measures are in place across Scotland and to develop appropriate responses to safeguard those children most vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

The Scottish Government is committed to a continued and specific focus on tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation through our continued funding commitments to the child protection sector and third sector partners. We continue to build on the wealth of activity already delivered through the National Action Plan to Prevent and Tackle Child Sexual Exploitation. Through a range of cross-governmental and Government-supported work we are taking action across Justice, Health, Communities, Equality, Childrens Hearings, Policing, Child Protection Policy and Education to tackle these forms of child abuse.

Getting it right for every child is the Scottish Government's approach to supporting children and young people. It supports families by making sure children and young people can receive the right help, at the right time, from the right people.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing new policy and practice guidance to provide confidence, clarity and practical support to deliver GIRFEC.

Data collection around the reporting of child abuse and social work interventions focusses on several key metrics used by Police Scotland and local authorities. The Scottish Government collects weekly data from a variety of sources including Police, Social Work Departments and Health Boards on the number of Police Scotland Child Concern reports for child protection; Inter-agency Referral Discussions; new registrations and de-registrations on the Child Protection Register; children and young people with a Child’s Plan seen by a professional in the previous two weeks; children and young people with a Multi-agency Plan seen by a professional in the previous two weeks. Monthly reports were published in April, May and June 2020 and can be accessed on the Scottish Government’s webpages at https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-vulnerable-children-young-people-data-
intelligence-report/ , https://www.gov.scot/publications/vulnerable-children-report-15-2020-scottish-
government-solace/ and https://www.gov.scot/publications/children-young-people-families-covid-19
-evidence-intelligence-report/

The latest edition of the annual Children’s Social Work Statistics is available online at https://www.gov.scot/publications/republication-childrens-social-work-statistics-scotland-2018-19/ .

These statistics include data on children on the child protection register, and concerns identified at case conferences of children who were on the child protection register. Statistics for 2019-20 are due to be published in March 2021.

The Scottish Government also publishes information on vulnerable children collected from local authorities and Police Scotland. The data is used to understand the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown on vulnerable children and to understand how services are responding. The information can be accessed online at https://public.tableau.com/profile/sg.eas.learninganalysis#!/vizhome/VulnerableChildrenand
AdultProtection/Introduction .

Question reference: S5W-33241

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on identifying where funding can be allocated to facilitate free dyslexia tests for adults.

Question reference: S5W-33658

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the (a) A7 Selkirk Bypass, (b) A1 complete dualling from Dunbar to Lamberton and (c) Reston Station infrastructure project.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that transport plays in providing access to key markets, jobs and services for those living and working in the Scottish Borders. We are now taking forward the Scotland wide, second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) which will now consider as part of the detailed appraisal phase all 21 recommendations of the Borders Transport Corridors Study, published in March 2019. Included within the study were separate recommendations to complete the dualling of the A1 together with an option to provide capacity enhancements for A7 which included a potential Selkirk bypass.

The review is due to report in autumn 2021 and will consider how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may shape our future transport system, the demands placed on it, as well as identifying transport interventions which help deliver our commitment to create an inclusive and net zero emissions economy. We are doing that as part of an overall Government investment programme, rather than individual decisions on potential schemes.

Design development work on the new Reston Station continues to make good progress with the planning application submitted for approval. The station is planned to enter service at the earliest opportunity in the current Rail Control period (which is up to 2024).

Question reference: S5W-33655

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) reports of child abuse and (b) interventions by social services there have been in each month since March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-33654

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any underreporting of child abuse as a result of lockdown restrictions.

Question reference: S5W-33610

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33033 by Roseanna Cunningham on 18 November 2020, whether its reference to "stakeholders and customers" includes rural communities and organisations.

Question reference: S5W-33237

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance is available for testing adults for dyslexia, and whether it will consider introducing free assessments to enable people in employment to receive support.

The Scottish Government are not currently able to offer support in the funding of adult Dyslexia assessments. Dyslexia is covered by the Equality Act 2010 and, as such, employers have a legal duty to ensure employees are not discriminated against. Employers must make reasonable adjustments to the workplace to enable the member of staff to carry out their role to a satisfactory standard.

There is no requirement to have had a diagnostic assessment in order for reasonable adjustments to be put in place in the workplace.