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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-29051

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 17 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide treatment for people with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The NHS in Scotland is currently dealing with an unprecedented health situation that has meant that some scheduled, non-essential procedures and care has had to be postponed to ensure other, seriously ill patients can be treated and cared for.

We fully expect patients to be treated in line with their clinical priority. In these unprecedented times, NHS Boards are expected to schedule appointments or advise of alternative arrangements as soon as clinically appropriate. The NHS continues to provide emergency and urgent care for all patients.

Where someone is receiving treatment for a pre-existing cardiovascular conditions, it is important that they take extra care of their overall wellbeing, and attending hospital appointments in a different way is part of this. Clinical teams are working to minimise the time people spend in hospital departments, for example arranging telephone or Near Me video consultations and offering blood tests at a different NHS site.

Individual decisions based on the benefits and risks of treatment may have to be made for people with heart disease. Alternative therapy options involving fewer visits to hospital are being offered to individuals where these are considered clinically appropriate.

Anyone who feels that their condition is deteriorating and they need to be seen sooner than their scheduled appointment should contact their GP or clinician who will be able to provide further advice.

On the 8 June 2020 we published an update on the future direction of shielding policy in Scotland, a link to which can be found here https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-shielding-way-forward-scotland/ . This most recent advice sets out that those who are Shielding should do so until at least 31 July.

On 1 April, the Scottish Government published Coronavirus (COVID-19) tailored advice for those people living with chronic heart disease: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tailored-advice-for-those-who-live-with-specific-medical-conditions/ . This information is updated regularly.

For patients with chronic heart failure, more comprehensive information is available on the Scottish Heart Failure Hub website: www.heartfailurehubscotland.co.uk/covid-19/

Question reference: S5W-29052

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 17 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people with severe heart valve disease have access to minimally-invasive treatment that can reduce time spent in hospitals to help reduce their exposure to COVID-19 and its subsequent potential complications.

Question reference: S5F-04233

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2020

To ask the First Minister what consideration the Scottish Government has given to the impact of lockdown restrictions on people with dementia.

Question reference: S5W-29386

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 June 2020

To ask to Scottish Government whether it plans to halt the current and any future planned emergency release of prisoners, in light of the Scottish Prison Service Early Release Tranche 1 Report showing that staff absence levels have fallen below the threshold for implementation of the emergency legislation, which is 20% of the total workforce.

Scottish Ministers are satisfied that the release of prisoners authorised by the Release of Prisoners (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 is a necessary and proportionate response to the effects coronavirus is having, and is likely to have, on prisons generally, for the purpose of protecting: (a) the security and good order of prisons; and (b) the health, safety and welfare of prisoners and those working in prisons. There is no legislative requirement within the Regulations or the Act for Scottish Prison Service staff absence levels to be at a specific level for action to be taken.

Question reference: S5O-04396

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that public transport in rural areas has sufficient capacity to meet demand.

Question reference: S5W-29054

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make an assessment of the reported increase in number of deaths from non-COVID-19-related diseases during the lockdown period.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish weekly statistics on COVID-19 deaths, including where COVID-19 was a suspected or underlying cause of death.

NRS report that up to week 13, the number of weekly registered deaths in Scotland had been broadly in line with the five year average. From week 14 (30 March) onwards, there has been a clear divergence from the five year average number of deaths. Whilst the majority of these “excess deaths” have COVID-19 reported as the underlying cause, NRS also report excess deaths for the underlying causes of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, circulatory (heart disease and stroke) and cancer.

The Scottish Government, along with analytical partners such as Public Health Scotland and National Records of Scotland are engaged in programmes of research to understand the wider impact of covid-19 on Scotland’s population. Public Health Scotland plan to release an analysis of health inequalities in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 mortality around mid-June.

Question reference: S5F-04137

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 May 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that obesity and diabetes increase an individual’s risk of contracting COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-28751

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the drug being tested as a possible treatment for COVID-19, what steps it is taking to ensure that there are adequate supplies of hydroxychloroquine to treat people with rheumatoid disease, and whether it can offer a similar assurance to that given by NHS England that it will maintain supplies for its service users.

Access to medicines should not be affected by the current COVID-19 global pandemic. There are no known supply issues and hydroxychloroquine remains available from manufacturers for community pharmacies to order through wholesalers.

There are a number of established clinical trials to explore whether a number of medicines, including hydroxychloroquine, may provide a potential treatment for COVID-19. Public Health England has secured relatively large volumes of hydroxychloroquine specifically for any NHS clinical trials across the UK, including Scotland, and the NHS has been advised to order through established supply routes so that prescription supplies are not affected.

The Medicines Healthcare and products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published a reminder that hydroxychloroquine is not licensed to treat COVID-19 related symptoms or prevent infection and that it should only be used for this purpose within a clinical trial. The MHRA has also added hydroxychloroquine to the list of medicines that cannot be parallel exported from the UK in order to protect stock in the country for UK patients.

Question reference: S5F-04126

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 May 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to ensure that the NHS remains open for treating conditions other than COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-27923

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 3 April 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of options to improve the resilience of the country's electricity infrastructure, in light of plans to expand the use of electric vehicles and the replacement of gas central heating systems with electric alternatives.

The Scottish Energy Strategy, published in December 2017, set out our vision for the future energy system in Scotland. Scotland’s energy networks will play a vital part in delivering our Strategy, and the transition towards a low carbon future. It is crucial that they are developed and funded in a way that recognises the key role they play in the energy transition, and capable of delivering a sustainable, low carbon future.

The Scottish Government, through the Energy Strategy, also set out a bold ambition to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032, eight years ahead of the rest of the UK. In addition, on 3 March 2020, the Scottish Government introduced the Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill aims to encourage greater deployment of district and communal heating in Scotland by introducing regulation to the sector.

Decarbonising transport and heat will be vital, as we highlighted in our Vision for Scotland’s Electricity and Gas Network to 2030; this creates particular challenges for planning and operating our electricity networks, which must be able to support the increased demand that growth in these areas will create. This includes enabling the rapid rollout of low carbon technologies, including heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs), the latter alongside an EV charging network which can accommodate and support them. Achieving this will require innovative approaches to make the most effective use of new and existing network capacity, balancing costs and benefits to today’s consumer against those of future consumers and society as a whole.

Increased demand and applications for connection to the electricity distribution network will also increase our reliance on the electricity system. We need to ensure that our electricity networks are upgraded to serve that demand, and that our capacity to generate zero carbon electricity continues to grow. We are working closely with Scotland’s network owners to understand what needs to be done and when, and engaging regularly with Ofgem and the UK Government to ensure that the regulatory system can facilitate the necessary investment.

The Scottish Government has recently established a new group focused on Scotland’s energy networks. The Energy Networks Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) provides a knowledgeable and influential forum for discussing the ways in which the development of Scotland’s energy networks can recognise and deliver Scottish energy and climate change policy objectives.

We continue to support renewable generation projects in Scotland, and welcome the recent consultation on allowing onshore wind and solar to compete in future Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions. These sources, as well as offshore wind, island wind and marine renewables, will help meet that higher electricity demand, and deliver our target for the equivalent of 50% of all energy to come from renewable sources by 2030.