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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-33680

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether battery-operated fire alarms will be allowed to be installed by property owners, or whether contractors will be required, once the new regulations on their installation come into force.

Question reference: S5W-33556

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to review exemptions for jury duty.

Question reference: S5W-33696

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether people serving in RAF bases who have Christmas leave will be subject to COVID-19 travel restrictions outwith the 23 to 27 December period.

RAF servicemen and women will be subject to COVID-19 travel restrictions outwith the 23 to 27 December period. However, as the First Minister stated to Parliament on 19 November, travel by armed forces personnel in Scotland to and from barracks and bases is exempt from restrictions as barracks and bases are, as elsewhere in the UK, classed as essential places of work. We are in close contact with the RAF who have confirmed that Scottish Government regulations are well understood and are being adhered to with no discrepancies.

Question reference: S5W-33444

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 7 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether travelling to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in an area within a different COVID-19 protection level would be allowed under the current travel regulations.

Question reference: S5W-33567

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the new £30 million fund to support taxi drivers and other people previously missed by other support packages will open for applications.

The £30 million discretionary fund is specifically designed to target small businesses and the self-employed who have not received direct financial support through other Scottish Government financial support schemes since October. We have been working closely with local authorities to develop the discretionary fund to ensure that this additional financial support quickly reaches businesses that need it. Following agreement on allocations with CoSLA, we will shortly transfer funds to local authorities, it will then be for councils to undertake their own assessment of need and develop their applications processes according to this.

Question reference: S5W-33360

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether higher education students returning home at the end of the current term will be considered as essential travel and therefore exempt from travel restrictions.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-33579 on 26 November 2020, in which the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills outlined the amending Regulations made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus)(Restrictions and Requirements)(Local Levels)(Scotland) Regulations 2020 to allow students to return home at the end of term.

From 27 November 2020, there is an exemption to the travel restrictions for students travelling to or from any local authority area in Scotland, if the purpose is to facilitate the formation of an "end of term household".

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-33344

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there appears to be a distinction in its COVID-19 guidance regarding the use of buses to transport children to schools and nurseries.

Scottish Government guidance sets out the requirements that apply to arrangements used to transport children and young people to school. Typically, local authorities provide dedicated school transport services primarily for the use of school pupils. Following scientific advice from the COVID-19 Advisory Sub Group on Education and Children’s Issues, the guidance provides that dedicated school transport can be regarded as an extension of the school estate and it is not necessary to maintain physical distance between children and young people travelling on such services.

Where either young children travelling with their parents to nursery or school children are using public transport, these services are subject to the requirement to physically distance due to the range of ages of the passengers they are used by.

Question reference: S5O-04840

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it is preparing to facilitate tourism activity and events in Edinburgh over the course of 2021.

Question reference: S5W-33512

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) pupils and (b) teachers have contracted COVID-19 in schools in each month since August 2020.

We do not hold information on pupils and teachers who have contracted Covid-19 in schools.

Information on the number and percentage of positive cases among people who report working in education/childcare, by week, is reported in the PHS weekly statistical report - https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/ (see table 9).

Information on the number of positive cases among children of educational age, by week is reported here: https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/population-health/covid-19/covid-19-statistical-report/25-november-2020/dashboard/ (see ‘trend charts’ and select ‘cases and testing among children and young people’).

Information on the number of pupils who have been identified as Covid-19 cases in Term 1, by week can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/downloads/covid-19-infections-among-school-pupils-in-scotland/

Question reference: S5W-33364

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether travel is allowed between areas subject to different COVID-19 restriction levels if it is for the purpose of viewing a property for sale.

Under the provisions of the Health Protection (Coronavirus)(Restrictions and Requirements)(Local Levels)(Scotland) Amendment (No.3) Regulations 2020, there are exemptions around travel to or from Level 3 and 4 areas for activities in relation to the purchase, sale, letting, or rental of residential property that a person owns or is otherwise responsible for. This includes viewing a residential property for sale, as set out in the accompanying guidance (https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-travel-and-transport/#exceptions).