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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: S6F-01353

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 September 2022

To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce the outcome of its review into the pausing of the Super Sponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees coming to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-10512

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that infants can register with an NHS dentist.

Question reference: S6W-10230

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many Afghan refugees have arrived in Scotland since 2021, and, of those, how many are currently in (i) permanent and (b) temporary accommodation.

Under current constitutional arrangements in the United Kingdom immigration, including the Afghan resettlement schemes, are reserved to the UK Government and handled by the Home Office.

The UK Government has published statistics on the number of people who have arrived in the UK under the Afghan resettlement schemes since 2021, and have committed to providing more detailed data in their quarterly immigration statistics. Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The latest published data (25 August) shows that across the UK 9,667 people are in temporary accommodation and 7,385 people are in settled accommodation. This does not include people who have made their own accommodation arrangements.

Question reference: S6W-10454

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which agencies it consulted with regarding the welfare of residents on the cruise ship being used to house Ukrainian refugees in Leith prior to its opening.

The welfare of all displaced Ukrainians staying across the country is the Scottish Government’s absolute priority. Before the first guests boarded the M/S Victoria, a full Joint Assurance Review was undertaken with City of Edinburgh Council and other stakeholders, covering issues like safeguarding and security. The Scottish Refugee Council and the Ukrainian Consul General were both consulted as part of preparations for displaced people to live aboard the ship. Local health partners were also closely involved in preparations for opening the ship as temporary accommodation. Additionally, in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council, we engaged with key stakeholders, community groups and third sector partners, including Public Health Scotland, Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations' Council, Volunteer Edinburgh, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and Capital City Partnership.

Question reference: S6W-10457

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many beds it currently has procured for temporary accommodation for each mode of accommodation, including cruise ship and hotel.

Question reference: S6W-10460

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-10087 and S6W-10089 by Maree Todd on 16 August 2022, whether it will provide the dates of when the meetings that discussed these issues took place.

I have a weekly portfolio meeting, usually held on a Monday, with officials and clinical advisers, including the Chief Medical Officer, during which any updates regarding the monkeypox outbreak in Scotland have been, and will continue to be, discussed.

As outlined in the answer to S6W-10089, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care attends regular meetings with his counterparts in the UK and other Devolved Administrations to ensure that the Scottish Government is represented in relation to public health incidents which require a coordinated 4 Nations response. The last meeting of the UK Health Ministers Forum was on 16 June 2022. The UK Health Ministers Forum has now been replaced by an Inter-Ministerial Group meeting which is expected to meet for the first time in mid-October.

Question reference: S6W-10455

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how long the current cruise ship being used to house Ukrainian refugees in Leith has been procured for, and at what cost.

The contract notice with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd, was published on 9 August 2022. The contract is to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine including accommodation in hotels and on the M/S Victoria I and M/S Ambition.

The full contract has a value of up to £100 million with a start date of 8 July 2022 and an end date of 12 December 2024. Both the M/S Victoria and the M/S Ambition have been initially chartered for a period of 6 months.

Question reference: S6W-10232

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether any additional funding has been provided to local authorities since 2021 to help them support Afghan refugees and, if this is the case, how much funding has been (a) provided and (b) spent to date.

Under current constitutional arrangements in the United Kingdom immigration, including the Afghan resettlement schemes, is fully reserved to the UK Government and is dealt with by the Home Office.

Funding to local authorities to help them support Afghan refugees is provided by the UK Government, and instructions for this funding are published online: Afghan relocation and assistance: funding instruction - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question reference: S6W-10453

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which agencies are responsible for monitoring and inspecting the welfare of people onboard the cruise ship being used to house Ukrainian refugees in Leith.

The Scottish Government’s priority continues to be ensuring the wellbeing and safety of displaced people from Ukraine. There are extensive procedures in place to ensure the welfare of those temporarily accommodated on the MS Victoria in Leith.

City of Edinburgh Council’s resettlement teams have an ongoing and visible presence on-board the ship, alongside teams from the third sector. Regular drop in clinics and appointment bookings are available daily for all on-board guests held by various partners. Nominated public protection officers on board provide support and are the first point of contact for safeguarding issues arising when local authority professionals are not available.

Weekly meetings are held for all stakeholders and daily meetings are held between Council staff and other agencies on board to address and monitor any concerns arising. Joint Assurance Review (JAR) meetings are held monthly. Additionally, there are regular liaison meetings above and beyond what is in place for those in other temporary accommodation arrangements. Collaboration and open communication lines between the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and third sector parties ensures high standards of welfare and care are maintained.

Question reference: S6W-10456

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set to move Ukrainian refugees being housed on the cruise ship in Leith to matched homes.

The Scottish Government is clear that we do not want to see people spending more time in temporary accommodation than is absolutely necessary, including the passenger ships.

Our priority is to ensure that people who have already arrived, or will arrive, from Ukraine, are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support, then move into safe, sustainable longer term accommodation, rather than focusing on targets that do not take into account the welfare and needs of displaced people. We are working closely with local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on this work.

Matching is by its nature an intensive process with multiple, often highly sensitive conversations required with both the displaced person and a potential host, with housing and support needs and preferences requiring assessment to ensure guests can secure accommodation suitable for their needs.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has committed £11.2 million to increase capacity of resettlement teams, support refurbishment of properties, help integration and enhance the pace of checks.