Chamber and committees

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: S6W-03691

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the forthcoming bonfire night celebrations, whether it will confirm what the outcome was of its consultation on the use of fireworks.

The consultation ‘Use and Sale of Fireworks in Scotland, and tackling the misuse of pyrotechnics’ ran from 20 June to 15 August 2021. The consultation consisted of two sections; the first sought views on proposed changes to how fireworks can be supplied and used in Scotland; while the second section considered the use of pyrotechnic devices.

Over 1,700 responses were received, with the majority submitted by individual members of the public, with stakeholder organisations including the emergency services, the fireworks industry and animal welfare organisations also responding. An analysis of consultation responses, undertaken by an independent contractor, will be published shortly.

Where permission was granted, responses have been published at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/use-and-sale-of-fireworks-in-scotland/consultation/published_select_respondent .

A Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill will be introduced to Parliament in Year One of this Parliamentary term to prevent harm in our communities.

Question reference: S6W-03415

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there continues to be a delay to the implementation of the provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibiting pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs.

The implementation of the parking elements of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 has been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic and preparations for European Union exit. This particularly impacted the development of guidance and regulations and the related consultation processes however my officials are continuing to consult with local authorities to develop both the secondary legislation required to allow them to enforce the national pavement prohibition as well as the Parking Standards Guidance which will underpin the Act.

Additionally, we need to consult with the public on some areas contained within the secondary legislation. Local authorities will be required to undertake an assessment to identify and progress any exemptions to the pavement parking prohibition they consider necessary. We are actively working with Local Authorities to undertake this work and Scottish Ministers have provided the requested £2.4 million of funding to enable this to be progressed in a timeous manner.

The majority of the secondary legislation is likely to be in place by 2022. Some aspects however, such as the appeals process for those who wish to appeal a ticket issued for pavement parking, may not be in place until summer 2023.

Question reference: S6O-00328

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the ecological status of Scotland’s lochs and rivers.

Question reference: S6W-03799

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings and recommendations in the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care report, Every Story’s Ending, published in September 2021.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care’s report: Every Story’s Ending. This report provides a helpful insight into the experiences that people and their families have at the end of life in Scotland.

The findings of the report will be helpful in shaping the work to take forward our commitment to produce a new palliative and end of life care strategy over the course of the coming year.

Question reference: S6O-00280

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with trade unions representing ScotRail staff.

Question reference: S6O-00224

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the development of a National Centre for Music.

Question reference: S6W-02806

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is following World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control COVID-19 contact guidance that (a) contact tracing should include contacts in school, including classmates, teachers and other staff and (b) as well as testing all contacts with symptoms, there should be quarantining and testing of asymptomatic high-risk exposure contacts, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Scottish Government continues to follow the World Health Organization and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Covid-19 contact tracing guidance as well as recent evidence on the impact of vaccination in protecting the population from harm and latest evidence on infection and transmission in children and young people. Contact tracing continues to include all contacts in school with public health advice provided on the basis of whether a contact is ‘high-risk’ or ‘low-risk’ with low-risk contacts being identified by schools and receiving targeted ‘Information’ letters. People identified as asymptomatic high-risk exposure contacts, regardless of age, continue to be advised to isolate and to take a PCR test.

The changes made to contact tracing and isolation policy from 9 August continue to deliver an effective public health intervention whilst balancing the risk of health harms across the population with the harms caused by prolonged self-isolation of children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-02808

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its policy that schools remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic, what its position is on whether (a) significant mitigations are needed in schools and (b) community transmissions must be kept to a minimum; what additional policies it will implement to ensure that children and young people do not face disproportionate risks to their long-term health as a result of COVID-19, and what the timescales are for any such action.

Our focus has been, and remains, on keeping our school communities safe including minimising the risk of any long-term impact of the pandemic. The First Minister confirmed in her update to Parliament on 14 September, that we are retaining the current suite of mitigations in schools for the time being. This decision follows the latest recommendations of the advisory sub-group on education and children’s issues, and was taken after very careful consideration. The measures in place in schools and across wider society are crucial in reducing infection but we will continue to keep the requirements under very close review.

Question reference: S6W-02807

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the COVID-19 Delta variant, what its position is on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control statement that "children appear to be equally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to other age groups".

We welcome and have noted the technical report on ‘COVID-19 in children and the role of school settings in transmission – second update’ from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues has previously recognised that the Delta variant is more transmissible than the previously dominant variants, including among children. However, compared to adults, children are at much lower risk of severe COVID-related health outcomes. Once infected, they are more likely to experience mild or asymptomatic infection. Severe illness, hospitalisation and mortality are rare. Moreover, the evidence base continues to suggest that children transmit the virus at lower rates than adults, are more likely to transmit among themselves than to adults, and that cases in education settings follow and mirror transmission rates in the community where adult to adult transmission is more common. The summary report of the evidence on children, schools, early learning and childcare settings and transmission from COVID-19 provides more detail.

From w/c Monday 20 September all 12-15 year olds will be eligible for one dose of the vaccine which should help reduce transmission in children 12 years old and above.

Question reference: S6O-00192

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when parents will be permitted to attend school sports to watch their children play.