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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-33894

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether people employed in the funeral sector who are required to enter domestic properties, care homes and other environments that might see them exposed to the COVID-19 virus should be prioritised for access to vaccinations, and by what date it expects all such employees to be (a) offered a vaccine and (b) vaccinated.

Question reference: S5W-34610

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33894 by Jeane Freeman, which received a holding response on 22 December 2020, for what reason it has not yet provided a substantive answer to the question, and when it plans to do so.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority list has been updated to include funeral workers who are considered frontline funeral operatives and mortuary technicians / embalmers, as they are both at risk of exposure and likely to spend a considerable amount of time in care homes and hospital settings where they may also expose multiple patients. They will be eligible for vaccination under category 2 of the JCVI list.

Question reference: S5O-05086

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to spend on housing in its 2021-22 Budget.

Question reference: S5W-34945

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 20 guests are permitted at a funeral during the current lockdown, but not at a wedding.

From 8 January 2021 the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 were amended to limit the number of people permitted to attend a marriage ceremony in a protection level 4 area to 5 people. This is the minimum number required under the law for a marriage to be solemnised and is made up of the couple getting married, the two witnesses and the local authority registrar or the religious or belief celebrant. If an interpreter is needed, they can attend in addition.

This change was one of a number of additional actions the Scottish Ministers considered necessary to minimise further spread of the virus. These decisions reflect the public health advice.

While up to 20 people are still able to attend funeral services, with effect from 8 January, wakes must not take place in a protection level 4 area.

Funeral services are an essential part of the bereavement process and vital to people’s wellbeing. They cannot be delayed. Our decision on marriage ceremonies reflects that the right to marry is an important one, but also that a wedding can be postponed if a couple want a wedding with more people attending. The current restrictions give couples who want to get married now the chance to do that, whilst minimising the risks of transmission at the marriage ceremonies that do proceed.

Question reference: S5W-34946

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when organisations will be informed of the outcome of their applications for funding under the section 10 grant scheme, which provides essential funding for Scotland’s Access Panel network.

Question reference: S5W-34687

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 3 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support is available for businesses in the bakery sector that continue to operate despite the closure of a majority of their customers’ businesses.

We appreciate that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses of all kinds across Scotland, including in the bakery sector. We have allocated almost £3 billion to support businesses in response to COVID-19.

The £30 million discretionary fund introduced in November 2020 targets businesses which are affected by COVID-19 restrictions but do not meet the criteria for other funds. The fund allows local authorities to allocate grants at their discretion to support businesses including those in the supply chain.

To help businesses deal with the impact of coronavirus, the Scottish Government introduced extra rates relief for non-domestic properties from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. This includes 100% relief for properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors where the property is wholly or mainly used for a purpose, or purposes, set out in Schedule 1 of the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.

Question reference: S5W-34727

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for businesses in the professional cleaning sector that are continuing to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown, in light of the restrictions in place under the current guidance.

We recognise the economic impact and strain that the current restrictions are having on both the businesses that are required to close and businesses that remain open, including businesses in the cleaning sector. On 28 January we announced we are doubling the discretionary fund from £30 million to £60 million. The Local Authority Discretionary Fund was specifically designed to target small businesses and the self-employed who have not received direct financial support through other Scottish Government financial support schemes, such as supply chains. More information on how to access this fund will be available on local authority websites.

Question reference: S5W-33725

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 21 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether disabled people of all ages who need allied health professional services will see enhanced investment in those services to ensure that they can access both urgent care or catch up on missed routine and planned services as a result of COVID-19.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of a consistent approach being taken forward in the community to support people with the management of their condition across Scotland, which includes accessing the right support and services. Throughout our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where an urgent or essential clinical need has existed, access to Allied Health Professionals has been available.

Work is underway through the National Advisory Board for Rehabilitation to implement the Framework for Supporting People through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic . The Framework is aligned to the Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: the framework for NHS Scotland, and puts in place clear principles, priorities and objectives to support planning to meet increasing demand and to provide high quality person-centred rehabilitation in different settings.

Question reference: S5W-33946

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that 51% of the people who joined the Fair Start Scotland Scheme in Year 2 left it early.

Fair Start Scotland is an entirely voluntary service where people are not driven to take part by the fear of benefit sanctions. Participants retain the right to leave at any time as they can face a range of challenges and barriers, due to changes in their circumstances, health or for personal reasons. We know from previous research on the transitional employment services (Work First and Work Able Scotland) that participants often leave as a result of a temporary deterioration in their physical or mental health.

As part of our continuous improvement activities over the coming year, we will continue to explore ways to reduce the volume of participants leaving the service early, including improvements to specialist support for those who need it and the introduction of a “right to re-referral” for participants who left early or completed their support without moving into work. Our next FSS evaluation report, due to be published in Autumn 2021 will also include an in depth focus on early leavers and we will ensure that any learning from the results is promptly put into practice throughout the contract extension period.

In line with the values of dignity and respect inherent to Fair Start Scotland, participants continue to be positive about their experience of the service. Of those surveyed for the Year 2 evaluation report:

- 91% of people who have used the service feel they were treated with dignity and respect;

- 80% of people felt the service took account of their individual needs and circumstances; and

- 81% of people felt the service offered support to improve their general quality of life and wellbeing.

Question reference: S5W-33948

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 18 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that the number of disabled people joining the Fair Start Scotland programme has been declining annually, from 55% participation in Year 1 to 27% in Year 3.

The figure of 27% quoted only represents the first quarter of Year 3, from April to June 2020.

In the most recent quarter (July – September 2020) there was a large increase in the proportion of unknown equalities monitoring data gathered by FSS Service Providers, therefore it is not possible to report on the change in the proportion of disabled people during this time.

We recognise the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Fair Start Scotland where people with health concerns or disabilities have become less inclined to engage with services during this time. This has also had an impact on collection of the equalities monitoring data.

While there has been a drop in the overall percentage of people with disabilities joining the service, the proportion (27%) remains broadly in line with the Scottish unemployed population as a whole, 30% of whom report having a disability. ( Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec 2019).

As part of our continuous improvement activities with FSS Service Providers over the coming year, we aim to extend the reach of the service to disabled people, ethnic minorities and other groups as suggested by our evaluation feedback and performance data.

The Scottish Government remains committed to at least halving the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038, and statistics show that there has been a steady growth in employment rates for disable people in between 2014 and 2019 from 41.5% to 49% (Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey, Jan-Dec data).