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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: S6F-00454

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00453

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-03231

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people with asthma will be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has provided final advice on a COVID-19 vaccination booster programme. The primary objective of the booster programme is to maintain protection against severe COVID-19 disease, specifically hospitalisation and deaths, over winter 2021-22, and is aimed at maintaining protection in those most vulnerable and to protect our NHS.

Booster vaccines will be offered to the same groups who were prioritised at the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Winter and Spring 2020-21. Those with asthma that requires continuous or repeated use of systematic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission, as set out in the Green Book will be included in phase 1 of the booster programme.

More information around eligibility for COVID-19 booster vaccines can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) booster vaccination | The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-03210

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many clinical nurse specialists have been employed by the NHS in each year since 2007.

The information requested on how many clinical nurse specialists have been employed by the NHS in each year since 2007 is not centrally held.

Clinical nurse specialist data by NHS Board from 2009 to the most recent data, published September 2018, can be found at: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/media/4ndpx4za/clinical_nurse_specialists_s2018.xlsx

A national review into the Clinical Nurse Specialist role and definition is currently underway, NES will work with NHS Boards to cleanse their CNS data once this is complete.

Due to the data quality concerns mentioned above, we advise that all historical data, whilst published, should be treated with caution. NES will continue to work with SG and NHS Boards to ensure improved recording going forward.

Question reference: S6W-03162

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who had previously received (a) zero doses, (b) one dose and (c) two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been hospitalised due to the virus.

Question reference: S6W-03109

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland has offered GP practices financial incentives to hold patient appointments remotely and, if so, (a) how much was offered and (b) to how many practices.

NHS Scotland did not offer GP practices financial incentives to hold patient appointments remotely.

General practices are following Public Health Scotland’s advice on management of face to face appointments in primary care settings. While the number of virtual appointments will have risen during the pandemic, GP practices could adopt virtual or other forms of remote working before the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-03209

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses have (a) joined and (b) left the NHS in each year since 2007.

The information requested on how many nurses have (a) joined and (b) left the NHS in each year since 2007 is not centrally available.

Information on how many Nursing & Midwifery staff have (a) joined and (b) left the NHS since 2011-12 can be found in the following table:

Nursing & Midwifery Staff Group - Joiners and Leavers by Financial year in Whole Time Equivalent (WTE)

Financial Year	Joiners	Leavers
2011-12	2,536.8	3,108.9
2012-13	3,677.7	3,173.7
2013-14	4,507.4	3,382.2
2014-15	4,870.5	3,774.5
2015-16	4,460.1	4,074.1
2016-17	4,913.2	4,293.0
2017-18	4,684.4	4,324.4
2018-19	4,611.5	4,133.3
2019-20	5,204.1	4,132.2
2020-21	6,862.1	3,647.2

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS)

Question reference: S6W-03155

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the QR code for its COVID-19 vaccine certification system is wholly compatible with vaccine certification apps in (a) Germany and (b) all other countries.

Question reference: S6W-03106

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses have taken early retirement in NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-03168

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that NHS boards properly maintain hospital estates, and what analysis it has carried out of whether each board employs a sufficient number of estate and facilities staff.

In 2020-21, the Scottish Government delegated £140 million of the Health and Social Care Portfolio’s capital budget to be used by Health Boards on priorities such as maintenance. Over the course of the next five years, the Scottish Government intends to double the annual amount spent on maintenance, investing a total of £1 billion over those five years in enhancing or refurbishing existing facilities . The condition of NHS properties are regularly assessed with the results added to the national Estates and Asset Management System. The Scottish Government does not audit the staffing levels of NHS estates and facilities department. The scale and nature of each Health Board’s estate varies significantly and therefore the number of staff and type of skills required for estates and facilities departments also vary. It is the responsibility of each Health Board to ensure that those departments are sufficiently resourced.