Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-06354

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, whether it will publish a breakdown of the number of problematic spaces by (a) local authority and (b) school.

Data is currently being collected within local authorities and will be returned to the Scottish Government to provide a national perspective. We intend to provide the Committee with an update on the overall national picture early next month, subject to receipt of local authority returns.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of problematic spaces in specific schools. This information will be held by local authorities as it is their statutory responsibility to manage their school estate.

Question reference: S6W-06360

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the impact on children’s cognitive function of learning in education environments where the CO2 readings are in excess of (a) 800, (b) 1,000, (c) 1,500 and (d) 2,000 ppm, and what studies it has taken into account on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-06357

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, what criteria and definitions were used for categorising a learning, teaching or play space as “problematic” in relation to ventilation; what CO2 reading thresholds were taken into account; whether it will publish details of the descriptions of other categories, broken down by the number of spaces that fall into each category, and whether it considers that the remaining 48,000 spaces are not problematic.

Our guidance on ventilation for schools, updated most recently in December 2021, indicates that problematic spaces are where readings above 1500ppm are persistent despite mitigation measures being taken. Areas of high aerosol activity may use 800ppm as the threshold for high CO2 concentration.

Ventilation is a complex issue requiring, among other things, ongoing monitoring and management. For example, changes in room use or weather conditions can result in assessments of air quality changing over time, requiring fresh remedial action.

The Scottish Government has agreed formal reporting requirements regarding the number of remaining problematic spaces with local authorities. We will provide an update to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in due course, subject to receipt of local authority returns.

Question reference: S6W-06359

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 28 January 2022, whether it will publish the feedback that it received on the proposal to undercut doors.

There is no such proposal.

As was made clear in the letter to the Committee, an undercut of a door was only one element of the example set of remedial measures used to illustrate the appropriate level of overall additional funding that might be needed to tackle problematic spaces. The other elements that formed part of the example were temporary use of an air cleaning device and installation of small mechanical ventilation units.

Local authorities are fully aware that they should undertake any remedial work in line with Scottish Government guidance on ventilation and expert input.

Question reference: S6W-06380

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) Equality Impact Assessment and (b) Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment it has conducted in relation to the build-to-rent sector.

Question reference: S6W-06356

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether every school classroom has been subject to CO2 monitoring, and, if not, by what date this will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-06336

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) time period and (b) discount rate of return was used to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) figures in table 2 of annex F of the publication, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Final Business Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Question reference: S6W-05619

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the justification is for its guidance setting out a COVID-19 14-day self-isolation period for care home residents, and whether there are plans to change this guidance to specify a shorter period, similar to changes to guidance on self-isolation for the wider public.

recognise how difficult self-isolation for 14 days has been for those who live in care homes and their loved ones. While self-isolation has been necessary for minimising the risk of Covid-19 transmission, I understand that restrictions on visiting during isolation periods can be distressing for and negatively affect the wellbeing of care home residents and their loved ones. This is why it is important that restrictions are not in place for any longer than necessary and Scottish Government Officials have worked with clinical experts to keep restrictions under close review throughout the pandemic.

Self-isolation periods for care home residents was, in January, reviewed by clinical experts. The result of this review was a recommendation that there could be a reduction of the self-isolation period for individuals identified as cases or contacts of a Covid-19 case, who live in adult care homes, from 14 days to 10 days. On 19 th January 2022 the Scottish Government communicated this updated guidance to care homes and confirmed that care homes should adopt this change in guidance with immediate effect.

I appreciate the isolation period still differs from the general public, which may be disappointing for individuals living in care homes. This change is in line with guidance issued by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and the UK IPC cell and reflects the ongoing risks facing vulnerable people living in a communal setting. To minimise the impact isolation periods can have on residents, they can choose a friend or family member to be a named visitor, to visit them during their self-isolation periods. Scottish Government Officials have worked with Public Health Scotland to normalise visiting by named visitors and emphasise that this is the default approach and care homes and health protection teams should support these visits, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

In addition to this, following a review by Public Health Scotland, people transferring from hospitals to care homes will no longer need to isolate, if they have had a negative PCR test in the previous 48 hours, so long as they have no symptoms of a respiratory virus and have had no prior exposure to COVID-19, over the previous 14 days.

Scottish Government Officials continue to work with Public Health Scotland and ARHAI to review all remaining restrictions including self-isolation periods for residents.

Question reference: S6O-00815

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Historic Environment Scotland is considering criteria that could be used to identify sites that could be left to managed decline.

Question reference: S6O-00817

Asked by: Natalie Don-Innes, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with the UK Government on the devolution of drug legislation to the Scottish Parliament, particularly in relation to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

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