Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 47909 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6F-00584

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the First Minister how a Just Transition can be secured for the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6F-00579

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will require large retail stores to close on New Year’s Day 2022 so that retail workers can spend the day with their loved ones.

Question reference: S6F-00576

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00575

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-03685

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to increase the number of face-to-face appointments with GPs.

Public Health Scotland has published guidance on distancing and infection control measures in health settings changing the 2 metre rule to 1 metre – this means more potential space for patients in waiting rooms where it is appropriate, while continuing to ensure everyone is kept safe.

Following this, NHS and Scottish Government guidance for general practices was published on 7 September. This is an important step in getting more in person appointments in primary care.

This guidance also makes clear that there is no longer a need to triage every patient, although they should continue to screen patients for Covid before seeing them face to face. It contains resources for practices to help improve their communication with patients as well as access arrangements.

The Scottish Government’s recently announced winter funding package will help increase NHS and social care capacity this winter. The new funding will support a range of measures to maximise capacity in our hospitals and primary care. Up to £28m of additional funding will underpin a range of measures to aid Dentistry and General Practice.

Question reference: S6W-03678

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it removed the obligation to isolate and report positive cases of COVID-19 for children under a certain age.

Question reference: S6W-03605

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason some people experienced difficulties accessing the NHS Scotland Covid Status App in the 72 hours after launch.

Most people were able to access the NHS Scotland Covid Status App without difficulty from launch. Where people experienced difficulties it was when they requested access to their vaccination status through the app after having verified their identity. This process involved the app linking to an existing NHS system. There was an extremely high number of initial users trying to access this NHS system that matched a verified an individual with their health record at the same time. This led to the system being overwhelmed for a short period and a related fault developing in the NHS system that routed these requests. The fault, along with the required fix, was identified within the first 24 hours and the fix successfully implemented on the evening of 1 October. The backlog of health record matching requests had been cleared within 48 hours of the app being launched, during which time people who experienced difficulties at that time could continue to use their paper version, or their PDF downloaded copy.

Question reference: S6W-04892

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the monthly average sales income has been for fishermen in each of the last three years.

For the years 2018 to 2020, the average monthly sales income has been calculated for fishers employed on Scottish Vessels. This is given in the following table:

Monthly average sales income for fishers on Scottish registered vessels, 2018 - 2020

	2018	2019	2020
Landed value (£) in real terms	£624,485,606	£615,801,328	£487,707,712
Number of fishers employed	4,860	4,886	4,737
Monthly average sales income (£)	£10,708	£10,503	£8,580

The information on fishers employed is collected as at 31 December in each year and reflects those employed during the year. Some of these fishers are irregular, so will not work on the vessel full-time, so will have a lower income. This means that we are unable to provide monthly averages for each month as we do not know how many fishers were employed in each month. It should also be noted that some fishing sectors will have larger incomes than others and different crew share arrangements will be in place, meaning that some fishers on the same vessel will earn more than others.

The landed value in real terms and monthly average sales income are given in pounds and have been adjusted to 2020 prices by adjusting for inflation. As this is based on landed value only, it is not a reflection of earnings as no costs have been accounted for.

Question reference: S6W-04854

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the capacity of Marine Scotland to ensure the effective and robust enforcement of fisheries and marine conservation legislation.

Question reference: S6W-05101

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Cardiff.

On 19 November 2021, the Welsh Government hosted a summit meeting of the British-Irish Council. The meeting was attended by Ministers from all of the Member Administrations with Guernsey joining virtually, and was chaired by the First Minister of Wales. The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy represented the Scottish Government in person, and I attended virtually.

The meeting focused on Indigenous, Minority and Lesser Used Languages (IML) with particular regard to Early Years learning. The use of these languages was encouraged at the summit with First Minister Drakeford speaking in Welsh for large parts of the proceedings. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy gave an update on Scotland’s Economic Recovery from Covid in Gaelic, with simultaneous translation being provided for those present.

A meeting between portfolio ministers of the BIC administrations took place on the topic of IML ahead of the summit on Wednesday 17 November where the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills represented the Scottish Government.

The Council reflected on the latest political developments across their jurisdictions, and took the opportunity to engage on a number of topics of mutual interest, including the economy, trade, ongoing relations with the EU and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). Ministers discussed the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the progress of post-pandemic recovery programmes.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: Thirty Sixth Summit - Wales - 19 11 21.pdf (britishirishcouncil.org)