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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: S6O-00778

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for a flexible skills and education system that can help meet net zero targets, as referred to in its Programme for Government 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-06171

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to open a long COVID clinic in the north and north east of Scotland.

In September 2021, the Scottish Government set out our approach and 16 commitments to improve care and support for people with long COVID in Scotland. Our approach is to ensure people have access to the support they need for assessment, diagnosis, care and rehabilitation in a setting as close to home as possible. Whilst long COVID clinics are one model NHS Boards may consider, we recognise that no one single approach is likely to fit all areas and circumstances.

It is for each NHS Board to develop and deliver the best models of care appropriate for their local population and that is why our Approach Paper underlines our commitment to making sure our NHS is resourced to respond innovatively to the needs of people with long COVID.

Our £10m Long COVID Support Fund will give NHS Boards additional resource to develop tailored approaches to best meeting the needs of people with long COVID in their local areas. This could include strengthening and improving the co-ordination of existing services, or establishing dedicated services (including ‘long COVID clinics’) if appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-06059

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what advice has been provided to its Scottish overseas offices in relation to constitution matters.

Question reference: S6W-06091

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many children living in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Highland, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) Orkney Islands, (e) Shetland Islands and (f) Moray council areas are eligible to receive a free laptop or tablet and, of those, how many (i) have received a free laptop or tablet and (ii) are yet to receive a free laptop or tablet.

The following table shows how many school-aged children are in each local authority (as at September 2020) and how many devices have been distributed by councils using the £25m digital inclusion funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

Local authorities across Scotland have a range of approaches to provision of technology in schools, including some councils who have undertaken to provide cohorts of their school population with devices using their own budgets. We do not hold information centrally on those approaches, therefore, the table below only shows devices distributed through the funding made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21.

Local Authority	Pupils (as at September 2020)	Devices Distributed
Argyll and Bute	10,167	1,317
Highland	30,826	4.499
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	3,328	357
Orkney	2,804	275
Shetland Islands	3,289	475
Moray	12,114	1,315

Question reference: S6W-06092

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it estimates that every eligible child living in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) Highland, (c) Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, (d) Orkney Islands, (e) Shetland Islands, and (f) Moray council areas, will have a free laptop or tablet in their possession.

Question reference: S6W-06161

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that all individuals over the age of 65 have their hearts routinely checked with a stethoscope by a trained primary care healthcare professional.

Question reference: S6W-06170

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure an effective roll-out of the cystic fibrosis treatment, Kaftrio, to eligible children aged six to 11 years old.

Kaftrio ® has been available for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in patients aged 12 years and older since 1 September 2020. This follows a pricing agreement with the manufacturer. There is provision in the access policy and pricing agreement for expanding access to Kaftrio ® as licence extensions are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The most recent extension in January 2022 allows for Kaftrio ® to be used in children aged 6 to 11 years.

This means that clinicians - working in cystic fibrosis treatment centres - can now prescribe Kaftrio ® for younger patients whom they consider will benefit from its use.

Question reference: S6W-06061

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure a return to in-person learning on a permanent basis for further education courses that are practical subjects.

Current guidance is being reviewed in collaboration with the sector, taking into account advice provided by the Covid-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Colleges and Universities. The Scottish Government’s 4 Harms approach ensures that the fullest range of impacts is taken into account in developing measures or guidance in all sectors, including for universities and colleges. Some students will already be receiving full time in-person teaching in line with our advice to prioritise students whose qualifications/progression are at risk. It is also for institutions to determine an appropriate balance between online and in-person teaching where that focuses on the reduction and management of risk and a cautious approach to keep people safe.

Question reference: S6W-05851

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how many items of PPE in the Scottish Government's national stockpile cannot be used by health workers because the items have passed their expiry date.

The following items were in the national stockpile, but have now been removed due to their expired shelf life:

FFP3 masks (individual masks) – 509,890
Hand sanitiser (litres) - 87,912

It is important to note that all of the listed FFP3 masks are from the original pre Covid-19 pandemic stockpile. Healthcare staff who were fitted to these have been migrated to the improved versions of the masks. Additionally, all of the listed masks will be used as part of a new re-cycling programme being undertaken by a Scottish company . Of the hand sanitiser listed, 21,000 litres will be re-worked as part of a recycling program involving a Scottish third sector supplier.

Question reference: S6W-05535

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with NHS board chief executives to discuss contingency and resilience planning in relation to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and when these took place.

Since the emergence of the Omicron, the Scottish Government has undertaken a series of regular meetings with NHS Chief Executives to discuss contingency and resilience planning. These include meetings that were Chaired by the NHS Scotland Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer as well as regular meetings between health and social care officials and NHS Scotland Chief Executives. The System Response Group meetings also include representations from wider stakeholder interests and Local Government.

I have held regular update meetings to discuss System Pressures to which all Boards are invited. I have also held meetings with COSLA and officials every Monday to receive updates on the Winter Package.

Finally, I held a number of meetings with specific Local Authorities, Health Boards and HSCPs on a one to one basis where the need arose.

These meeting dates are detailed in the following table:

	Meeting	Date
Superseded by NRG (Chair, COO, NHS Scotland)	Healthcare Planning Group	06 Dec 21
	Healthcare Planning Group	07 Dec 21
	Healthcare Planning Group	08 Dec 21
	Healthcare Planning Group	09 Dec 21
	Healthcare Planning Group	10 Dec 21
	Healthcare Planning Group	15 Dec 21
NRG: Ongoing meeting (Chair, COO NHS Scotland) (Moving to once every 2 weeks as of 08 Feb 22)	National Response Group (NRG)	21 Dec 21
	National Response Group (NRG)	29 Dec 21
	National Response Group (NRG)	05 Jan 22
	National Response Group (NRG)	11 Jan 22
	National Response Group (NRG)	18 Jan 22
	National Response Group (NRG)	25 Jan 22
	National Response Group (NRG)	01 Feb 22
	National Response Group (NRG)	08 Feb 22
SRG: Ongoing meeting (Chair, CEO, NHS Scotland and DG HSC) (Moving to once every 2 weeks as of 03 Feb 22)	System Response Group (SRG)	04 Nov 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	11 Nov 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	18 Nov 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	25 Nov 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	02 Dec 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	09 Dec 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	16 Dec 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	23 Dec 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	30 Dec 21
	System Response Group (SRG)	06 Jan 22
	System Response Group (SRG)	13 Jan 22
	System Response Group (SRG)	20 Jan 22
	System Response Group (SRG)	27 Jan 22
	System Response Group (SRG)	03 Feb 22
System Pressures. Regular meeting running on a once or twice weekly basis. Meeting attended by NHS CE’s, Local Authorities, SG Senior Clinicians and COSLA (Moving to once a week as of 03 Feb 22)	System Pressures	22 Dec 21
	System Pressures	29 Dec 21
	System Pressures	06 Jan 22
	System Pressures	10 Jan 22
	System Pressures	13 Jan 22
	System Pressures	17 Jan 22
	System Pressures	20 Jan 22
	System Pressures	24 Jan 22
	System Pressures	27 Jan 22
	System Pressures	31 Jan 22
	System Pressures	03 Feb 22
COSLA / Officials	Winter Package	06 Dec 21
	Winter Package	13 Dec 21
	Winter Package	20 Dec 21
	Winter Package	10 Jan 21
	Winter Package	17 Jan 21
	Winter Package	24 Jan 21
	Winter Package	31 Jan 21
Organisation specific meetings	NHS GGC and Glasgow City Council	24 Nov 21
	NHS Fife and Fife Council	01 Dec 21
	NHS Lothian and Edinburgh City Council	01 Dec 21
	NHS GGC and Glasgow City Council	01 Dec 21
	NHS Lanarkshire and NL&SL councils	01 Dec 21
	NHS Highland, Highland HSCP and Argyll & Bute Council	02 Dec 21
	NHS Ayrshire and Arran and North & South Ayrshire Council	02 Dec 21
	NHS Forth Valley, Stirling Council, Falkirk Council, Clackmannanshire Council and Forth Valley HSCP	02 Dec 21
	NHS Lanarkshire and NL&SL councils	06 Dec 01
	NHS Lothian and Edinburgh City Council	06 Dec 01
	NHS GGC and Glasgow City Council	09 Dec 01
	NHS Forth Valley, Stirling Council, Falkirk Council, Clackmannanshire Council and Forth Valley HSCP	09 Dec 01
	NHS Fife and Fife Council	09 Dec 01
	NHS Glasgow, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh City Council and Glasgow City Council	14 Dec 01
	NHS Lothian and Edinburgh City Council	15 Dec 01
	NHS Ayrshire and Arran and North & South Ayrshire Council	16 Dec 01
	NHS Lanarkshire and NL&SL councils	16 Dec 01
	NHS Lanarkshire	04 Jan 22
	NHS Lanarkshire	21 Jan 22
	NHS Golden Jubilee	27 Jan 22
	NHS GGC	02 Feb 22
	NHS Forth Valley	07 Feb 22