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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: S6T-00385

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will explain its decision to increase peak and off-peak regulated rail fares by 3.8%.

Question reference: S6T-00382

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any workforce issues in social care, in light of comments from the Chief Executive of Scottish Care that the social care sector is facing the biggest workforce crisis it has ever experienced.

Question reference: S6W-05147

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) insurance industry regarding (i) the issue of reimbursing COVID-19-related domestic trip cancellations and (ii) whether there is a need for consistency across providers.

At present there are no restrictions on domestic travel therefore no specific discussions have been tabled with the UK Government. The majority of domestic trips are able to go ahead however we are asking that people be cautious when travelling and choosing activities and we are strengthening some mitigating measures in some areas of the visitor and retail economy. The Scottish Government also continues to engage regularly with the UK Government in relation to support for the wider tourism and hospitality industry.

The regulation of insurance providers is a reserved matter and the Competition and Markets Authority may choose to engage if they believe there is a need for consistency across providers.

Question reference: S6W-04949

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04128 by Humza Yousaf on 30 November 2021, whether it will provide an update on its plans to display a person's COVID-19 booster vaccine status on the (a) paper vaccine certificate and (b) digital COVID passport.

Question reference: S6W-05034

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether people who are seeking asylum and living under immigration control will be included in the inquiry into the handling of COVID-19.

Question reference: S6W-05036

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of hedgerow have been (a) reinstated or (b) planted through agri-environment climate schemes.

Question reference: S6W-04774

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board will be allocated from the reported £30 million to support GP practices, and when GP practices will receive their share of this funding.

NHS Boards will be allocated the £30 million to support GP practices in two tranches based upon their practices’ weighted share of registered patients under the Scottish Workload Formula at the time of the allocation. The following table provides an indication of what the first NHS Board allocation will be based upon practice shares of patients in October 2021.

NHS Board	Indicative Allocation (£)
Ayrshire & Arran	1,056,640
Borders	331,176
Dumfries & Galloway	449,494
Fife	1,000,680
Forth Valley	823,388
Grampian	1,472,982
Greater Glasgow & Clyde	3,278,717
Highland	1,119,325
Lanarkshire	1,765,382
Lothian	2,310,404
Orkney	78,826
Shetland	74,744
Tayside	1,123,050
Western Isles	115,193
Total	15,000,000

GP practices will receive their first payment by the end of this December and their second payment in the new financial year.

Question reference: S6W-04726

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many gynaecologists there are currently working in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04972

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support services are available for people who have dystonia.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with dystonia are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require care and support for dystonia, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Dystonia UK, a leading charity that provides supports for people living with dystonia, is a member of the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS). The NAoS are key members of our National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions which is working to drive improvement in outcomes for people with a range of neurological conditions, including dystonia.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action, with a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition, including dystonia, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the 17 commitments in the framework, supporting innovative practice in neurological care for people with conditions such as dystonia. No applications have been received to date for projects in relation to the direct support and care of people affected by dystonia and we would welcome future applications.

Through Commitment 13 of the Framework, the Scottish Government will support neurological research by promoting the work of the Chief Scientist Office, third sector organisations’ research and Scottish neurological research networks; encouraging opportunities for people with neurological conditions to become involved in research trials; and highlighting the need for further qualitative research on the impact of living with a neurological condition.

The Chief Scientist Office research funding committees are open and applications on the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and management of dystonia are welcomed - Response Mode Funding Schemes – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk)

Question reference: S6W-04958

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what additional steps it has taken to increase the resilience of power networks, following Storm Arwen.

Throughout Storms Arwen and Barra the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division maintained daily contact with the power companies and close engagement continues.

It must be noted that resilience of the electricity networks is reserved and is the responsibility of the UK Government. The Scottish Government will be engaging with both the upcoming Ofgem and UK Government Storm Arwen reviews.

In addition, the Deputy First Minister requested that the Scottish Government’s Resilience Division begin work on the scope and terms of a review into the Storm Arwen response on 30 November 2021, and on 14 December 2021 he formally commissioned the Scottish Resilience Partnership to collate evidence from local resilience partnerships to inform the findings of the review.

The Scottish Government will also gather evidence from other relevant groups, for example the voluntary sector and utilities companies, including power companies.

‎This work is already well underway and we aim to publish a review paper with recommendations in mid-January.