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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: S6W-04877

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it provided final approval to the list of questions contained within the Health and Wellbeing Census for schools in 2021-22.

The list of questions was compiled by a national Health and Wellbeing Questionnaire Content Group was derived from existing health and wellbeing surveys which had already been tested and ethically approved.

A list of topics covered by the Census is available from the Scottish Government website at:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/factsheet/2020/02/health-and-wellbeing-census/documents/health-and-wellbeing-census-frequently-asked-questions/health-and-wellbeing-census-frequently-asked-questions/govscot%3Adocument/HWB%2BCensus%2B2021-22%2B-%2BQA%2Bdocument%2B-%2BAugust%2B2021.docx .

Question reference: S6W-04867

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) strategy and (b) resilience planning was undertaken to account for the possibility of extraordinary events, such as Storm Arwen, occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures, such as lockdown.

Resilience structures in Scotland are designed to be adaptable and responsive to a wide range of risks.

Ministers regularly receive briefing on specific risks or emergencies throughout the year and the Scottish Government’s resilience arrangements constantly monitor for emerging issues and threats.

In the autumn of 2021, recognising the heightened risk of concurrent events – including COVID, winter weather, and supply chain issues – additional reporting and monitoring arrangements were put in place to ensure Ministers retain a close oversight of the complex and overlapping risk picture. Since 30 September, this has included daily reporting and weekly meetings of SGORR, with assessments on the key concurrent risks facing Government and planning activity being taken.

Question reference: S6W-04845

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking, in addition to encouraging natural ventilation, to make classrooms safer learning environments for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government Reducing Risks in Schools guidance contains a range of mitigations, such as use of face coverings, distancing requirements in schools and on school transport, and guidance for visitors and in-school events. This guidance is currently under active review, with input this week from the COVID-19 Education Recovery Group and the Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children's Issues . A new version will be published this week. The guidance will remain under regular review and, where the scientific advice supports it, mitigations will be enhanced or removed as appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-04843

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what inquiries it is conducting into the prevalence of long COVID, and its potential impact on (a) children and (b) the population as a whole.

he Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office has funded nine research projects designed to improve our understanding of the longer term effects of the COVID-19 infection, or long COVID. Three projects focus on the prevalence and symptoms of long COVID. All started in early 2021 and will run for two years.

LTE2015.pdf (scot.nhs.uk) ‘Developing and validating a risk prediction model for long COVID-19’. Undertaken by the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Public Health Scotland, this research builds on the EAVE II study, originally funded by the Medical Research Council ( An Introduction to EAVE II | The University of Edinburgh ). EAVE II has used a pseudonymised patient dataset to track the COVID-19 pandemic as it unfolded across Scotland. This dataset will now be used to develop a model which will identify people at greatest risk of developing long COVID. In the course of developing that model, the research will generate data about the number of people in Scotland diagnosed with long COVID and their use of health services. This project will cover the population as a whole, including children.

lte2006.pdf (scot.nhs.uk) ‘Defining and understanding the longer-term effects of COVID-19: a mixed methods study exploring the frequency, nature, and impact of ‘long COVID’ in the Scottish population’. Undertaken by the university of Glasgow, this study will identify how many people continue to be unwell, their symptoms, and how it affects their lives. Scottish adults who had a positive COVID-19 test, and a negative test comparison group, will be sent an SMS message inviting them to take part in the study. If they agree, they will answer questions about their health before and after COVID-19, and any effect on their lives, with the questions repeated at regular intervals. This project will cover people aged 16+.

LTE2008.pdf (scot.nhs.uk) ‘COVID-19: Tracking Persistent Symptoms in Scotland (TraPSS)’ – undertaken by the University of the West of Scotland. This project aims toimprove our understanding of long COVID in the Scottish population, and particularly in people whose original symptoms were relatively mild. The current evidence describing the types of symptoms other studies have reported will be reviewed, and people will be surveyed at different stages of recovery to find out what kinds of persistent symptoms they have. The project will survey adults aged 18+.

Currently the best source of estimated long COVID prevalence data for Scotland is the monthly Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting on ‘Estimates of the prevalence of self-reported long COVID and associated activity limitation, using UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey data’.The most recent report is here.

Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) This showed that, over the four-week period ending 31 October 2021, an estimated 99,000 people (95% confidence interval: 89,000 to 109,000) in the private residential population in Scotland (1.87%; 95% CI: 1.68% to 2.07%) reported experiencing long COVID of any duration. Detailed estimates by age group and symptoms are available for the UK, but this detail is not available for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04751

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to extend the concessionary travel scheme to include free rail travel for under-22s as part of the nationalised ScotRail fares strategy.

Question reference: S6W-04810

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) target and (b) actual average timescale has been for assessing applications for grant assistance to deliver affordable housing above Affordable Housing Investment Benchmark level, in each quarter since Q1 2016.

The Scottish Government does not set a target timescale for assessing applications for grant assistance to deliver affordable housing above the applicable affordable housing investment benchmark level.

Using information from our Housing and Regeneration Programme system (HARP), we have compiled the following table showing the average calendar days from the initial tender application submission date to the actual tender approval date for those projects submitted at above benchmark level over the period Quarter 3 2017-18 to Quarter 2 2021-22. It should be noted, however, that while we encourage early engagement on likely project costs prior to tender applications being submitted, there can be instances where applications have missing information or require further, more detailed work by the grant applicant before they can be fully assessed.

Financial year quarter	Total projects approved above the applicable benchmark	Average time between the initial tender submission and the actual approval date
Financial year quarter	Total projects approved above the applicable benchmark	(calendar days)
2016-17 Q1	5	Data not available
2016-17 Q2	7	Data not available
2016-17 Q3	20	Data not available
2016-17 Q4	45	Data not available
2016-17 Total/ Average	77	Data not available
2017-18 Q1	16	Data not available
2017-18 Q2	14	Data not available
2017-18 Q3	14	22
2017-18 Q4	41	19
2017-18 Total/ Average	85	20
2018-19 Q1	10	41
2018-19 Q2	13	30
2018-19 Q3	22	33
2018-19 Q4	47	26
2018-19 Total/ Average	92	30
2019-20 Q1	19	31
2019-20 Q2	14	38
2019-20 Q3	35	25
2019-20 Q4	82	25
2019-20 Total/ Average	150	27
2020-21 Q1	9	19
2020-21 Q2	16	44
2020-21 Q3	17	27
2020-21 Q4	30	29
2020-21 Total/ Average	72	31
2021-22 Q1	12	21
2021-22 Q2	21	42
2021-22 Total/ Average	33	35

Data on tender submission dates from Quarter 1, 2016-17 to Quarter 2, 2017-18 is not available as this pre-dated our HARP system and the historic information was not migrated to HARP.

Question reference: S6W-04812

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04467 by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021, whether gamete storage is provided by the NHS to people who are considering or undertaking gender transitioning.

Question reference: S6W-04817

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Question reference: S6W-04818

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people in Scotland who have not yet registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register are able to do so.

The Scottish Government takes action to ensure that people in Scotland who have not yet registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register are able to do so as follows:

An annual summer public awareness campaign using TV, radio, newspaper, social media, posters in pharmacy windows and on bus shelters and partnership with Health Boards, stakeholder organisations and employers.
Participation in UK national Organ Donation Week in September each year using radio, newspaper, social media and partnership with third sector organisations and employers.
Ongoing partnership with Kidney Research UK, who train peer educators to raise awareness of donation in south Asian communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Letters to young persons reaching aged 16 to inform them of the law on donation and how to make a donation decision.
The Organ Donation Scotland Website, which provides information on deceased and living donation including information in accessible formats and languages and on faith and donation
Ongoing social media and additional newspaper media throughout the year using case studies, for example a focus on living kidney donation in the lead up to Christmas.

Question reference: S6W-05251

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn