Parliamentary questions

Jackie Baillie

9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

19 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28539 by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 May 2020, how much additional funding it has provided the Scottish Ambulance Service in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Ambulance Service has received additional funding of £9.8 million so far to support prioritisation of the Board’s response to Covid-19 and to meet initial costs incurred. The Scottish Government will continue its close engagement with all NHS Bo…

19 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28544 by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 May 2020, how many care homes (a) were issued with an improvement notice, (b) had conditions applied to their registration and (c) had their registration cancelled by the Care Inspectorate between 1 January and 31 Dece…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: (a) 10 care homes were issued with improvement notices under section 62 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 in 2019. (b) No care homes had conditions applied to their registration in 2019. (c) 1 service had its registration cancelled by means …

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been issued on the use of tactile markers to make it easier for people with sight loss maintaining two metres social distancing while queuing to access buildings.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Guidance has been issued to public service providers and retailers that remain open, that they must ensure a distance of two metres between customers, and between customers and shop assistants, letting people enter the shop only in small numbers, to ensure th…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what public awareness information has been provided to support people with sight loss to safely maintain two metres social distancing.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Physical distancing measures are steps everyone should take to reduce social interaction between people. This will help reduce the spread of coronavirus. Guidance on physical distancing is available on the Scottish Government website physical (social) distan…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been provided to public service providers and retailers to support people with sight loss maintaining two metres' social distancing (a) when queuing to access buildings and (b) once they enter a building.

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been issued to public transport providers to support people with sight loss maintain two metres social distancing before and during travel.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Transport Transition Plan was recently launched and guidance has been issued to public transport providers. Further information can be found at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/transport-transition-plan/guidance-for-transport-operators…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether every person discharged from hospital to a residential care setting is tested twice for COVID-19 and is only transferred if both tests are negative, and whether the care home is advised.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29040 on 8 June 2020. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether care homes are notified of people who are discharged from hospital into their care who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our guidance states that patients discharged to a care homes must have two negative tests before discharge. The discharging hospital should liaise with the care home to ensure a risk assessment is undertaken prior to discharge and that the home is able to pro…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many care home staff in the (a) public, (b) voluntary and (c) private sector have been tested for COVID-19, and what percentage of the total workforce in each category this represents.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Public Health Scotland provides the Scottish Government with numbers of residents and staff tested in care homes, but it is not possible to disaggregate this further to provide a breakdown of the type of…

13 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many care home residents have been tested for COVID-19, and what percentage of the care homes population this represents.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Public Health Scotland provides the Scottish Government with numbers of residents and staff tested in care homes. The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland to quality assure this information. Initial data was published on the 10th of Jun…

12 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the maximum waiting time should be for a person with lung cancer to be notified that they are in the COVID-19 shielded group, and what its response is to reports of this taking up to seven weeks in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is greatly concerned at this report. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is unaware of any shielding issues relating to lung cancer patients and are unable to investigate the issue raised in the question with the information provided. The Sc…

12 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it reached the decision to contact all people in COVID-19 shielded groups and notify them with advice; when the first contacts were made, and whether every person initially identified as being in these groups has now been contacted.

Answer · John Swinney: The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport informed Parliament on 17 March 2020 that the National Health Service would contact people who are most vulnerable to Covid-19. The first letters with advice to people in the shielded groups we…

5 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of a delay in the delivery of the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm, in light of the crane collapse of the Deme Offshore vessel, Orion, as it was due to install jacket foundations at the windfarm.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I am aware of the serious accident that took place onboard the Orion 1 installation vessel during testing in the port of Rostock, Germany on 2 May 2020. I understand that Deme NV, as contractor, have launched an investigation to determine what went wrong dur…

1 May 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will prioritise the re-opening of the local authority-run recycling centres that were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Local Authorities are responsible for recycling centres and need to consider several factors before reopening them. These include the ability to operate sites safely, ensuring physical distancing is maintained and discouraging the public from making unnecessa…

30 Apr 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests for clarification regarding COVID-19 the Death Certification Review Service has received each month from GPs, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Covid-19 related enquiry calls to DCRS 13-31 March 2020 1-30 April 2020 1-3 May 2020 Total GP Clinical Advice GP Process Advice Hospital/Hospice Clinical Advice Hospital/Hospice Process Advice Other * Total number of COVID-19 related enquiries 6…

30 Apr 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether business interruption insurance policies that specify that local authorities must notify businesses of closure in the event of pandemics are satisfied by the actions it has taken to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Businesses that have had to close have quite rightly looked to their insurance provider for help and it is disappointing to hear that many businesses continue to be unsuccessful in making a claim. Scottish Ministers are engaging regularly with the industry an…

30 Apr 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authority advice on the closure of local retail premises, banning of large-scale events and recommendation to work from home due to COVID-19 is the same as its advice.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government published its Coronavirus (COVID-19): business and social distancing guidance on 21 April 2020. This was updated from original guidance published on 23 March. The Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health Scotland and Society …

30 Apr 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects local authorities to follow and enforce its decision to mandate the closure of non-essential retail premises, cancellation or postponement of large-scale events and for people to work from home as much as possible.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Yes. It is critical that we prevent the spread of coronavirus and save lives, and therefore adherence to the restrictions in the emergency regulations is an important component in achieving this.

30 Apr 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether all local authorities have undertaken to follow and enforce its guidance on the closure of retail premises, banning of large-scale events and recommendation to work from home as much as possible due to COVID-19.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We understand that all local authorities have undertaken to adhere to the guidance where this applies to their responsibilities. The indications are that compliance with the restrictions across Scotland is high.