Pauline McNeill

13 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with representatives of SQA staff who may be concerned about the future of their employment due to the current review of the organisation.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is extremely sympathetic to the extent to which the announcement to replace the SQA has been troubling for staff concerned about their jobs and careers. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills attended a SQA staff Q&A session o…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of which type of court the reported 62,907 domestic abuse incidents recorded by Police Scotland in 2019-20 were tried in.

Answer · Keith Brown: The available information is provided in the following table which has been produced from the Scottish Government’s criminal proceedings database . People proceeded against with a Domestic Abuse identifier or statutory aggravation recorded against the main c…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how potential victims of human trafficking in Scotland are identified.

Answer · Ash Regan: Potential victims of human trafficking can present or be recovered in a wide range of situations. First Responder organisations such as Police Scotland, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Border Force, local authorities, the Trafficking Awareness Raising…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many 24-hour safehouse beds with specialist care it is currently funding for potential victims of human trafficking, and, on average, for how many days people stay in such accommodation.

Answer · Ash Regan: Migrant Help and the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) were awarded a combined £1,484,606 for the current financial year to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation across Scotland. Support can include accommodation, assistance …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of its funding for the delivery of its Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy is ring-fenced for improving identification and recovery of potential victims.

Answer · Ash Regan: National Referral Mechanism (NRM) First Responder organisations play a key role in the identification and recovery of potential victims of human trafficking and exploitation. First Responders in Scotland include Police Scotland, UK Visas and Immigration, Bord…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many British potential victims of human trafficking have been recovered in Scotland in each of the last three years.

Answer · Ash Regan: Since 2019, data relating to the National Referral Mechanism has been released by the Home Office Single Competent Authority. Information is published quarterly and in an end of year summary. Data relating to 2018 was released by the National Crime Agency an…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what external evaluation is carried out of the victim care services that it funds for victims of human trafficking.

Answer · Ash Regan: The Scottish Government grant funds the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help to provide support and assistance to adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation; and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Psychological Trauma Service to …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the identification of UK nationals being trafficked in Scotland.

Answer · Ash Regan: We have identified a low representation of UK nationals in referrals from Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) when compared to the rest of the UK in our annual trafficking and exploitation progress reports, although there was an increase in 2020…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for compliance with the legislation in the refreshed Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy.

Answer · Ash Regan: Section 36 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 requires Scottish Ministers to review the Strategy within three years of its publication and following that review, publish a report on the review. The Scottish Government published a re…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the funding support for services for the delivery of the refreshed Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy will be an open tendering process, and, if so, when it anticipates this will take place.

Answer · Ash Regan: The Victim Centred Approach Fund, which includes funding to support adult victims of human trafficking and exploitation, opened for applications on 18 October 2021. Information on the application process, including timelines, can be found at Victim Centred A…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided for COP26-related events and initiatives that are open to people in Glasgow.

Answer · Michael Matheson: COP26 presents a unique opportunity to empower and support individuals across Scotland to take collective action towards our net zero target. In Glasgow, we have awarded £18,000 to support the COP26 Pop Up Climate Café Programme. Our funding will enable Cli…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any current projects it has active in Glasgow that are designed to tackle climate change.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government works with communities and the local authority in Glasgow, and across Scotland, to support our just transition to net zero emissions in a number of ways. This includes, but is not limited to:Committing £1.3 million of grant funding to …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with businesses in Glasgow ahead of COP26.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has been engaging with Glasgow based businesses, both in terms of logistics and how they can get involved in COP. In terms of logistics, we have communicated relevant travel information to our stakeholders through a variety of channel…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what legacy planning it has for Glasgow following COP26.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises that COP26 is not an end in itself. It is a unique opportunity for meaningful engagement with people, communities, and businesses in Scotland and beyond, with the potential for a powerful lasting legacy. In collaboration wi…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what economic impact assessment it has undertaken in relation to COP26.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government believes that hosting COP26 will offer important economic opportunities for both Glasgow and Scotland, particularly for Glasgow’s accommodation and hospitality sectors. COP26 also offers potential additional trade and investment opport…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timetable for its proposed legislation on fair rents.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has committed to delivering a new deal for tenants and to consult on the options, deliver legislation and implement an effective national system of rent controls by the end of 2025. We will set out our proposals for taking this work f…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to engage with the work submitted to the Scottish Parliament's Non-Government Bills Unit (NGBU) on fair rents in the last parliamentary session.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: As part of our work to implement rent controls during the course of this Parliament, we will examine and consider a wide range of information, evidence and expert views, including submissions to the Scottish Parliament's Non-Government Bills Unit on fair rent…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any work that it has carried out to date on its proposed legislation on fair rents.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has committed to delivering a new deal for tenants and to consulting on the options, deliver legislation and implementing an effective national system of rent controls by the end of 2025. Our aim is to ensure quality, affordability an…

5 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of teachers returning a positive COVID-19 PCR test there have been in each month since August 2021.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Since the start of the outbreak, Public Health Scotland (PHS) has been working closely with the Scottish Government and health and care colleagues to support the surveillance and monitoring of COVID-19 amongst the population. There is a large amount of data b…

5 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date Test and Protect stopped actively informing schools of a positive COVID-19 PCR test for one of their pupils.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Test and Protect continues to inform schools of a positive Covid-19 PCR test for one of their pupils where it is deemed necessary after being risk assessed by public health officials. As set out in Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in sc…

5 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many confirmed cases of children having COVID-19 there have been in each primary and secondary school in each month since August 2021.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The COVID-19 Education Surveillance dashboard is updated and published every week by Public Health Scotland and includes weekly data on the rate of COVID-19 PCR testing among children and young people of educational age (2-19 years), the number and rate of …

1 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to people who are unable to receive their scheduled COVID-19 vaccine dose as a result of testing positive for the virus, when it was developing its COVID-19 vaccine certification policy.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As at 23 October 87% of the adult population (i.e. 18 years +), and 85% of 16 year + age group are now fully vaccinated and these numbers increases on a daily basis. Certification was not introduced until after the date all the adult population had the oppo…

1 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to people who have COVID-19 antibodies as a result of having had the virus, when it was developing its COVID-19 vaccine certification policy.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: There is clear clinical evidence that the vaccination reduces the risk of serious harm and we recommend that all adults, even those how have had Covid, should be vaccinated. One of the aims of the certification programme is to promote the uptake of the vaccin…

1 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group will report.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland Working Group, chaired by the Baroness Helena Kennedy, is on track to produce its final report to Scottish Government by early February 2022, meeting the one year recommendation set by the Justice Committee. The …

28 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates there will be a return to face-to-face GP appointments as the default.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have agreed a joint statement with the BMA on face to face appointments that will be published later today. As they have for many years, face-to-face appointments form part of a hybrid model also including video and telephone consultations. While we all as…

27 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to maintain the current NHS waiting time standards following the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and what assessment it has made of the waiting times for NHS operations.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We currently have no plans to amend the existing waiting times standards although recovering our NHS and improving waiting times for patients is a top priority for this Government. In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic the NHS …

27 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates the NHS will begin meeting the Treatment Time Guarantee in all instances.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The NHS Recovery Plan, launched on 25 August and backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, strives to recover NHS performance over the 5 years of this Parliament in order to ensure Treatment Time Guarantees and other waiting time standards can be me…

27 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of cancelled appointments within NHS consultant clinics, and what guidance it has issued on this.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Any decisions to scale back elective activity, including decisions to cancel consultant clinics, are being taken on an evidence basis and where the need to support COVID-19 patients and provide urgent care exceeds capacity for elective care. However, the NHS…

27 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long it estimates it will take the NHS to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it anticipates NHS waiting times will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Recovering our NHS is our top priority. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is the central aim of our NHS Recovery Plan. The Plan is backed by over £1 billion of additional investm…

27 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any reports of cancer surgery being halted in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and, if so, whether it will provide details of these reports.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Officials meet with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s (NHS GG&C) Cancer Team on a weekly basis to ensure every urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) patient is moving timeously through their pathway. These discussions are based on management information, not in the pu…