Parliamentary questions
Claire Baker
1,724 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to a phased approach to reopening accommodation providers.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: In line with the Route-map 'through and out of the crisis' published on 21 May, it has been assessed that restrictions on all accommodation providers will be eased in phase 3. We understand some sectors, such as self-catering, may be able to operate social di…
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it will provide to businesses and tourist attractions that are allowed to reopen at phase 3 of its COVID-19 route map.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government will publish safe workplace guidance for the tourism and hospitality sector soon. This has been developed in partnership with industry and unions in line with our Fair Work principles.
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the "resumption of professional sport in line with public health advice" in its COVID-19 route map means for (a) training, (b) competition and (c) non-participants, including fans and observers.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: On 18 June 2020, the First Minister announced professional sport in line with public health advice can resume from 22 June 2020. Training is currently permitted in line with restrictions for the general population, and we are considering proposals from footb…
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what restrictions will be put in place at phase 3 of its COVID-19 route map in respect of "live events permitted with restricted numbers and physical distancing restrictions".
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The events sector provides a significant contribution to Scotland's cultural life and to our economy. We are determined that it will rebound strongly from the current crisis and a return for live events with restrictions in place during phase 3 will support t…
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to a zonal approach to accommodation providers in regard to businesses reopening.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: Lifting of restrictions will be informed by the scientific and public health evidence available at each review point. The Scottish Government will consider the implications of this for our phased approach to opening up the economy through the route-map, and w…
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which tourist attractions it considers will not be allowed to reopen at phase 3 of its COVID-19 route map.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: As announced on 10 June, it is hoped the tourism and hospitality sector, including visitor attractions and accommodation providers , can start to reopen on 15 July, subject to the criteria being met for phase 3 of the route map to commence. Businesses must im…
25 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with outdoor education providers, including residential providers, regarding the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials met a number of outdoor learning stakeholders on 29 May including: Girlguiding Scotland; The Boys’ Brigade; Scouts Scotland; the Outward Bound Trust; Scottish Outdoor Education Centres and the Association of Heads of Outdoor Educ…
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for support from the Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Fund it has received; what the total value of funding requested was; how many applications were approved, and what the total value of the awards made was, also broken down by the (a) creative and cul…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund (CTHEHF) provides support, unavailable elsewhere in the UK, for small creative, tourism and hospitality companies who have experienced at least 50% loss of current or projected revenue as a resul…
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it has received from people in the cultural sector for support from the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund; what the total value of the funding requested was; how many of those applications were approved, and what the total value of the awards made was.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund (PERF) provides grants for businesses, unavailable elsewhere in the UK, which:support Scotland’s productive capacity,are of local or national economic importance,impact the wider business community,are a supplier or pote…
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to raise awareness of the (a) Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and (b) Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Fund.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and Creative, Tourism and Hospitality Enterprises Fund provide support to our businesses not available elsewhere in the UK. They were both heavily promoted through multiple statements to the media, including numerous Sco…
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the creative industries it has identified as not being eligible for the (a) furlough and (b) self-employment income support scheme, and what alternative support is available to those individuals.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Job Retention Scheme, which includes the furlough measure, and the Self Employment Income Support Scheme are both reserved to the UK Government under employment law. There are a number of reasons why people may not be eligible for these schemes. Data on …
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what COVID-19 funding support packages it has in place for people working in the cultural sector, and how many people have been supported to date.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has made a number of grant schemes available specifically for the cultural sector as a result of COVID-19, and in addition cultural businesses are able to apply to a range of other COVID-19 business support schemes. These funds are sup…
18 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it will make available to the arts and culture sector to allow for adaptions to be implemented to allow social distancing to be observed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government in collaboration with Creative Scotland have acted very swiftly in putting measures in place to support the sector and we are looking ahead to its safe restart. The arts and culture sector is exploring ways to bring people together wh…
18 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with the National Trust of Scotland regarding potential redundancies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what action it is taking to help save these jobs.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: In response to a request from the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) for support to continue its operations, I suggested that it worked with Scottish Enterprise on the details of the case for support and agreed to meet the Trust. NTS indicated on 8 May that it…
18 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has made available to the National Trust of Scotland in each of the last five years, and whether additional funding will be provided over the next 12 months in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to help protect (a) jobs and (b) venues.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Public funding for the heritage sector is primarily distributed through Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) grant programmes. Since 2015, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has been awarded two three-year Annual Maintenance Grants to support the conserva…
18 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it or its agencies have carried out into the potential change in audience behaviour in the arts and culture sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is currently working closely with partners, agencies and stakeholders to understand the long term impact of the pandemic on the sector, and to prepare guidance to support safe working when it is possible for the sector to reopen. Crea…
18 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much net income it estimates will be lost in the (a) arts and culture and (b) tourism sector in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it expects it to return to the 2019 level.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scottish Ministers recognise the exceptional circumstances being experienced by the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19, and the challenges these have created. We have significant and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders from these s…
14 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many venues in the entertainment sector are at risk of permanent closure because of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, we are in regular contact with the sector, as well as those who represent the sector, to monitor the ongoing impact of the current situation, which is changing quickly. We are also monitoring th…
14 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the net annual economic worth is of the (a) winter festival and (b) pantomime season; how many jobs are dependent on it; what impact the COVID-19 outbreak could have on it in 2020, including what the risk is of the season not going ahead, and what (i) financial and (ii) other suppor…
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government does not hold details of the net annual economic worth and the jobs created by the pantomime season. Similarly, the measurement of the impact of individual events outwith Scotland's Winter Festivals programme is not a matter for the S…
11 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the financial loss will be to the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Official data on the financial impact of COVID-19 on the arts, culture and tourism sectors are not yet available for Scotland. The ONS has published initial UK-level data on the impact of COVID-19 by industry through its Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (B…
11 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with independent performance venues across Scotland to ensure they have the capacity and cash flow to reopen when it is safe to do so.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has been having ongoing discussions with all parts of the culture sector through a variety of channels, including independent performance venues across a range of sectors such as theatre and live music. This has helped identify the sca…
11 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many fewer tourists have visited Scotland from January to May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: At present, official data on numbers of domestic and international overnight visitors are not available for the period January – May 2020. The ONS will publish estimated international overnight visitor numbers for 2019 from its Travel Trends publication on 2…
11 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has made available to the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19; how many grants have been awarded, and how many applications were rejected.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has made a number of grant schemes available specifically for the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19, and in addition arts, culture and tourism businesses are able to apply to a range of other COVID-19 business s…
11 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of jobs lost in the arts, culture and tourism sectors as a result of COVID-19, also broken down by the number that it estimates could be lost in these sectors in 2020.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Official data on the impact of COVID-19 on those employed in the arts, culture and tourism sectors are not yet available for Scotland. The ONS has published initial UK-level data on the impact of COVID-19 by industry through its Business Impact of COVID-19 S…
7 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements have been made with private healthcare providers regarding the provision of services to the NHS during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28933 on 2 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…
7 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) NHS cancer operations and (b) other NHS procedures have taken place in private healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: During the COVID19 pandemic our strategy for utilising the private sector capacity in Scotland is to support NHS activity by providing a COVID free environment for urgent procedures to be undertaken, specifically urgent cancer surgery. As of the 24 May 2020,…
7 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on NHS operations and procedures undertaken in the private healthcare sector during the COVID-19 outbreak, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not currently hold information on how much Health Boards have spent on NHS operations and procedures undertaken in the private healthcare sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. Costs will be available at the end of each quarter acco…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who is eligible to apply for funding from the Supporting Communities Fund.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Supporting Communities Fund has been established with an initial £20m investment and is being targeted through community anchor organisations (CAO). Currently organisations eligible to apply will be charities, voluntary organisations, community controlled…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which organisations have been approved for funding from the Supporting Communities Fund.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28796 on 11 May 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…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how organisations apply for funding from the Supporting Communities Fund.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: On 18 March, I announced an investment of £350 million to support local communities and households in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment comprises a range of funds to be delivered using a combination of approaches to ensure that resource is…