Parliamentary questions
Neil Findlay
2,296 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason all NHS frontline staff are not being routinely tested for COVID-19, and when this will start.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As set out in our Strategic Framework for the pandemic, published on 23 October 2020, and in line with clinical and public health priorities, we will extend routine weekly testing of asymptomatic groups in a way which focusses on protecting those most vulnera…
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which condition cohort has had the greatest number of people placed on the COVID-19 shielding list.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The respiratory group is the one with the greatest number of people placed on the COVID-19 shielding list. A full breakdown of the shielding cohort by shielding group is as follows. The following table provides the number of individuals on the shielding list…
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with a diagnosis of a pre-existing respiratory condition have died after contracting COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Of the 4,274 deaths occurring between 1 March and 30 September 2020 where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, in 631 cases the deceased’s main pre-existing condition was a respiratory condition. The methodology used for analysis of pre-existing …
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding has been given to respiratory services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has confirmed additional funding of £1.1 billion to support the health and social care sector in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding announcement provides support for the additional costs reported by Boards in respondin…
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which condition cohort its survey of COVID-19 shielded groups has found to be the most compliant in following the shielding guidance.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: PHS conducted a survey of the people shielding. The report can be found at the following link.https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/downloads/covid-19-shielding-programme-scotland-impact-and-experience-survey/ The shielding online survey report provides a br…
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve people's respiratory health in order to be better prepared for any future increases in COVID-19 infections.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are committed to continuous improvement in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions, which is why we set out in our Programme for Government a Respiratory Care Action Plan to deliver these key priorities. As …
6 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there has been a reported rise in the level of hospital delayed discharges, and whether the funding to address this issue has been maintained.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has been consistently clear that it will provide the necessary funding across health and social care services to recognise the additional costs of responding to Covid-19. On 29 September the Scottish Government announced funding of £1.…
5 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it agreed to pay for additional care home places purchased by health and social care partnerships (HSCP) between March and June 2020; if so, how much it paid for these places, broken down by HSCP area; whether it is still paying for additional places; for how long it (a) has paid…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is committed to providing the necessary funding across health and care services to recognise the additional costs of responding to COVID-19, to support remobilisation of services, and to ensure that safety remains the top priority at a…
30 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many FTE jobs are created, on average, with each million pounds of its procurement and commissioning.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland 2019 reports that public procurement spend generates around £10 billion of economic activity for Scotland, contributing £6 billion to Scottish Gross Domestic Product, supporting around 100,000 full time eq…
30 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who is responsible for signing off changes to emergency powers in each ministerial portfolio area in circumstances where the Parliament does not have an opportunity to vote on such changes.
Answer · Michael Russell: Changes to legislation are agreed collectively by Scottish Ministers.
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons Heriot-Watt University is reported to have financial challenges.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Covid-19 has hit all of our universities hard and Heriot-Watt university is no exception. Universities are reporting financial pressures for academic year 2020-21 and beyond largely due to the limited resources available to generate income. This includes a r…
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the loss of a reported 130 teaching posts at Heriot-Watt University will have on (a) course choice, (b) student experience and (c) research capacity.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Heriot-Watt University has indicated that the losses are likely to be 110 academic and professional services posts, and 20 research posts that are coming to the end of contract. The University has stated that any decisions on the roles being lost will be care…
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that Heriot-Watt University is at risk of being unable to continue as a stand-alone university.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The financial pressures created by the Covid-19 pandemic have been unprecedented in all areas of society including the ability of our universities to generate income. We continue to work closely with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council on …
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science last met senior management at Heriot-Watt University, and what was discussed.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I met with the Principal of Heriot-Watt University, Professor Richard Williams, on-line on 7 October, during which we discussed the University’s proposals, and other matters, including the current student experience at Heriot-Watt.
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Heriot-Watt University’s reported plans to make 130 teaching and professional services staff redundant, and what support it has offered the university to help avoid this.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is working closely with the Scottish Funding Council and the further and higher education sectors to mitigate the issues created by Covid-19. On 9 July, I announced to Parliament our Further and Higher Education Sustainability Plan. Th…
28 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Workforce Specialist Service that was announced in the Programme for Government will be (a) established and (b) staffed.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Following the Programme for Government announcement, work is currently taking place to establish the Workforce Specialist Service so that it can be operational as soon as possible. A further announcement will be made in due course.
21 Sep 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle climate change.
14 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) Clostridium difficile (C.diff) and (b) MRSA tests have been carried out in hospitals in each NHS board area during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)tests that are carried out in hospitals across NHS Scotland. However, National Antimicrobial Resis…
11 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether an equalities impact assessment was carried out of its Test and Protect app; for what reason it is not accessible to phones with older operating systems, and what advice it is providing to people who do not have the technology to download it.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Tried and tested person to person contact tracing is already in place and will always be the core part the Test and Protect service. The Protect Scotland app should only ever be seen as an enhancement to Test and Protect but the more people that download it t…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason patients are being referred to the specialist mesh service in Glasgow, in light of the terms of reference for, moderator of, and team running the unit not yet being published.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: It is important to note that the service in Glasgow was previously providing the mesh complications service, in partnership with NHS Lothian. As such, referrals to this specialist service have not stopped throughout the pandemic. This is different to other se…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31461 by Jeane Freeman on 10 September 2020, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding on what date the First Minister was made aware that patients were being transferred from hospitals to care homes without being tested f…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As explained in the answer to S5W-31461 and subsequently in the media, prior to the Sunday Post article neither Scottish Minister or Government officials had information on the testing status of patients prior to discharge. Throughout the pandemic our guidan…
9 Sep 2020 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has confidence in the hybrid system of voting.
31 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking regarding companies that allow farmed salmon to escape in large numbers; how many such companies have had sanctions imposed on them in the last five years, and what the sanctions were.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government takes the containment of farmed fish very seriously. Breaches are investigated by the Fish Health Inspectorate using powers under the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 (AFSA). In the last five years, eight companies have r…
28 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on which date the First Minister was made aware that patients were being transferred from hospitals to care homes without being tested for COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Ministers did not have information on the results of Covid-19 tests for patients who were discharged from hospital prior to the release of the Sunday Post FOI. However, following Parliamentary Questions in May officials discussed with Public Health Scotland (…
28 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on which date the First Minister was made aware that patients were being transferred from hospitals to care homes after having tested positive for COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31461 on 10 September 2020. All answers to Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .
27 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for the new NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde specialist mesh service that is being established; how many patients per year this service will (a) have consultations with, (b) treat and (c) operate on, and what the projected cost is per patient.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Funding of £1.3 million (2020-21), and £1.9 million in each of the following two years will be made available for the new specialist service. The new service expects 35 surgical cases this year and, in the following two years, it expects in the region of 130…
24 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what long-term funding and support is in place for charities post COVID-19 to ensure that they can continue providing support at a (a) local and (b) national level.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The £350m Community Fund, of which £100m has been committed to the third sector, has been delivered rapidly, ahead of other parts of the UK, and to a much greater scale. Programme for Government announced a Third Sector and Communities Recovery fund, which w…
24 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what urban and community regeneration projects are currently underway across Scotland.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government provides funding support to a range of urban and community regeneration projects across Scotland and we receive regular reports on them. However, and as you will know, there are many regeneration projects that do not require Scottish G…
24 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that infrastructure projects are carried out in a way that minimises waste and reduces Scotland’s carbon footprint.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are a range of policies across Scottish Government that will impact on the way in which infrastructure projects are undertaken to minimise waste and seek to reduce Scotland’s carbon footprint. Our next Infrastructure Investment Plan – details of which …
24 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate steps it will take to ensure an energy efficient and climate driven economic recovery post COVID-19.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, and continuing to support the country through the crisis is our priority. However, we now have an opportunity to deliver a sustainable and green recovery from the pandemic. This means ensuring economic, social and envir…