Neil Findlay

21 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what overall risk assessment was carried out on the potential impact of the policy decision that resulted in hospital patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 being discharged to care homes or to be cared for at their own homes, and whether it will publish this.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29511 on 10 July 2020. All answers to Parliamentary Questions can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .  

21 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what individual risk assessments were carried out before hospital patients who had tested (a) positive and (b) negative for COVID-19 were discharged to care homes or to be cared for at their own homes.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Individual risk assessments are a matter for the multi-disciplinary teams in hospitals to carry out. Our guidance has always been clear. At all times a thorough risk assessment should be undertaken prior to discharge to ensure that the care home is able to p…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is using conditionality in grant awards to the aviation sector to drive up (a) environmental and (b) employment standards.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We have not made any COVID-19 related grant awards to the aviation sector. The Scottish Government’s joint statement between key partners from the public, private and third sectors and the STUC on fair work expectations during the transition out of lockdown c…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what practical and immediate support it is providing to the aviation sector to prevent job losses.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31286 on 28 August 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…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to prevent job losses at (a) Edinburgh Airport and (b) other Scottish airports.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The global downturn in aviation caused by COVID-19 has had a significant impact on airports around the world, including here in Scotland. As passenger numbers are not expected to return to pre-COVID for up to 5 years, airports, airlines and various ancillary …

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many jobs in Scotland rely on Edinburgh Airport, including in the supply chain.

Answer · Michael Matheson: According to Edinburgh Airport, pre-COVID 19, they directly employed 750 people and over 5,000 people worked on their site. In 2016 Edinburgh Airport commissioned their own analysis of supply chain impacts, which estimated 2,200 to 3,300 jobs were supported w…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its sector-specific plan is to support aviation.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31286 on 28 August 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…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason (a) the funding for nurseries during the lockdown is based on funded place income while the Transitional Support Fund is based on capacity, (b) it decided to use a variable benefit for nurseries to address overhead costs, in light of them being predominantly fixed in natu…

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government committed to maintaining existing funding streams to funded providers throughout lockdown to give added assurance that any financial pressure resulting from the loss of private income would not be compounded with the withdrawal of fund…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the importance it places on the early learning and childcare sector, for what reason nurseries are not eligible for (a) the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and (b) other grant funding to sustain them as businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government introduced a range of measures to support businesses (including eligible childcare providers) through the closure period. Nurseries were able to apply for support through the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund. Applications to the Fun…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason local authorities are not rolling out 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare in 2020-21, in light of many private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings reportedly having capacity to do this.

Answer · Maree Todd: When the extent of the pandemic became clear we took the decision to suspend the universal statutory duty on local authorities to provide 1140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) which had been due to commence in August 2020. This was an extremely dif…

18 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason local authorities have to meet the cost of the provision of childcare during the lockdown for families of keyworkers, in light of this cost normally being met by the families themselves, and whether this approach has been funded from money previously allocated for the pro…

Answer · Maree Todd: The Covid-19 Pandemic has put us all in an unprecedented, challenging situation, and the Scottish Government recognises that over these past few months that every aspect of our national life has been affected by this crisis. Following the closure of schools a…

17 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-02313 by Jeane Freeman on 18 August 2020 (Official Report, c. 3), how many patients have been discharged from hospital to a care home following a positive test for COVID-19 in each month since January 2020, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I have commissioned Public Health Scotland to work with Health Boards to produce validated analysis on the number of patients tested prior to discharge and the outcome and date of that test. That includes examining how many were assessed as being discharged w…

14 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the proposals set out by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Scotland at the recent event, Honk for Hope, which was organised to highlight the issues facing the coach sector.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Coach operators have been able to apply for financial assistance from schemes including the 100% Retail Hospitality and Leisure rates relief & RHL grant support, and the small Business Grant Fund. Non-domestic rates relief also applies and a small number of o…

14 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the response rate to 101 calls, and what action it is taking to address reported concerns that many go unanswered.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Delivery of the police 101 service is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. Call handling statistics are regularly published on the Police Scotland website, and can be found at https://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/our-performance/ . People disc…

13 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to (a) implement the repeal of the sections of schedule 6, part 2 of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 that sought to extend the deadlines for responding to FOI requests and reviews and (b) respond to FOI requests within 20 working days, and how many (i) FOI req…

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Act 2020 repealed the provisions in Part 2 of schedule 6 to the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 - which extended the statutory timescales in FOISA (“the extension provisions”) - on 27 May 2020. Following that repeal, the Scot…

13 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it currently being subject to enforcement action by the Scottish Information Commissioner, underpinned by an FOI improvement action plan, whether it will provide an update on which of the FOI targets and improvements in practice (a) are and (b) are not being met.

Answer · Graeme Dey: As set out in the report on the Scottish Ministers’ FOI performance laid before the Scottish Parliament on 7 August 2020, the Ministers report monthly to the Scottish Information Commissioner on their FOI performance, before proactively publishing those perfo…

11 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of how many young BAME people were disadvantaged because of the approach taken by the SQA to the 2020 exams, and what action is being taken by (a) it and (b) the SQA to (i) rectify the position and (ii) prevent such disadvantage in the future. 

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) published an Equality Impact Assessment on the Alternative Certification Model ( https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/2020-sqa-alternative-certification-model-equality-impact-assessment.pdf ) on 4 August. This ass…

11 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action the SQA is taking to prioritise the gathering and analysis of ethnicity data.

Answer · John Swinney: As described in the Lessons Learned and Future Actions section of the Equality Impact Assessment published by SQA on 4 August, SQA and the Scottish Government are in the process of developing a suitable approach to data sharing that will allow for further ana…

10 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has made available to childminders to support them with adhering to the changes required by (a) it and (b) the Care Inspectorate in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Answer · Maree Todd: Childminders have been able to reopen since the 3 June 2020 and at 14 August 55% of registered childminders have chosen to reopen their doors to provide childcare to families across Scotland. Childminding Guidance was first issued June, with a revised versio…

10 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Transitional Support Fund for childcare providers is not available to childminders.

Answer · Maree Todd: To help support childminders who have suffered financially throughout the pandemic, the Childminding Workforce Support Fund (CWSF) opened on 16 July to provide grants up to a maximum of £350 to eligible childminders. The demand for the Fund was considerable a…

7 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the 2020 exam results adjustment figures broken down by school.

Answer · John Swinney: Information on 2020 exam results adjustment figures broken down by school is not held centrally.  

7 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils who were due to sit exams in 2020 had their grades, as predicted by their school, marked (a) down and (b) up by the SQA, also broken down by (i) subject and (ii) exam level.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of pupils who were due to sit exams in 2020 who had their grades marked down or up. The ‘Moderation Summary Reports’ that SQA published on 4 August provide information on moderation across 12…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Creative Scotland has supported the arts during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: From the outset of the pandemic Creative Scotland acted swiftly in putting measures in place to support the sector. Creative Scotland honoured the existing funding agreements with the cohort of 121 Regularly Funded Organisations with whom they already had a …

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the funding that it is providing in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is distributed fairly and that workers from the cultural sector who have been ineligible for funding to date are provided with appropriate support.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has been working closely with a wide range of businesses, organisations and stakeholders, as well as with relevant trade unions, to identify where support is needed. We will continue with this engagemen…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture has met trade unions representing workers in the cultural sector since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: On 18 August, I met with representatives of the STUC, Prospect/Bectu, Equity, the Musicians' Union, the Scottish Artists Union, the National Union of Journalists, the Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Writers' Guild. Myself and the Minister for Fair Wo…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which bodies have received financial support from Creative Scotland during the COVID-19 lockdown and, in light of reports that it is taking Creative Scotland the same length of time to process these grants as it did pre-pandemic, what action it can take to speed this up.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All recipients of Creative Scotland funds are published at the following link on their website: https://www.creativescotland.com/funding/latest-information/awards-listings As well as developing and delivering new funds at speed and with increased volumes o…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often Creative Scotland has met the trade unions representing workers in the cultural sector since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I am advised that staff at Creative Scotland have met with the trade unions representing workers in the cultural sector regularly since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. I have asked the Chief Executive of Creative Scotland to respond to the Member on this…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support (a) it and (b) Creative Scotland has provided since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown to people who work as comedians.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Comedy venues and those working in comedy have been eligible for Scottish Government support. Comedy businesses received support through the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund and some venues that offer comedy as part of a wider programme, for example along w…

5 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the trade unions representing workers in the cultural sector are involved in decisions regarding the distribution of funding for that sector that has been allocated in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Since the pandemic began, Scottish Government officials have spoken regularly to relevant trade unions, both directly and as part of wider meetings with the STUC. Trade union representatives have also been involved in meetings with particular sectors. This ha…

3 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement on 17 July 2020 regarding a Complex Mesh Removal Surgical Service, which surgeons are on the new multi-disciplinary team; where they were trained in “total or full” mesh removal; who trained them in “total or full” mesh removal; whether they have been traine…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: With respect to the new specialist service in Glasgow, I can confirm that staffing is presently being determined by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. As part of that exercise, it is undertaking recruitment to expand the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to enhance ex…