Parliamentary questions
Neil Bibby
1,029 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices were in place for NHS patients in (a) February, (b) March, (c) April and (d) May 2020, and how this compares with the previous year.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not centrally collect information or data relating to the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiovascular Resuscitation (DNACPR) forms. As with all other clinical treatments, decisions about CPR should be based on the individual clinical ci…
10 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are being made to ensure that (a) vulnerable children and young people, (b) pupils facing the greatest educational disadvantage and (c) pupils who have not been able to fully engage with learning during the period of lockdown are able to catch up on their learning.
Answer · John Swinney: One of our key priorities is to ensure that children and young people, who may be finding this difficult time particularly challenging, continue to be fully supported with their learning as we begin to transition back to a greater level of face-to-face educat…
10 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation of online and other means of learning and teaching by schools and education authorities during the period of lockdown has been carried out by Education Scotland; what lessons have been learned from this, and what advice for schools the Scottish Government is preparing in …
Answer · John Swinney: Education Scotland’s Regional Team role is to support improvement across the education system. Regional teams are working in partnership with local authority and school staff, discussing what is working well and what further support is required. This intellig…
10 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision by the UK Government on 9 June 2020 to give primary schools in England more flexibility on deciding on the organisation of their return, and the acknowledgement that, due to difficulties in ensuring social distancing, secondary pupils will not return to school u…
Answer · John Swinney: The Government set out its planning assumption that schools should return full-time for all pupils in August. Further detailed planning will be undertaken with the Education Recovery Group which includes COSLA and the teaching unions.
8 Jun 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on co-operation with Europe in relation to tackling COVID-19.
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has provided to local authorities on the disinfection of public places as a measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Local authorities are expected to adhere to guidance on environmental decontamination (cleaning and disinfection) as an important mitigating action to contain the spread of COVID-19. That guidance is disseminated through Public Health Scotland and can be foun…
8 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has received on the effectiveness or otherwise of the disinfection of public places as a measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Evidence on this matter has been received through the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and Scotland's Chief Medical Officer. The Scottish Government also monitors international evidence, in particular that from the World Health Organisation (W…
4 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct an economic impact assessment into the implications of redundancies announced by Rolls Royce in relation to its Inchinnan site.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government has been leading a multi-agency collaborative Team Scotland approach to engage with Rolls-Royce and we will continue to so at both company and site level. We will consider all options available to us, and officials are now in the proce…
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, what action is being taken to ensure that blind and partially-sighted people receive accessible and timely information about local and national changes to primary and secondary eye care services, including the re-commencement of surgery a…
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities makes clear that everyone should be given information about their treatment and care in a format or language that meets their needs. NHS Boards, who are responsible for the provision of primary and secondary …
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that the COVID-19 Test and Protect programme will be fully accessible for blind and partially-sighted people.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Test and Protect is being delivered by Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards and all Boards had an enhanced contact tracing approach in place by 28 May. Scotland’s approach uses established, tried and tested contact tracing techniques, delivered by health pro…
2 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the STUC Black Workers Committee open letter to the First Minister of 22 May 2020 regarding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME workers.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The First Minister responded to the STUC Black Workers' Committee's open letter on 3 June, outlining some of the work that is ongoing to understand and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic communities. The Scottish Government is deeply concerne…
29 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has received in Barnett consequentials from the UK Government introducing a death in service benefit scheme for social care workers.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: HM Treasury has indicated that consequentials will be passed to the Scottish Government, and this will be confirmed later in the year at the UK Supplementary Estimates.
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it is undertaking or supporting to understand the main causes behind brain cancer and tumours.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scottish Government investment in cancer research is primarily through the Chief Scientist Office (CSO). CSO supports cancer research through a number of mechanisms. These are:Over £40 million annually in the NHS to meet the additional costs of hosting resear…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring and (b) analysis has been undertaken by (a) it and (b) its agencies and partners regarding the efficacy of Glow as a platform for online learning and teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answer · John Swinney: Glow is the national online service funded by Scottish Government and provided by Education Scotland. This learning environment provides learners and educators across Scotland with access to a wide set of innovative digital tools and resources designed to enh…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring and (b) analysis has been undertaken by (a) it and (b) its agencies and partners regarding the comparative effect on learning and attainment during the COVID-19 lockdown between school pupils who have had access to computers and online learning and those without.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has, on a daily basis, been monitoring the number of settings/schools/hubs that are open for children and young people of keyworkers and/or vulnerable, and how many children and young people have been attending these since schools clos…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring and (b) analysis has been undertaken by (a) it and (b) its agencies and partners regarding the (i) quantity, (ii) quality and (iii) relevance of school-initiated engagement with pupils during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answer · John Swinney: Local Authorities have the statutory duty for the provision of education and as such are responsible for the school-initiated engagement with pupils during this COVID19 lockdown. Individual schools have undertaken that contact in line with this duty. Educati…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring and (b) analysis has been undertaken by (a) it and (b) its agencies and partners regarding pupil response and engagement with schools during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has, on a daily basis, been monitoring the number of settings/schools/hubs that are open for children and young people of keyworkers and/or vulnerable, and how many children and young people have been attending these since schools clos…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people within the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area have been contacted through contact tracing, following a patient testing positive for COVID-19, on each day since 1 February 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We intend to publish regional data as soon as it becomes available. This will apply from 28th May when Test and Protect was rolled-out.
22 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding whether people who have tested positive for COVID-19 remain infectious after their symptoms subside.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scottish Government guidance and advice is based on the evidence and informed by both SAGE and our own CMO Advisory Group, who advise on the science with regard to infectiousness. All Covid-19 testing carried out in Scotland at the moment is PCR testing. The…
22 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS and care workers who test positive for COVID-19 are retested before returning to work.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The testing of healthcare workers continues to be our priority, and all symptomatic NHS workers or symptomatic household members are eligible for testing. On 23 June I announced that we are now routinely testing health care workers where the evidence tells u…
22 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its route map for exiting the COVID-19 lockdown, when (a) people who moved in with their partners during the lockdown period can return home and (b) partners who are living separately meet up other than outdoors, and whether this advice apply if the househo…
Answer · Michael Russell: Under current regulations, moving house, where reasonably necessary, is considered a reasonable excuse for travel. In those cases, our guidance is then to stay at that home as much as possible. We hope that in Phase 2 we will be able to relax rules to allow …
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what health and safety risk assessments were carried out in relation to the Scotland v France rugby match on 8 March 2020, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak at the Nike conference in Edinburgh on 26-27 February.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scottish Rugby, supported by the Scottish Government, undertook a comprehensive health and safety risk assessment which took into account the wellbeing of staff, spectators, stewards and hospitality staff who were in the Murrayfield complex before, during and…
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to support university students who will be unable to work during the summer months and who may be unable to save for accommodation and other costs when universities return.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: As announced on 8 April 2020, we have introduced a £5 million package of emergency financial support to help students facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This £5 million includes an additional £2.2 million for Scotland’s Higher Education …
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what PPE is provided to police officers when required to disperse large gatherings.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The level of PPE that police officers and police staff must use to fully comply with the Health & Safety aspects of operational policing is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to decide. Police Scotland advises that officers can risk assess wh…
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure that the NHS can cope with a possible second wave of COVID-19 in Winter 2020, when services may already be under strain.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are working with NHS Boards on the development and implementation of robust mobilisation plans. These plans set out how Health Boards and their partners will maintain COVID-19 resilience, whilst safely and incrementally resuming services which have been pa…
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any plans for the centralisation of health services in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will continue, in light of recent statistics that have shown the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities in the west of Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Whilst the NHS remains on an emergency footing, we continue to work closely with all NHS Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to ensure that their local mobilisation plans remain as robust as possible; and consistent with the Scottish Government’s…
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with a severe learning disability have been issued with a shielding letter.
Answer · John Swinney: It is not possible for Public Health Scotland to specifically identify people with a severe learning disability who have been issued with a shielding letter.
20 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when dental surgeries may begin to reopen for routine appointments and treatments.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: On 2 June 2020 the Cabinet Secretary for Health & Sport made a statement to the Scottish Parliament concerning the on-going delivery of NHS services as part of the Scottish Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this statement she indicated that w…
19 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area is not part of the COVID-19 contact-tracing software pilot.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have been involved in the design and development of digital tools for contact tracing in Scotland since the project began. The pilot boards of NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Highland & NHS Fife provided initial feedback on the system follo…
6 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) referral and (b) treatment waiting times are in each NHS board area for people with epilepsy, and what impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on this.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The data for epilepsy referral and treatment waiting times are reported within the wider Neurology speciality. The most recent published data for the quarter ending 31 December 2019 is available from the Public Health Scotland website at: https://beta.isdsco…