Parliamentary questions

Donald Cameron

1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

12 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether third sector staff who are not registered with the Care Inspectorate but who are contracted by NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to provide care and support to clients will receive the £500 payment for health and social care staff.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are hugely grateful to the efforts over recent months of the many key workers in different sectors across Scotland as they have risen to the challenge of responding to the pandemic. In order to be eligible for the £500 payment, social care providers must b…

10 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline has been unable to reschedule appointments due to faults with the booking system, and over which dates these faults occurred.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: There have not been incidences of faults with the booking system. There are times when there may not be many appointments to choose from and on one occasion NHS Lanarkshire had assumed that same day appointments could be offered, which was not supported by t…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of Movianto’s vaccine deliveries to GP practices were delivered on time in each week since 7 December 2020, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Information on Vaccine Supply is now Published Weekly at Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). As of Monday 22 February:total number of doses allocated: 1,763,400Total number of doses delivered: 1,643,450

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has required NHS boards to set a maximum distance that people should travel to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to answer S5W-35127 on 5 March 2021. 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/28877.aspx .

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision has been made for people who do not have access to a car to access COVID-19 vaccination centres (a) nationally and (b) in remote and rural areas.

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Test and Protect will be scaled up due to the emergence of new COVID-19 strains.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: As announced by the First Minister on 2 nd February, we are continuing to expand testing already in place to find cases and interrupt chains of transmission. This includes:expanding routine testing for healthcare workers to cover patient facing primary care s…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the accessibility of COVID-19 vaccination centres and whether any such assessments will be published.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Health boards are responsible for ensuring venues are accessible and will make appropriate adjustment to ensure that all vaccination sites are accessible to all. Responsibilities are set out in the Equalities Act 2010 and other relevant legislation such as th…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions have been made for people with mobility issues to access COVID-19 vaccination centres (a) nationally and (b) in remote and rural areas.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Local authorities are working in partnership with health boards to provide information on travel to vaccination centres including the provision of community transport if appropriate. In remote and rural areas local authorities are supporting transportation an…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any booster COVID-19 vaccination programme would run alongside the existing annual flu vaccination programme.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35131 on? 8 March 2021. 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/…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether enhanced community testing will take place due to the emergence of new COVID-19 strains.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: On 23 December the Health Secretary announced an expansion of community testing in areas across Scotland with a high prevalence of the virus. Increased testing in this way will help us find and isolate more cases, helping us to identify more cases of the viru…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it is making for any booster vaccination programme as a result of the emergence of new strains of COVID-19.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Planning and preparations for potential future COVID-19 vaccinations is currently underway and this is being considered.

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many offers to help with COVID-19 diagnostic testing it has received in each month since March 2020 that it has (a) subsequently taken up and (b) not yet responded to.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Any organisation that has offered to support testing provision is referred to NHS Scotland's National Services Scotland (NSS) as they co-ordinate the operational delivery of testing services. A number of university and private laboratories stepped in to assi…

9 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time taken has been between it receiving an external offer to help with COVID-19 diagnostic testing and it responding to the offer.

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement powers the Fish Health Inspectorate has to address sea lice levels above the intervention threshold on marine fish farms.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: FHI enforcement powers are those detailed in Part 1 of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 and particularly section 6 on enforcement. These powers can be taken when a person who carries on the business of fish farming fails to demonstrate that s…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the commitment made by Fergus Ewing to a "further reduction of the sea lice reporting and intervention thresholds to two and four average adult female lice per fish" (Official Report, 5 June 2019 col 2) has been taken forward.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The commitment made in the official record of the Scottish Parliament was to a further reduction of sea lice reporting and intervention thresholds unless there is compelling evidence to the contrary, and following the implementation of the a new statutory rep…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the Fish Health Inspectorate has taken formal enforcement action against marine fish farms when the intervention threshold for sea lice has been exceeded.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Enforcement action is taken when the farm is unable to demonstrate that satisfactory measures are in place for the prevention, control and reduction of sea lice, as required by the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007. If a farm reaches the intervent…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on how many marine fish farms the sea lice reporting and intervention thresholds were exceeded in 2020, and for how many weeks sea lice levels exceeded the sea lice reporting and intervention thresholds in each fish farm.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The number of marine fish farms where sea lice reporting and intervention levels were exceeded and the number of weeks sea lice levels exceeded the sea lice reporting and intervention levels in each marine fish farm is currently available from data published …

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is monitoring outbreaks of COVID-19 in care homes against the date in which residents and staff receive their first and second COVID-19 vaccinations to measure the efficacy of vaccines.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Our top priority is to vaccinate as many people as we can as quickly as possible, starting with those at the highest clinical risk. This includes residents in care homes and the staff who provide their care. The Scottish Government continues to monitor COVID…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS boards will offer short-notice COVID-19 vaccination appointments to help avoid any wastage of vaccines.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Advice on how to minimise wasted doses of vaccine, including having a reserve list of priority and high-risk patients, has been provided to Health Boards.

26 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the use of do-not-resuscitate orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

22 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the use of neuroelectric therapy as a treatment for drug addiction.

Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34345 on? 26 January 2021 which clarifies the Scottish Government's position on neuro-electric therapy. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facil…

18 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) bed and breakfast establishments and (b) self-catering accommodation businesses in areas subject to Level (i) 3 and (ii) 4 restrictions are ineligible for the top-up grant as part of the Strategic Framework Business Fund, and what the reasons are for its position on this matt…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: B&Bs and self-catering premises are eligible for grants under the Strategic Framework Business Fund. Larger self-catering premises and exclusive use properties will also benefit from an additional £7 million fund to mitigate against the impact of the single h…

13 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to recruit retired and former NHS staff to assist in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34331 on? 29 January 2021. 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/parliamentarybusi…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish on a daily basis the number of health and social care staff who have received their (a) first and (b) second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Number of vaccines administered is included as part of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) data . The publication also includes information on numbers vaccinated in the priority groups and weekly information about vaccine supply. Local data can be found on Public H…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish on a daily basis the number of people who have received their (a) first and (b) second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by age group.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government daily publishes the number of vaccination which are administered on its website: Coronavirus (COVID-19): daily data for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) A further analysis of Covid-19 data is also published by the Public Health Sc…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish on a daily basis its stock level of each COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Vaccines are procured by the UK Vaccines Taskforce on a 4 Nations basis. Supply information is commercially sensitive, and in line with arrangements across the 4 Nations we now publish information about supply once per week on the Scottish Government website…

12 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish on a daily basis the number of (a) care home and (b) care at home residents who have received their (i) first and (ii) second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Number of vaccines administered is included as part of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) data and this includes the numbers of care homes residents that have been vaccinated. The publication also includes information on numbers vaccinated in the priority groups an…

8 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether different training will be required for staff to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our approach to Covid-19 vaccination training builds on the well-established National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training. All individuals participating in the vaccination programme require to be trained on the specific characteri…

8 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is required for retired medical staff to administer the COVID-19 vaccines, and what other requirements need to be met in order for them to volunteer.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our approach to Covid-19 vaccination training builds on the well-established National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training and is a person-centred approach. Where an individual is returning to vaccinations after being inactive for …

8 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is required for current medical staff to administer the COVID-19 vaccines.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our approach to Covid-19 vaccination training builds on the well-established National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training and is a person-centred approach. For individuals who are experienced active vaccinators, training need only…