Parliamentary questions

Jamie Greene

1,978 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support will be made available to protect North Ayrshire against flooding.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Reducing flood risk is a priority for this Government and we will continue to support authorities to deliver actions that protect our communities. To support flood protection measures, the Scottish Government provides £42 million each year to local authoritie…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on any EIS concerns in regard to schools collecting and submitting pupils' literacy and numeracy data this academic year.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government intends to collect the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) levels data in June this year, as planned. This will be subject to ongoing suppression of the virus to enable all pupils in P1, P4, P7, and S3 to attend school. The …

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that some pupils will not potentially return to the classroom until mid-April.

Answer · John Swinney: In terms of the order in which we exit lockdown, the Scottish Government has always made clear that education should be the priority. In line with the advice of the COVID-19 Advisory Group on Education and Children's Issues, the first phase of children and yo…

8 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans it has in place to respond to snow and ice weather warnings.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government’s dedicated resilience operation monitors weather and flood alerts all year round. It can be activated in advance of severe weather and ensures Ministers are kept fully updated on any developing issues. This operation also works close…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to distribute the proposed £26.5 million allocated for International and European Relations in the draft Budget 2021-22, including the proposed increase of £2.1 million from last year’s respective funding.

Answer · Michael Russell: The International and European Relations draft budget of £26.5m for 2021-22 will be spent pursuing our engagement at home and internationally to enhance Scotland's reputation and increase sustainable economic growth, and promote Scotland as a great place to l…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether prelim exams will go ahead in March 2021 and, if so, how these will take account of any disruption resulting from the long-term school closures.

Answer · John Swinney: Supporting the health and wellbeing of our teachers and lecturers, other school and college staff and learners is of paramount importance and we are committed to ensuring that learners can be fairly assessed this year. The National Qualifications 2021 Group h…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns raised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the long-term closure of schools could lead to a “lost generation” of pupils.

Answer · John Swinney: The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) observation report, published on 1 February, summarises the impact of the pandemic across a range of factors including the impact on learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our 2021 budget plans set out more than £127 m…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support the aviation industry's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We recognise that globally, as well as here in Scotland, the aviation industry faces one of the longest recovery periods given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on route networks. Which is why we have proposed to extend the 100% non-domestic rates relief fo…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address deprivation in Greenock, which was ranked as one of the most deprived areas in the 2020 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We are investing significantly in communities that face disadvantage. For example, last year more than £1.96 billion was spent in targeting support at low-income households, including over £672 million to support low income families with children. We have co…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will end multi-level teaching in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities and schools have responsibility for delivering a curriculum that meets the needs of learners in their areas and running multi-level course classes is one approach that schools use to increase the amount of choice available to their pupils. …

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the resolution of the Parliament on motion S5M-23629 on 9 December 2020, what action it has taken to recruit an additional 2,000 teachers.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities have already recruited more than 1,400 additional teachers and over 200 support staff this year with the additional funding provided by the Scottish Government. In addition, a further package of £45 million of new funding was announced in …

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it can offer to NHS Ayrshire and Arran, in light of reports that it is responding to a significant rise in COVID-19 cases and staff are having to self-isolate.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government remains in daily contact with all NHS Boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, to ensure they continue to have the appropriate resources, capacity and staffing in place to provide a robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other p…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium's call for a national strategy to support the sector, given that retailers reported a loss of 13,000 jobs and £3.5 billion in annual turnover between 2016 and 2018.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Work on a Retail Strategy for Scotland has already commenced with a steering group established to help develop this. The Scottish Retail Consortium are a member of the group along with other trade organisations, businesses, academia, public sector and trade u…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current financial pressures faced by universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We already know that the university sector in Scotland has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation remains dynamic, evolving as time goes on and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to monitor the position in order to present up-to-date se…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the proposed introduction of hydrogen-powered railway locomotives.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Following the publication of the Rail Services Decarbonisation Plan, Transport Scotland is working in partnership with developers of hydrogen fuel cell trains to accelerate fleet development within the wider Scottish Government objectives for Hydrogen powered…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in the absence of the delivery of the MV Glen Sannox, what action it will take to improve the reliability of Arran ferry services, in order to reduce the risk of disruption.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The MV Glen Sannox will be delivered and, based on the work programme shared with Parliament by the Turnaround Director of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, Mr Tim Hair, the vessel should be delivered to CalMac for deployment on services on the network by April-J…

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the CalMac vessels that are beyond their 25-year life expectancy will be replaced, and when the replacement vessels will be in operation.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Preparatory work is underway on our next Vessel Replacement and Deployment Plan and, as set out in the Programme for Government 2020-21, we will consult on and ultimately finalise a long-term plan and investment programme for vessels and ports as part of the …

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish an updated Ferries Plan.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Ferries Plan will be replaced by the Islands Connectivity Plan which we aim to complete by the end of 2022.

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery timetable for Hull 802.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Tim Hair, Turnaround Director of Ferguson Marine is preparing an update on the delivery timetable for vessels 801 and 802 to reflect the impact of COVID 19. The update will be published later in the year when the impact of COVID-19 becomes clearer.

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of delays and disruptions to services on the Ardrossan-Brodick ferry route in 2020.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Performance information for the Ardrossan – Brodick route is available in the public domain and accessible on the CalMac website by following the link: https://www.calmac.co.uk/corporate/route-performance .

3 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery timetable for the MV Glen Sannox, and whether the vessel will be operating the Ardrossan-Brodick route by the end of 2022.

29 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the ‘1+2 approach’ to language learning in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government provides a bi-annual report to the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee on progress with the 1+2 approach. Our most recent report to the committee was considered on 14 January: https://www.parliament.scot/S5_Europea…

27 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the national protocols for each COVID-19 vaccine will be published and communicated to healthcare officials.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The protocols for each Covid-19 vaccine have been communicated to healthcare officials but an official date of publication has not yet been confirmed.

27 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to consider unpaid carers as priority recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Adult unpaid carers aged under 65 and young carers aged 16 and 17 will be offered vaccination at the same time as adults with eligible at-risk health conditions as part of cohort 6 on the JCVI prioritisation list. Unpaid carers aged 65 and over will be offere…

8 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many international travellers have been tested for COVID-19 on arrival at airports in each month since March 2020, also broken down by how many tests were (a) positive, (b) negative and (c) inconclusive.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: From 18 January all people arriving in Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area (UK, Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) have to self-isolate for 10 full days. They must also have a valid negative COVID-19 test result, taken no m…

8 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will clarify how the term, "five miles from the boundary of your local area", in the new lockdown rules is legally defined, and whether a person is only allowed to travel to the boundary of their local area, or is allowed to travel five miles from the boundary of their local a…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The legal requirements that apply to travel and, in Level 4 areas, to leaving one’s home without a reasonable excuse are set out in the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. They are design…

5 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will administer the COVID-19 vaccine to vulnerable people and groups who cannot travel to their GP or other vaccination centres.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has emphasised to all Health Board Chief Executives the importance of ensuring individuals, who are clinically vulnerable or housebound and who are contacting them for an appointment, are offered alternatives options. Individuals who a…

5 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm that in all cases, across all NHS boards, frontline health workers will be prioritised for the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of other healthcare staff who do not directly come into contact with the virus as part of their work.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Health Boards are aware of the need to work within the nationally agreed prioritisation schedule to manage the administration of their vaccine supplies. This prioritisation will also include a limited number of non-clinical staff who are working in COVID-19 r…

5 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce COVID-19 testing centres in North Ayrshire.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Subject to local partners’ agreement, the Scottish Government plans establish increased symptomatic mobile testing unit coverage and further asymptomatic testing coverage across Ayrshire.

22 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the finance secretary's announcement on 9 December, how many businesses have received support from the £185 million funding package.