Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07335 by Maree Todd on 25 March 2022, which details funding provided to the Scottish Huntington’s Association prior to the lodging of motion S6M-00923, which was supported by 99 MSPs of all parties, what steps it has taken since the lodging of the m…
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to PQ S6W-08279 on 10 May 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/writte…
26 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07335 by Maree Todd on 25 March 2022, whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding provided to the Scottish Huntington’s Association in each year since 2012.
Answer · Maree Todd: The following is a breakdown of the funding provided by the Scottish Government to the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA), since 2012. 2012 - £103,000 2013 - £93,000 2014 - £88,000 2015 - £138,000 2016 - £133,000 2017 - £133,000 2018 - £145,600 2…
26 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is being offered to people who are experiencing long-term side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Anyone experiencing long term effects following vaccination should speak to their GP or clinician involved in their care. They should expect an equal level of care for their condition to those with similar conditions not caused by vaccination. Those experienc…
25 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place in the event that Ukrainian refugees and host families in Scotland, who have been matched through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, have also applied through the Scottish Government's Super Sponsor Scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: We set up the super sponsor scheme to remove the need for displaced people from Ukraine to have to apply for a visa with a named person as sponsor. When applying for their visa, displaced people can only select one sponsor – so they can select the Scottish Go…
21 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the collection and analysis of data on blood-borne viruses is resumed following any diversion of resources as part of the response to COVID-19.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government remains committed to recovering health services fully from the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health Scotland is the national agency responsible for the monitoring and surveillance of data relating to blood borne viruses; however over the …
21 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider investing more in case finding for undiagnosed or untreated cases of hepatitis C, in line with recommendations to NHS boards by the Short Life Working Group on Hepatitis C Virus Case Finding and Access to Care.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government remains committed to our target of eliminating hepatitis C in Scotland by 2024; however, we must acknowledge the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on all our health services. We are exploring in collaboration with the Scottish…
20 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to accelerate the wider roll-out of the Scottish Child Payment in light of the reported cost of living crisis.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Child Payment is one of seven benefits that the Scottish Government has introduced which are not available elsewhere in the UK. We are committed to extending Scottish Child Payment to children under 16 and increasing to £25 per week, per child by…
20 Apr 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support farmers, in light of reports that they are being impacted by the cost of living crisis.
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has published for local authorities on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: We have published guidance for local authorities which outlines the role of councils in supporting Ukrainian guests who arrive under both the super sponsor scheme and who match privately into Scotland through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. This Super Sponsor …
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the average length of time between someone in Scotland registering for the Homes for Ukraine scheme and being paired.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Homes for Ukraine scheme offers two routes by which displaced people can match with hosts in Scotland. Through the Home Office private sponsor scheme, people match directly with hosts in Scotland and make an application on that basis. The requirement for …
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a helpline for any Ukrainian refugees in Scotland who may need advice about their accommodation and any difficulties that may arise.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has provided £1.4 million to the Scottish Refugee Council for the expansion of its Refugee Integration Service including qualified helpline advisers and caseworkers. People arriving from Ukraine will also be able to access help and sup…
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that unsuitable landlords in Scotland are not exploiting the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: Ensuring the wellbeing and safety of those arriving from Ukraine, who are overwhelmingly women and children is critical. That is why under the super sponsor scheme, and as outlined in the Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine guidance for local authorit…
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allocate any additional resources to local authorities in order to help them undertake any work they have to do for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government has provided funding to local authorities to sustain and enhance resettlement teams and enable co-ordination of the third sector contribution to this work. We have made available more than £7 million to local authorities to support ref…
19 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to assess the suitability of properties in Scotland that have been listed in an application for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities and COSLA to ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out on properties. These checks include an enhanced disclosure process, a local authority systems check and a property check to ensur…
14 Apr 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
6 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the 50% business rate relief for the hospitality sector to the whole of the financial year 2022-23, in light of reports that this is being done in other parts of the UK.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Budget prevented a cliff edge return to full liability on 31 March 2022 for businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, by continuing relief at 50% for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer. This follow…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the reported statement that the number of delayed discharges is back to pre-pandemic levels, whether it will provide details of the figures on which this is based.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Weekly management information published as part of the Coronavirus (Covid-19): Trends in Daily Data publication ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/ ) shows that delays first exceeded pre-pandemic levels (1,640 dela…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle health inequalities, and whether it has an overarching strategy to address both health inequalities and their underlying causes.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government’s approach to tackling health inequalities focusses on three key aspects of health inequality: mitigating against the socio-economic drivers of inequalities; ensuring fair opportunities for health improvement for all individuals; and e…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) information it has and (b) action it has taken to gather data on the prevalence of long COVID in care homes.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: ( a) The information requested is not held centrally. (b) The Scottish Government recognises that accurate data on long COVID prevalence and symptoms is needed to forecast and plan for the need for healthcare services arising from long COVID. Public Health S…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support will be provided to people in care homes with long COVID, following the allocation of £10 million for long COVID care.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Providing consistent high quality personalised care for people living in care homes is a key priority for health and care services in Scotland. The Scottish Government is clear that anyone living in a care home who would benefit from access to NHS services sh…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the further easing of restrictions, what PPE will be recommended in the NHS across health and social care from April 2022, and what plans it has to fund the procurement and provision of PPE.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on the extended use of face masks and face coverings in hospitals, primary care and wider community healthcare was updated on April 14th 2022 to reflect the change from legislation to guidance for the wider use of face masks a…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to change the guidance regarding infection control measures that aim to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: A directors letter (DL) was issued by Chief Nursing Officer on 31 March regarding the de-escalation of enhanced IPC measures as we now observe that harms associated with reduced elective services within NHS Scotland are now outweighing COVID-19 harms. The DL …
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to monitor the wider physical and mental health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government continues to monitor the wider physical and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through the following initiatives: ? Scottish Health Survey - This survey monitors physical and mental health in the Scottish population. The l…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to fund and develop preventative healthcare models within the NHS.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government's approach to healthcare has for a number years prioritised a preventative approach, recognising the wide range of benefits this can provide. This has been supported by broader initiatives that take a whole-system approach, for example…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish data on performance against clinical prioritisation, to enable greater transparency on how NHS boards manage waiting lists, and if this is the case, when it will do so.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are committed to being open and transparent about data on waiting times performance, including against the Clinical Prioritisation Framework, that was developed to provide guidance to all NHS Boards around prioritising their planned care waiting lists thro…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to monitor and manage any risks to staff wellbeing related to the impact of any additional work outlined in the NHS recovery plan.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The NHS Recovery Plan highlights our ambitious plans to expand and grow the workforce, in particular to assist with the additional procedures we intend on undertaking through our NTC's. Significantly, we are recruiting more staff throughout the NHS so our am…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the future of the NHS 24/7 staff helpline.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There are no immediate plans to make any changes, the resource will be kept under continual review and we intend on evaluating its effectiveness this summer.
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the (a) availability, (b) quality and (c) use of NHS workforce data.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: On 11 March we published the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy. As part of the strategy, we have committed to taking forward specific actions to improve how we gather, use and assess NHS Workforce data. This includes taking steps to improve…
4 Apr 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has regarding NHS staff rest and leave, and whether it plans to develop a strategy to prevent staff burnout.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: It is critical staff wellbeing is looked after and they are able to take the rest breaks and leave to which they are entitled, as well as being given time to access national and local wellbeing resources at work. That is why we made £12 million available in 2…
30 Mar 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some local authorities are not paying the £150 council tax rebate to people who do not pay by Direct Debit, and stating that they will instead deduct it from next year's council tax bill.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Our guidance to local authorities on the administration of the cost of living award, available at Local government finance circulars - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , sets out that councils have discretion to choose how this support is provided to eligible househ…