Alex Cole-Hamilton

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS Scotland COVID Status App has been updated on Android, Apple and other app stores in order to prevent potential screenshotting.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The NHS Scotland Covid Status App was updated on 26 October (to version 2.1.0) to disable the ability to take a screenshot on Android devices. This cannot be achieved in the same way directly via Apple iOS without disabling the app as a whole, so is therefore…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any communication with the Scottish Human Rights Commission regarding its reported concerns about the NHS Scotland COVID Status App, and, if so, whether it will publish any such correspondence and the minutes of any meetings.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-03671 and S6W-03672 on 17 November 2021. 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/cha…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which venues or events it is considering including in any future expanded use of the NHS Scotland COVID Status App.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The First Minister updated Parliament on 23 November confirming that people attending venues or events covered by the Covid Certification scheme now have the option of providing either a record of their recent negative test, or vaccination. This change will c…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that not all of the companies, NetCompany, Service Now, Jumio, iProov, Albasoft, Amazon Web Services, CFH Docmail, Microsoft Azure, Gov.uk Notify Service and Royal Mail, are able to access data from the NHS Scotland COVID Status App, even though it is shared, whether…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-04212 and S6W-04213 on 25 November 2021. 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/cha…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an option for users of the NHS Scotland COVID Status App to opt out of sharing information with NetCompany, Service Now, Jumio, iProov, Albasoft, Amazon Web Services, CFH Docmail, Microsoft Azure, Gov.uk Notify Service and Royal Mail.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: There is a range of digital and non-digital routes available to access COVID-19 Status Certificates, and currently the choice to obtain a certificate is voluntary. The data processing complies with data protection principles of lawfulness, fairness and trans…

3 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many unemployed teachers there currently are in Scotland.

29 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the findings from each three-week review of the COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We continually keep our COVID-19 Status Certification scheme under review and consider a range of evidence, data, and information which is already published. Information such as the “ trends in daily data ”; the weekly report on the “ state of the epidemic…

26 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to have delivered the flu and COVID-19 booster vaccination programmes to adults aged 70 and over, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of…

26 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02971 by Humza Yousaf on 12 October 2021, whether it will clarify which partners and stakeholders have been consulted, and what opportunities are available for other organisations to contribute to the development of the National Workforce Strategy.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As announced in the NHS Recovery Plan, by the end of 2021 the Scottish Government will publish a National Workforce Strategy. We are co-producing this strategy with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA). We continue to work closely with a ran…

26 Oct 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the organisers of major events since the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccination certification scheme.

26 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that older buildings, which may be subject to stricter planning regulations, can become energy neutral, and what support it can offer to the owners of these buildings to help make their properties energy neutral.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising all of Scotland's building stock, including transitioning Scotland’s many valuable heritage assets to low and zero emissions heating in a way that respects and protects the special characteristics of these bui…

26 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people included in the latest recorded drug-related deaths statistics were care leavers or care experienced.

Answer · Angela Constance: The annual drug-related death statistics published by National Records of Scotland ( Drug Related Deaths in Scotland | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) ) does not contain information about the life circumstances of people who have unfortunat…

25 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what data is collected regarding people who require ongoing support for disabilities resulting from a stroke.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Stroke Care Audit does not currently measure ongoing support for disability needs. As part of the Programme for Government (PfG) stroke commitments, the stroke improvement team Rehabilitation Sub-Group is currently considering future updates to m…

25 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an explanation of the variation in thrombolysis rates across Scotland, and whether it has any plans to introduce a nationwide thrombolysis service.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Thrombolysis is already delivered nationwide in a number of hospitals across Scotland. The rate of thrombolytic treatment and door to needle (DTN) times for thrombolysis are measured through the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA). The SSCA 2021 report can …

25 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline how the capabilities and resources of stroke units meet the full needs of stroke patients and survivors.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of Programme for Government (PfG) commitments made in 2019 and reaffirmed in 2020 we are developing a programme to improve stroke pathways and services. A progressive stroke pathway document, due by the end of this year, will clearly set out our visi…

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to introduce a digital prescription scheme for patients who have repeat prescriptions.

Answer · Maree Todd: NHS Scotland already utilises an electronic prescription message between GP practices and community pharmacies which runs in parallel with paper prescriptions. However, the use of paper prescriptions is still a necessity at this stage as a legal requirement. …

16 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of patients per GP is in each NHS board.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information requested is available at: General Practice - GP Workforce and practice list sizes 2010 - 2020 - General Practice - GP workforce and practice list sizes - Publications - Public Health Scotland Table 2 shows the number of GPs in each board. …

15 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with high street banks regarding reports that they do not recognise its COVID-19 support grants as income in the context of business loan applications.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government and as such Scottish Ministers are unable to directly intervene in the commercial decisions made by financial services companies or comment on individual complaints. Scottish Ministers enga…

15 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is given to COVID-19 vaccinators on aspirating (drawing back) before injection to check that the needle has not gone into a vein.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Aspiration is not recommended in Scotland and the rest of the UK for the administration of intramuscular COVID-19 vaccines. The clinical recommendation that trained COVID-19 vaccinators work to in Scotland and the UK is to administer the vaccine to the deltoi…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of paediatric COVID-19 vaccines in the under-12s.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Regulation and authorisation of medicines is reserved to the UK Government. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK agency responsible for the approval of clinical trials in the UK and of marketing authorisations (licences) fo…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it removed the obligation to isolate and report positive cases of COVID-19 for children under a certain age. 

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Reporting of positive cases of Covid-19 and the request to isolate has been set out in public health guidance throughout the pandemic. There have been no changes to the public health guidance to self-isolate and book a PCR test if symptomatic, and to continue…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many paediatric ICU beds are available in NHS Lothian.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh provide ICU care as a joint service. There are 20 beds in Glasgow and 10 beds in Edinburgh. Further information can be found at: https://www.nss.nhs.scot/specialist-…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a threshold for COVID-19 infection in schools, at which further mitigation actions will be taken.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: This Government has made clear that whilst a cautious approach to removing or reducing mitigations will continue to be taken, we do not want mitigations to be in place in schools any longer than is necessary. Therefore, as confirmed on 19 October existing saf…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in view of the high level of service requirements of Cycling By Design, published on 17 September 2021, which Overseeing Organisations are responsible for reviewing and approving designs, and how it will ensure that these organisations assess designs equally and fairly.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The organisation promoting the scheme is responsible for reviewing and approving designs. Cycling by Design advocates a high level of service whereby schemes will be suitable for most users, including new and less confident users. Where a high level of servic…

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that designers and planners, who should be using and following the new guidance Cycling By Design, published on 17 September 2021, receive any professional training needed to implement it.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Steering Group, comprising Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), Sustrans and Transport Scotland, who have overseen delivery of the document are currently progressing plans for the development and delivery of training material. …

8 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that designers and planners are aware of Cycling By Design, published on 17 September 2021, so that the new guidance is followed in the future.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The publication of Cycling by Design was announced to the media and publicised on social media along with targeted distribution of the document via Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and Transport Scotland networks. In addition, t…

5 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what means people who cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine for medical reasons can demonstrate their exemption from vaccine certification.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Vaccination is the best way to keep you, your friends, family, and community safe and we encourage everyone to consider getting the vaccine. In the vast majority of cases a successful route to safe vaccination can be found. If vaccination is not straightfor…

4 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm that children will never at any point be required to be included in any COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: There are no current plans to lower the age limit in relation to COVID-19 certification scheme. We continue to keep the scheme under regular review.

4 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that any COVID-19 vaccine certification scheme does not exert pressure on a child to take a vaccination that they might not want to be given, in order to be able to participate fully in society.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: All under 18 year olds are exempt from our COVID-19 status certification scheme. We will, however, keep this under review as the vaccine is rolled out to younger age groups, which takes into account important factors such as disruption to education. Our deci…

4 Oct 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.