Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-08073

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support Ukrainian nationals already studying or who wish to study at college or university in Scotland.

Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status and living cost support for the duration of their studies.

The Scottish Government has also established a new £1 million International Students’ Emergency Fund, which will be open to all international students facing financial hardship as a result of a significant change of circumstances. Ukrainian students who are presently undertaking their course of study in Scotland will be eligible to apply.

Question reference: S6W-07792

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 31 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the further implementation of No One Left Behind and how transforming employment support may help to tackle poverty.

As outlined in S6W-03519 answered on 5 October 2021, the Scottish Government will continue to take forward our No One Left Behind approach to employability from 1 April 2022.

No One Left Behind is transforming employment support in Scotland to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards and into work.

The local governance approach within No One Left Behind funds services through Local Employability Partnership’s (LEPs). LEPs bring together a range of partners including Skills Development Scotland, Department for Work and Pensions, Colleges, NHS, the third sector and other partners to design and deliver services that meet both individual and labour market needs in each local area. This type of partnership and collaboration is crucial if we are to tackle poverty and inequalities that impact too many people in Scotland.

Helping families to increase incomes from employment and earnings is central to a balanced and sustained approach to tackling poverty. The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26: ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, recognises the value of the No One Left Behind approach and the opportunity to increase investment in services which provide the holistic and connected support parents need to enter and progress in employment.

We are committed to continuing to work collaboratively with our partners in local government, the third sector, the private sector and others to tackle poverty and secure better outcomes for people, employers and communities across Scotland.

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/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6F-00920

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2022

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce the waste of unsold, durable goods in Scotland, in line with the net zero targets.

Question reference: S6O-00892

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Ukrainian communities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-00842

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on identifying support and aid that it can provide for people in Ukraine and Ukrainians leaving their country and seeking refuge.

Question reference: S6O-00730

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to review and assess the pilots conducted as part of the strategy, The best start: five-year plan for maternity and neonatal care.

Question reference: S6O-00699

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how measures in the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill will support the Covid Recovery Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-05047

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 7 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, what support is available for wraparound child care services that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but remain essential to its new wraparound plans.

We know that childcare providers are concerned about the impact of the new Omicron variant on their businesses. The Scottish Government is working as a matter of urgency to assess the implications of the most recent public health interventions on the sector.

The Scottish Government is limited as to what additional financial support can be provided as our budget is fully committed at this late stage of the financial year. That is why we have urged the UK Government to make further funding available to support our public health interventions and the impacts of restrictions.

Since the start of the pandemic the Scottish Government has made more than £22 million of dedicated support available to day care of children services through the Temporary Restrictions Fund and the Transitional Support Fund. Round 3 of the Temporary Restrictions Fund was targeted at school age childcare services recognising the specific impacts for those services. We have also provided up to £3.2 million to childminding services, in particular through the Childminding Business Sustainability Fund.

Our Financial Sustainability Health Check, published on 31 August, sets out the further actions that we will take to build on the substantial targeted financial support made available to the sector since March 2020.

This includes commitments to review the administrative requirements on providers, to develop a five-year workforce strategy for the childcare sector, and to deliver a programme of targeted business, financial management, marketing, and human resources support. We will also work with COSLA and local authority childcare teams in order to map the various existing approaches to the contract management of let agreements, understanding how important that is to financial sustainability.

The Scottish Government has committed to build a system of school age childcare by the end of this Parliament, free to those families on the lowest incomes. We will continue to work closely with school age childcare services to do all that we can to offer support, within the budgetary constraints that we face.

Question reference: S6T-00362

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the British Academy of Audiology report on NHS Lothian's Paediatric Audiology Services, which was requested by NHS Lothian following a review by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Question reference: S6O-00526

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the emergence of the Omicron variant has influenced its discussions with the UK Government regarding the four-nation approach to vaccine procurement, particularly in relation to the Valneva vaccine and any potential need to deploy different vaccine formulations both domestically and internationally.

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