Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-00362

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a statement on the causes of the MV Loch Seaforth's withdrawal from service, and whether it is satisfied that all of the measures recommended by the vessel's builders were undertaken during its annual maintenance.

Question reference: S6W-00363

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a statement on the costs incurred as a result of the MV Loch Seaforth's engine failure, and where the responsibility for this sits.

Question reference: S6W-00364

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make a statement on its plans to (a) charter or (b) purchase one or more vessels to support the existing Caledonian MacBrayne fleet.

Question reference: S6W-00721

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-00359

Asked by: Gillian Martin, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it has considered making COVID-19 lateral flow tests mandatory for all parliament staff and Members.

The SPCB has agreed to write to all passholders encouraging them to use lateral flow testing as part of a range of measures that will help keep those attending Holyrood and local offices to undertake parliamentary work as safely as possible and help prevent community transmission.

This will be voluntary. Anyone who attends Holyrood who has a positive lateral flow test should follow public health advice and also contact the Parliament for any specific advice in relation to their recent visits to the building. Lateral flow test packs can be obtained at testing centres and by requesting a pack via NHS Inform. More information can be found here.

Question reference: S6W-00317

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Education or (b) Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training has (i) met or (ii) exchanged correspondence with the (A) management and (B) lecturers’ union at Forth Valley College, with regards to ongoing industrial action.

The previous Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science was in regular contact with both the Employers’ Association and EIS-FELA in relation to the national dispute regarding instructor/assessor roles in the college sector, which has now been resolved.

The Scottish Government has been clear throughout this dispute that both the employers and trade unions must continue with negotiations in an attempt to resolve this situation, which is absolutely not in the best interests of our learners. EIS-FELA have suspended local industrial action at Forth Valley College to allow the matter to be referred to the National Joint Secretaries for review and I urge both sides to resolve this dispute without the need for further industrial action.

The Scottish Government remains firmly of the view that it is for the college unions and the employers to negotiate pay and terms and conditions voluntarily in the spirit of collaboration and co-operation. We do however continue to work with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), who work closely with the sector, to ensure any actions taken are compliant with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, the SFC Financial Memorandum and are in line with Fair Work principles.

Question reference: S6W-00502

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities that receive a large number of visitors to help them deal with problems related to litter, vandalism and antisocial behaviour that may increase during the summer months.

While it is for the local authority or national park authority to ensure it has sufficient services in place, the Scottish Government has in recent years supported authorities through its Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund which has helped create new toilets, car parks and waste disposal facilities. To support critical tourism projects in our more remote areas we are more than doubling this Fund to £6.2 million in 2021-22, bringing our total investment to over £15 million.

The Visitor Management Group, consisting of public bodies, National Parks and local authorities, was also established last September and has now developed an interim strategy and a list of associated actions for this year.

A number of actions are already underway including the establishment of the new Better Places Green Recovery Fund by NatureScot. This Fund has provided over £400,000 to 35 community and third sector projects so far, with a new round of £2.75m allocated to deliver additional short-term action for the 2021 season. This includes support for temporary toilets and ranger posts. We are also providing our National parks with an extra £3.6m in 2021 which will support, among other things, seasonal rangers and improved infrastructure to better manage visitors this summer.

Question reference: S6W-00339

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how local authorities will be selected to pilot the policy of fully-funded deferred entry to primary school in 2022-23, and by what date the local authorities selected will be announced.

To progress the implementation of this policy ahead of August 2023, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) have agreed a Joint Implementation Plan under which five local authorities will pilot early implementation of this obligation in 2021-22. Those authorities are: Angus; Argyll and Bute; Falkirk; Scottish Borders; and the Shetland Islands. The Scottish Government has committed £3 million to support this early implementation.

We have committed to seek to add further pilots in August 2022 to further inform full implementation of the obligation. Local authorities would be selected based on their suitability for evaluation purposes, and on their readiness to deliver the obligation early. We anticipate that the pilot authorities for 2022-23 will be announced in Autumn 2021 following engagement with local authorities and CoSLA.

Question reference: S6W-00311

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many women (a) have received private mesh-removal surgery and (b) would be eligible for reimbursement under its proposed legislation.

The Scottish Government does not hold any official information about the number of persons who may have undergone mesh removal surgery privately in the past and as a consequence, cannot confirm how many people may be eligible for reimbursement under the proposed legislation. The Government believes at the moment that there may be a very limited number of persons who have arranged such surgery in the past. If the Parliament approves the legislation that the Government plans to propose, arrangements will be made and publicised to allow for potentially eligible persons to apply for reimbursement.

Question reference: S6W-00437

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for a nationally co-ordinated solution, either electronic-based or physical, which will enable members of the public to demonstrate that they have received one or more COVID-19 vaccinations, to assist in scenarios where such evidence will be required to allow access to travel, services, entry or participation in a variety of day-to-day activities.

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