Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-00223

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the format of funding that might be provided to support any extra costs of touring that Scotland-based musicians might face because of Brexit.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with UK Government departments, including the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), regarding support for touring musicians and others working in the sector, who are based in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. Ongoing discussions aim to ensure that support for touring musicians from the Scottish Government and UK Government is coordinated where necessary.

Scottish Government officials and representatives of Creative Scotland are members of the DCMS Touring Working Group, which is currently considering a range of options for supporting touring musicians based in the UK, and to mitigate the impacts of EU exit.

The Scottish Government has made clear to the UK Government that any potential UK-wide initiatives to support international touring must take a 4-nations approach, respecting the devolved nature of culture, and include a meaningful decision-making role for Scottish Ministers.

I am due to meet the UK Minister of State for Digital and Culture on 17 June 2021 to discuss international working in the culture and creative sectors, including how touring musicians and others working in the sector can best be supported.

Question reference: S6W-00215

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS estates can reduce the viral load of COVID-19 in the ambient air of poorly ventilated spaces, and what plans it has to undertake widescale deployment of professional high-efficiency particulate air purifiers to reduce the risk of infection.

Scottish Healthcare Technical Memorandum (SHTM) 03-01 provides information relating to legal requirements, design implications, maintenance and operation of general and specialised ventilation in all types of healthcare premises. This has been supplemented with specific UK-wide guidance on ventilation and COVID-19, particularly for aerosol generating procedures. Patients should not be treated in poorly ventilated areas. There are currently no plans to implement the use of high-efficiency particulate air purifiers across the NHS estate.

Question reference: S6W-00241

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on by what date all frontline care staff will have received the £500 bonus announced on November 30, 2020.

We are fully committed to paying the payments to eligible social care workers as quickly as possible. Local authorities have confirmed that the majority of payments were made to local authority employed social care workers by the end of April with the remainder of payments being made in May. All Local Authorities have confirmed that payments to third and independent social care providers have been completed. Our administration partner, Scotland Excel, are working to confirm with social care providers that payments have been made to staff.

We are currently working with key delivery partners to agree a payment process to make payments to Personal Assistants as quickly as possible.

Question reference: S6W-00181

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of people receiving letters saying they have not attended their COVID-19 vaccine appointment after receiving their first dose, and whether it can confirm that (a) medical records will not be affected and (b) people will still be invited for their second dose of the vaccine.

I’m sure you can appreciate the vaccination program has been delivered at a pace and scale we have never experienced before and as such this is one of the largest and most complicated logistical exercises ever undertaken in peacetime. Over 3,267,290 people have received the first dose and 2,075,231 people have received the second dose of the Covid vaccination in the period 8 December to 7:30 am Tuesday 01 June. This is over 71% of our eligible population for the first dose and 45% for second doses.

With any operation of such scale, it is regrettable the administrative errors have occurred.

In a small number of cases across different health boards, some people have received letters incorrectly saying that they had not attended their first vaccination appointment, when they had.

If someone has received one of these letters, and they have had their 1st dose vaccination – they should phone the national phone line on 0800 030 8013 – to help us make sure your central record is up to date and ensure your 2nd appointment is provided for you. We apologise for the inconvenience or confusion that this has caused.

Question reference: S6W-00422

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what protections are in place for victims of (a) stalking and (b) harassment in cases where offenders are granted bail prior to trial.

It is for the independent court to decide whether to grant bail or remand an accused person in any given case. This decision is made within the overarching legal framework whereby bail can be refused if there are good reasons. Where the courts decide to release an accused person on bail, bail is awarded subject to conditions. These always include the standard conditions set out at section 24(5) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. Amongst others, these conditions include that the person: should not commit an offence while on bail; does not interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice; and does not behave in a manner which causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to witnesses, including the complainer.

Breach of a bail condition is a criminal offence. Police Scotland treat all cases of stalking and harassment as a priority and encourage anyone to report incidents including where breach of bail conditions occurs. At any time after a court has granted bail to a person, if the prosecutor applies to the court, putting before it material which was not available when bail was granted, the court may review its decision to grant bail.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Action Against Stalking, which offers specialist support to victims of stalking throughout the criminal justice process, and provided funding to the Scottish Women's Rights Centre to develop the FollowIt App, which helps a person who is being stalked to record what is happening to them in a simple and safe way.

Question reference: S6F-00095

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the First Minister, in light of the growth in short-term teaching contracts, how many of the 3,500 teaching and classroom assistant posts that the Scottish Government has committed to creating will be given permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6F-00091

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported backlog of NHS dental appointments for children and young people.

Question reference: S6F-00084

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to improve trans and LGBT+ healthcare.

Question reference: S6F-00078

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that, to meet the SQA quality assurance processes, local authorities are validating teachers’ estimated grades using a school’s prior attainment data.

Question reference: S6F-00073

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will support and fund the roll-out of body-worn cameras for police officers and ambulance crews.

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