Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for ��˿�� to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6O-01306

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to safeguard food production.

Question reference: S6W-09083

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government who qualifies for the spring COVID-19 booster, and whether all immunosuppressed people will be offered it.

From the outset, the Scottish Government’s decision-making on the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and senior clinicians.

Spring 2022 Booster

On 21 February 2022, the JCVI advised that a spring booster dose be offered to the following groups:

adults aged 75 years and over

residents in care homes for older adults

individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed

Those who qualify as immunosuppressed as defined in chapter 14a of the Green book

Autumn Booster

On 19 May 2022 the JCVI issued interim advice regarding the autumn 2022 COVID-19 boosters. The JCVI interim advice is to offer the autumn 2022 vaccination to the following groups:

Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults;

Frontline health and social care workers;

All those 65 years of age and over; and

Adults aged 16 to 65 years in a clinical risk group.

The JCVI will announce its final plans for the autumn programme, including further detail on the definitions of clinical risk groups, in due course and we stand ready to implement any further decisions on eligibility made by the JCVI.

There is a clinical referral route available for clinicians to refer anyone who they identify as requiring additional dose(s) of vaccine or a different dosing schedule for clinical reasons (in keeping with eligibility as recommended by JCVI), on a case by-case-basis.

Question reference: S6O-01244

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it is strengthening transport links to rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-08762

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for the Islands Bond it has approved up to and including May 2022.

Question reference: S6W-08763

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of applications for the Islands Bond that it has received up to and including May 2022 are from people (a) needing assistance to remain on islands and (b) wanting to move to islands.

Question reference: S6W-08764

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of applications for the Islands Bond that it has approved up to and including May 2022 are for people (a) needing assistance to remain on islands and (b) wanting to move to islands.

Question reference: S6W-08761

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 8 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications it has received for the Islands Bond up to and including May 2022.

Question reference: S6W-08697

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce the demand from sex buyers, which is reportedly putting Ukrainian women who are fleeing war at risk of commercial sexual exploitation.

Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution.

The Scottish Government funds a range of services aimed to address commercial sexual exploitation and to support those who may be exploited through it. This includes over £400,000 through the Delivering Equally Safe Fund to projects tackling commercial sexual exploitation. Sacro’s Another Way works to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of women affected by commercial sexual exploitation. The Women’s Support Project supports the Scottish Government and Equally Safe partners to tackle commercial sexual exploitation.

In addition, through our Victim Centred Approach Fund, we are providing the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance with £622,000 this year to support women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those responsible for trafficking as well as strengthening protections for survivors.

Police Scotland actively investigate any reports concerning human trafficking and exploitation, and continue to work closely with partners across the UK and beyond to share intelligence and coordinate work to tackle human trafficking.

Under our super sponsor scheme, displaced people from Ukraine are accommodated safely in temporary accommodation until disclosure and property checks have been completed.

The safeguarding checks which are carried out interrogate both national and local systems, and have been designed to maximise opportunities to identify and remove host applicants who may be considered to have ulterior motives.

The Scottish Government has also published Public Protection guidance to support all operational partners involved in safeguarding, this will help identify and respond to risk and need for all people fleeing Ukraine arriving in Scotland.

The guidance was developed with stakeholders and takes into account the needs of women and girls.

Question reference: S6W-08693

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce legislation to fulfil the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to tackle prostitution as a form of violence against women.

Programme for Government includes a commitment to develop a model for Scotland which effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution.

This model will aim to reduce stigma and criminalisation experienced by women and encourage better access to services.

There are several considerations which must be made in designing the model, including ensuring its alignment to the Equally Safe Strategy and our unique legal landscape in Scotland. The model must operate effectively not only to hold those who buy sex to account, but to deter them from purchasing sex. Any changes proposed to the current criminal law would require legislation to be brought before Parliament in the normal way in due course.

The criminal law is only one aspect of the model and it is vital that a package of measures is developed in parallel to underpin any changes which are brought forward.

Question reference: S6W-08696

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 7 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has the power to introduce legislation that prohibits so-called pimping websites, which profit from advertising individuals for prostitution, from operating in Scotland.