Public Inquiry Handling of Covid-19 in Scotland 2021-09-08
2021-09-08
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The question arises from discussions on the need for a public inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What recent discussions has he had with Scottish Ministers on the public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19 in Scotland?
An inquiry into the devolved aspects of the covid-19 response was an SNP manifesto commitment, and the Scottish Government have now set out their next steps. The UK Government have committed to a statutory inquiry into all key aspects of the UK's response to the pandemic. As the Prime Minister has stated, we will consult the devolved Administrations before finalising the scope of that inquiry.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific details of recent discussions with Scottish Ministers are not addressed.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The issue stems from concerns about Scotland's NHS being understaffed and undersupplied, with a significant rise in waiting lists due to pandemic pressures.
Throughout the pandemic, one of the most dangerous impacts has been not just that of the virus itself, but the impact it has had on our NHS. In Scotland, over 450,000 people were languishing on waiting lists prior to the pandemic, and now this figure has risen to more than 600,000 due to under-investment by the Scottish SNP Government. Will he ensure that the public inquiry in Scotland will investigate other aspects of the NHS?
The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight that the impacts of the pandemic are felt in many areas and in other parts of the health service, and there is a need to catch up with that backlog of missed operations and treatments. I am absolutely delighted that, yesterday, the Prime Minister set out very real progress and steps to make that happen, with additional spending in the NHS right across the United Kingdom.
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Assessment & feedback
The question was about ensuring the inquiry will investigate other aspects of the NHS; instead, he discussed overall progress in addressing health service backlogs.
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The concern is about Scottish civil servants being redirected from critical COVID-19 response duties to work on an independence referendum, amid high infection rates.
Scotland now has one of the highest covid rates in Europe, with eight out of 20 hotspots across Europe located in Scotland. Despite this, the SNP Government spent summer months without addressing these issues properly. Now that the virus is spiralling out of control and civil servants are being tasked to draw up arguments for Scottish independence, has he discussed this issue in his talks with the Scottish Government? Will this form part of the inquiry into their failures?
I am very happy to agree with the hon. Gentleman that tackling drug abuse, learning lessons from covid, catching up on missed services should focus rather than obsessing over another divisive referendum.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific question about civil servants and the inclusion of this issue in the inquiry was not addressed.
Response accuracy