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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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1999–2026
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Official Report

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
09 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I thank the panellists very much for coming to the meeting. For the understanding of people who are watching this, we are talking about international travel—that is what the session is based on—and a lot of the regulations that we are speaking about are retrospective. The con...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
09 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Okay. Thank you. My second question is about St Johnstone Football Club, which travelled to Turkey, played a game and came home. I have constituents who have properties in Turkey and want to go over to them to deal with issues. They have said that elite sportspeople can trave...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
09 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Thank you very much. That was pretty much the answer that we gave to my constituents. I am glad that you have confirmed the position. The final issue that I want to ask about is seasonal agricultural workers. What are the current restrictions on seasonal agricultural workers ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
First, I will ask about the factors that you are considering in relation to COP26, which you briefly outlined. Were any lessons learned from the recent G7 summit, or were there any problems after it? Are some of the systems that you will put in place for COP26 similar to what ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
My second question is more constituency based. We still have constituents who are getting their first jag in England and their second jag in Scotland, but the connection has not yet been made, so they are struggling to get their vaccination certificate. Are we any closer to ge...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Sep 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Excellent—my constituents will be delighted.
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Good morning, Professor Leitch and cabinet secretary. I have various queries on subjects that keep popping up as we go through the meeting. Please wait two seconds while I write this final point down. Laughter.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I am sorry, minister—I did not even read your name card. I return to the one of the first points that the convener raised, which was from a question that a member of the public had asked. If someone has had Covid in the past, why does that not show up and allow them to travel...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
People who have had Covid might have some natural immunity, but they do not have immunity for the time that vaccination provides. I am emphasising the point that you made: despite a person’s having had Covid, it is essential that they get vaccinated to help to protect society ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I am pressing you on the issue because numerous constituents have said to me that they have had the virus and do not want to get vaccinated, because it is a disgrace and an impingement on their human rights. That is why I needed the scientific assessment for why we ask people ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I will return to Alex Rowley’s point. We are hearing concerns about older people not getting their booster jags in the same way as they were vaccinated before. Previously, the vaccination programme went out to the community, but that is not happening now. I do not know whether...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I have a very quick question for Graeme Dey, and then I will have to come back to you, Professor Leitch. I apologise. Can the Scottish Government force GPs to take all face-to-face appointments?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
That is all that I need to know.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
That is the answer that I needed. It was either yes or no, so I am happy with that answer. We have talked at great length about vaccination resistance, and we will come to the vaccination passport process. I heard you speaking on the radio—I think that it was yesterday mornin...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Okay.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
You need to get more from that 20 per cent.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I have one last quick question for the minister on face masks being worn on public transport. Huge numbers of people on the local bus service in my constituency are not wearing face masks. What can we do to enforce it?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
That is what I hear anecdotally from people who are coming to me.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
28 Oct 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Thank you.
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
04 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Best of luck with that, then, lads. Unfortunately, being the sixth person to ask questions, a lot of my stuff has already been brought through, although there are some details that are missing for me, so you will get a wee stream of consciousness here. First, it has twice be...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
04 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I cannot remember who mentioned it but, earlier on, there was mention of the hard core that we will never reach. There will always be a hard core that we will never reach. To be honest, I think that we just have to accept that that is the case. We have figures here for the de...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
04 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I go to back to something that we talked about with Professor Leitch last week. After that exchange, I was contacted by a constituent regarding natural, as opposed to vaccination, immunity. I do not know whether it is correct, but I have been sent reams of “evidence” that natu...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
04 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Okay, but that leaves a question for the Government. If that person knows that they have had Covid and the timing of it, because they had a positive test, are their rights being impinged if they say that they do not want to have the vaccine because they know from the positive ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
04 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I absolutely take that point on board. As I say, I am merely passing on the views of my constituent. On compulsory vaccination for care home workers, which the committee has spoken about before, a company in my constituency has made that a stipulation and I totally agree with ...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
17 Nov 2021
Subordinate Legislation
I have a very quick question. I assume that we are talking about eggs in the shell rather than liquid or powdered eggs.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
17 Nov 2021
Subordinate Legislation
My very brief question is probably for Kevin Matheson. What would the potential threats be to our industry if we were importing eggs from another country?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
18 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
Murdo Fraser spoke earlier about the evidence that we took this morning about the 20 per cent excess deaths that we have now. That is talking in a generic way about what is happening nationally but I want to talk about one person. I have a constituent who is a number of years...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
18 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
Yes, I accept that.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
18 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
I confirm that I have written to the chief executive of NHS Tayside, and if her next date is cancelled, I will be on the phone. I want to ask about at-home boosters. We are being inundated with people who cannot get out and who require a booster jag. They are coming up to sev...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
18 Nov 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
Can I ask another very quick question?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
02 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
I will talk about vaccine uptake and where there is a bit of hesitancy. My points come from questions that members of the public have put to the committee. A number of people have been in touch about women’s reproductive health and the vaccine. Some are asking whether fertili...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
02 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
As I said, I know that we have been over the issue before, but it is worth re-emphasising.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
02 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
May I make a point, convener? That would not be a false negative; it would be a fraudulent negative.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
02 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
I will be brief because I have to go to the chamber, but I will comment on my use of the word “fraudulent”. Christmas is coming up, and if someone who is 18, 19 or 20 is going out with their mates and they do not feel bad but their test comes up positive, they might just chanc...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
02 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statements and Subordinate Legislation
Yes—we should not demonise that age group.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
08 Dec 2021
Subordinate Legislation
We should ask about capacity in order to know what volume will be stored. In addition, will there be a market trigger for when the meat can be released back into the food chain?
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Jim Fairlie here. Can you hear me okay?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Okay. My apologies. I see that Karen Adam has put an R in the chat box.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Just to clarify, convener, you talked about asking the Scottish Government why we do not have enough time to scrutinise the SI, but it is, in fact, a UK Government issue, not a Scottish Government issue. Is that correct?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
But have you not just told Alasdair Allan that it is the UK Government that has not given the full period in the first place?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Okay, so we are asking the Scottish Government to clarify that the UK Government did not have the SI in front of it in time.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Okay—that is fine. Thank you.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Just to be clear, the Scottish Government is asking the committee to agree to an SI that it has laid but which should have come from the UK Government, and the UK Government has not given us the appropriate period of time. The letter that we got from the clerks this morning sa...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Is that a different SI? Okay. Thank you very much for the clarity. I echo Alasdair Allan’s point. If the UK Government has not got the SI to us in time, how is that the responsibility of the Scottish Government?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Was that the final one?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Okay. I thought that you said that the Scottish Government did not get it in time for the 28 days. We clearly need clarity. I think that Alasdair Allan’s point stands. We should write to the UK Government as well.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
15 Dec 2021
United Kingdom Subordinate Legislation
Yes, it does, but I still think that the UK Government has a responsibility and that we need to write to it as well.
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Inaudible. Hello?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
That is grand. Professor Leitch, do you already have a scheme in place to allow essential workers to get back to work as long as they are vaccinated? If such a scheme is already in place, do people know about it?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
How extensive is that system? Does it apply to shelf stockers in a food business, for instance?
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Thank you. We will make “essentialness” a new word for Covid. What is the value of using other countries’ experiences for us to work out the strength or the nastiness of the disease? We have had data from the South African system and it is promulgated widely that omicron is n...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I lost the tail end of that. I have been asked to ask my next question by a healthcare professional. Given the virulence and transmissibility of the variant, should we ask people to wear an FFP2 mask? I do not know what that is; I have just been asked to ask the question.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
16 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Mr Swinney, we have a question from a member of the public. It is not the final part of my question, because I want to tie it to another issue. They asked: “What funds will be made available to support third sector organisations who support health and social care and have bee...
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Like Mr Whittle, I always consider the Covid recovery element of our committee’s work. I hope that my glass is half full as well. However, I want to look at some of the financial implications of where we are now. Can you give us a breakdown of how we have got to the total of £...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Thank you. Over the past two weeks, I have had cause to be driving through two cities. Particularly in the west end of Glasgow, if you start to look for it, you see that the number of hospitality businesses affected is stark. My guess is that the total sum of £375 million is...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
That segues perfectly into my next question. When I ran a business, I always wanted to know what was coming down the line. You might not be in a position to answer this question now, but the Scottish Government has found £200 million from a fixed budget, so who is going to los...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
But it is safe to conclude that there are going to be some difficult decisions further down the line.
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
I will change subject slightly. Last week, I mentioned that my father had gone into hospital with Covid. I can very happily say that he is now out of hospital, although he is still considerably debilitated with delirium. My dad had a heart issue. He had a double jag, but he mi...
Jim Fairlie SNP Committee
23 Dec 2021
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Message confusion slightly concerns me. If we have home working, as Alex Rowley was talking about, should it be a legal requirement, and should there be consequences for employers who are not allowing people to work from home?
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP Committee
20 Jan 2022
Ministerial Statement, Coronavirus Acts Report and Subordinate Legislation
I have two questions. One is very narrow, which I will probably direct—Inaudible.. Deputy First Minister, there are lots of reports in this morning’s newspapers that the Scottish Government is coming under pressure because of the English Government’s removal of the requiremen...
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Committee

COVID-19 Recovery Committee 09 September 2021

09 Sep 2021 · S6 · COVID-19 Recovery Committee
Item of business
Ministerial Statement and Subordinate Legislation
Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Amendment (No 16) Regulations 2021 (SSI 2021/290)
Fairlie, Jim SNP Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Watch on SPTV
I thank the panellists very much for coming to the meeting. For the understanding of people who are watching this, we are talking about international travel—that is what the session is based on—and a lot of the regulations that we are speaking about are retrospective. The convener and I, as new members, were not here when many of the regulations were put in place, so my questions are retrospective, too. One question in particular is aimed more at Jason Leitch than it is at the cabinet secretary. Where are we in relation to seafarers and oil workers? I ask about them separately, because there seem to be different regulations, depending on when they come back. I have constituents who are oil workers who are asking particularly about going to the North Sea. They go to the Norwegian sector—to an environment that is among the safest in the world—and they are tested before they go out, when they arrive and before they come back. However, they were still required to self-isolate for 10 days. Is that still the case? If it is, why? What is the position with seafarers? I understand that, given that they come back from multiple parts of the world, the situation for them might be slightly more tricky, but will you give us an update on their position? I will have another couple of questions after those questions have been answered.

In the same item of business

The Convener SNP
Cabinet secretary, would you like to make any opening remarks before we move to questions?
The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport (Michael Matheson) SNP
I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before the COVID-19 Recovery Committee for the first time to discuss the international travel regulations. Sin...
The Convener SNP
Thank you, cabinet secretary. We will turn to questions, and I will start by asking a few. I welcome the recent implementation of the QR code for internatio...
Michael Matheson SNP
The issue of vaccination certification is being taken forward by my colleagues in the Scottish Government health directorate. The introduction of the QR code...
Professor Jason Leitch (Scottish Government)
Good morning—it is nice to see you all again. Mr Matheson is absolutely correct that the way for the digitally excluded or those who are struggling with the...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con
Before I come to my substantial questions, I want to ask a process question. Cabinet secretary, it looks as though you are sitting in your ministerial office...
Michael Matheson SNP
I am happy to appear in person in future, if the committee would prefer me to. Like most people, during the present circumstances, I am trying to minimise th...
Murdo Fraser Con
Thank you, cabinet secretary. I think that that would be helpful and is perhaps something that we can discuss with your officials separately. I want to ask ...
Michael Matheson SNP
The QR codes were available from 3 September, which is last Friday. As far as I am aware, the system appears to be operating fairly well. I am not aware of a...
Murdo Fraser Con
We know that such codes were available to residents in England and Wales much earlier. Is there any reason why it took the Scottish Government so long to int...
Michael Matheson SNP
I will ask Professor Leitch to deal with the question, because the health ministers lead on vaccination certification and he will have been involved in some ...
Professor Leitch
There was a technical digital problem. That is not a particularly helpful answer, but I can get you a more technical version. I think that it had something t...
Murdo Fraser Con
I have just one more question for, I think, Professor Leitch, given that he is the expert on vaccinations. The convener asked about the problems of those wh...
Professor Leitch
That has not been entirely resolved. My understanding is that it is in the process of being resolved on an individual basis. The numbers are not huge, but as...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP) SNP
The convener’s line of questioning has got me thinking a bit. We have talked about people from here going overseas, but what about people who are coming here...
Michael Matheson SNP
There have been discussions between the Scottish and UK Governments on plans for COP26, including the public health arrangements, and the CMOs have been invo...
John Mason SNP
One of my main concerns is ensuring that delegates from poorer countries are not going to be disadvantaged, as they are less likely to have had the vaccine, ...
Michael Matheson SNP
I do not have direct control over that; as I said, the UK Government, as the host nation, does. However, my understanding is that its vaccination offer was m...
John Mason SNP
On a more general point, I think that there are three main vaccines that are being used in this country. Are we clear whether, as has been claimed by some pe...
Michael Matheson SNP
Before I bring in Professor Leitch to address the clinical question of the vaccines, I would point out that a couple of European countries have made use of v...
Professor Leitch
A broad range of public health advisers, including me and my colleagues, meet weekly on the specific issue of COP26 with the fundamental aim of making the co...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con) Con
I want to ask about the longer-term prospects for international travel and the travel industry. We recognise that tackling Covid is very much a moving feast ...
Michael Matheson SNP
The primary purpose of the restrictions on international travel is to reduce the risk of importing the virus and variants of concern. We receive advice on th...
Brian Whittle Con
Businesses are very good at adapting—we have seen that ability to adapt over the past 18 months—and they are desperate to know how they can adapt to meet the...
Michael Matheson SNP
I am sorry, but are you asking what safe international travel looks like without the existing restrictions in place?
Brian Whittle Con
No. I will put it another way. Businesses are looking for a way to work around the issues that Covid brings, and they are looking to the Government to give t...
Michael Matheson SNP
The first thing to say is that nobody wants these international travel restrictions in place for any longer than is necessary. We want to bring them to an en...
Brian Whittle Con
My final question, which I have been trying to get to, perhaps through a rather strangled route, is about the fact that it is a global problem—not a problem ...
Michael Matheson SNP
The principal process for considering those issues and the options for going forward is through the work of the global task force, which is looking at what i...
Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP) SNP
I thank the panellists very much for coming to the meeting. For the understanding of people who are watching this, we are talking about international travel...