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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 MSPs 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-02799

Asked by: Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle the increasing risk of wildfires in rural areas.

Question reference: S6O-02814

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to mitigate any impact of the Illegal Migration Act on the provision of support for refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people living in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02800

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Food Security Unit in relation to the monitoring of food system resilience.

Question reference: S6O-02809

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work the NHS is undertaking to support people with gambling addiction.

Question reference: S6O-02805

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its pesticides policy, how it monitors any impact of the use of pesticides on the rural environment, including watercourses.

Question reference: S6W-22848

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Auditor General’s reported observation that the Scottish Government will no longer be able to deliver all of its planned infrastructure investment or double its maintenance budget, what assessment it has made of any impact that this will have on the Lothians region.

The Scottish Government welcomed the briefing from Audit Scotland and remains firmly committed to infrastructure investment as a key factor in securing inclusive economic growth and delivering high-quality public services. The UK Government did not inflation-proof their Capital budget which has resulted in the Scottish Government facing a 7.0% real-terms fall in our Barnett funding over the medium-term. This has significantly impacted our ability to deliver all our capital infrastructure commitments.

We have been consistently open about the challenges facing the Capital budget and tough decisions will need to be taken at the 2024-25 Budget to ensure we remain fiscally sustainable. Therefore, we committed to refreshing the multi-year capital spending envelopes up to 2026-27 and resetting the infrastructure project pipeline, alongside the 2024-25 Budget. To achieve this, Scottish Ministers are focused on targeting the available capital funding to deliver the right mix of infrastructure that will deliver value-for-money and contribute to the three core missions set out in the Policy Prospectus: tacking poverty and protecting people from harm; a fair, green and growing economy; and the provision of high-quality public services across the whole of Scotland. In taking decisions, the full impact of investment against national outcomes will be considered, including geographical need. Any decisions regarding the reprioritisation of capital spending will be presented to Parliament in due course.

Question reference: S6W-22578

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve working conditions for social care and childcare workers.

From April 2024, social care workers in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sectors in a direct care role, and those working in the PVI sector to deliver funded early learning and childcare will see their pay increase to at least £12 per hour. This will mean an increase that could be worth up to £2,000 per year for those on full-time contracts. This uplift recognises the financial pressures of those working in these sectors, and will help to address issues with recruitment and retention.

Across both the adult social care and child care sector, we are also working closely with partners, including COSLA and individual Local Authorities, to understand and address workforce challenges.

We are committed to improving fair work practices across the adult social sector and, through the Fair Work in Social Care Group (FWISCG), we are taking action to improve the experiences of the workforce. Alongside a workstream on pay, the Group is focused on establishing a set of minimum standards for terms and conditions, developing a framework to embed the principles of effective voice in social care, and advancing sectoral bargaining arrangements.

We are working with partners and staff from across the childcare sector to develop a Strategic Framework for Scotland’s Early Learning and School Age Childcare Profession. The framework will set out the priorities for the profession now and in the coming years, as well as actions we will take to support a sustainable, diverse and thriving profession. We have also implemented a Protection of Vulnerable Groups fee waiver for childcare workers until March 2024 to help support workers with the cost of living.

Question reference: S6W-22576

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of a new, dedicated national outcome that is focused on care and carers.

Question reference: S6W-22912

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any consideration it is giving to the procedure being made available in Scotland, what its position is on the article published by the Mail on Sunday on 5 November 2023 that reported that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended that transurethral water-jet ablation should be offered by doctors in England as the first treatment option for patients who are diagnosed with the condition, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

The Scottish Government expects all clinicians and NHS Boards locally in Scotland to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) when providing healthcare services and treatment for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

In September 2023, NICE published interventional procedures guidance on the use of transurethral water jet ablation for lower urinary tract symptoms caused by BPH (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ipg700) .

The Interventional Procedures (IP) programme aims to protect the safety of patients and to support doctors. Each piece of guidance makes recommendations about whether the interventional procedure is safe enough and works well enough for routine use. NHS Scotland is part of the IP programme and all IP guidance is applicable in Scotland (link: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/technologies_and_medicines/nice_guidance_and_scotland/interventional_procedures.aspx )

Question reference: S6W-22913

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Healthcare Improvement Scotland being listed as an endorsing organisation of the interventional procedures guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on 14 September 2023 in relation to the use of transurethral water-jet ablation, in which it has received the "standard arrangements" recommendation, what plans there are for this procedure to be offered widely in NHS Scotland to patients who are diagnosed with the condition, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).