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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-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: S6W-23179

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 November 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its refreshed Tobacco Action Plan.

I am pleased to announce that today we have launched our new Tobacco and Vaping Framework - roadmap to 2034.

Our high-level Framework will focus on both tobacco and vaping, with actions underpinned by a series of shorter 2-year action-focused implementation periods.

This will allow for flexibility within the Framework, developing and adapting actions to react to an ever-evolving policy area, and ongoing tobacco, nicotine and vaping product development.

At the heart of the Framework is our renewed commitment to the 2034 tobacco-free generation that was set in 2013. This is the cornerstone of the work of the Framework.

Our first action under the Framework includes the launch today of an information campaign on the risks of vaping to children and young people.

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).

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-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-22900

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide current data on the percentage of P7 children with no obvious tooth decay experience broken down by (a) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile and (b) NHS board area, in light of the latter breakdown being included in the 2022 report of the National Dental Inspection Programme but not the 2023 report.

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-22903

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that access to stroke rehabilitation services is universal and equitable.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme team work closely with services and NHS Boards to use learning from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA) and the Health Board review process to support care improvement across the whole stroke pathway, including access to rehabilitation.

We continue to expect Health Boards to identify aspects of their stroke services which do not meet the Scottish Standards and to work with their stroke Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) to improve their standards of care locally.

We are also working with rehabilitation stakeholders and Public Health Scotland to develop empirical measures of rehabilitation and measures of patient experience, to enable us to better assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation delivery.

Question reference: S6W-22896

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to (a) the Barnardo’s report, The Missing Link: Social Prescribing for Children and Young People, and (b) its recommendations for how social prescribing should be applied in Scotland.

The Scottish Government notes the recommendations of the Barnardo’s report, The Missing Link: Social Prescribing for Children and Young People.

Community link workers (CLWs) have a key role for social prescribing in primary care settings. We have not prescribed a specific model for CLW services. Health and Social Care Partnerships base their services on local priorities, and this would include the inclusion of children in CLW services.