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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-42234

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42127 by Angus Robertson on 25 November 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) total number of civil servants assigned to producing the publication, (b) number of hours spent by civil servants on producing the publication, (c) dates on which civil servants were working on the publication and (d) total staff costs incurred.

Question reference: S6W-42257

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much public funding, including support from Scottish Enterprise, has been provided to DSM-Firmenich towards its Bovaer production facility in Dalry, and what (a) conditions and (b) oversight mechanisms were attached to any financial support that may have been awarded.

Question reference: S6W-42009

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the automatic cancellation of care packages after short hospital admissions is consistent with best practice; whether this is the current practice, and, if so, whether it plans to end this practice.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to have in place clear arrangements for the management and monitoring of care packages. Decisions about individual cases are for local authorities to make, within the requirements of the law.

S12A of the Social Work Scotland Act states that following assessment, the local authority should decide if services are required and consider the views of the individual and carers. Assessment or reassessment of those admitted to hospital should take account of previous needs prior to admission including care and support provision, and any new needs and additional support that has emerged following admission.

Reviewing or ending an individual’s care package should be because their needs have changed – not for financial planning or other operational reasons.

Planning and budget decisions on care are made through Integration Joint Boards. The Scottish Government has provided a record settlement to local government this year, as well as £21.7 billion for the health and social care budget.

Question reference: S6W-42255

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether any changes in (a) commercial interest, (b) regulatory approaches and (c) market uptake of Bovaer have influenced the (i) timeline and (ii) expected output of the Bovaer production facility in Dalry, and how it is responding to any risks posed to the public investment that may have already been made.

Question reference: S6W-42258

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring or due diligence has been carried out to ensure that any public investment that may have been made towards DSM-Firmenich's Bovaer production facility in Dalry continues to deliver value for money, in light of reported delays to the facility becoming fully operational.

Question reference: S6W-42223

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Audit Scotland report, Cyber-attack affecting operations and services: The 2023/24 audit of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which was published on 27 November 2025, what support it provides to local authorities to protect themselves against potential cybersecurity attacks.

The public sector provides a range of digital public services and it is critical that these are secure and resilient.

Local Authorities are independent corporate bodies, entirely separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it plans for, manages, and mitigates its risks. However, the Scottish Government does actively support and help build the cyber resilience of our local authorities, through the provision of guidance, resources, networking and skills development.

The Scottish Government encourages public sector organisations, including local authorities to adopt a proactive, risk-based governance approach, with board-level accountability to build and improve their cyber resilience. We have set out a framework that includes guidance on how to:

Assess their cyber resilience maturity,
Align with minimum security standards,
Benchmark performance, and
Prioritise investment based on risk.

The Scottish Government has in place a Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary process which encourages Scottish Public Sector bodies to report cyber incidents to the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre (SC3). The process also encourages reporting of cyber incidents to the UK Government National Cyber Security Centre and Police Scotland where appropriate.

The SC3 provides ongoing support to local authorities in the form of:

24/7 national incident response coordination
Daily threat intelligence and early warning notifications
Cyber exercising and preparedness programmes, and
Guidance on standards and best practice.

This national support is helping to equip our public bodies with the tools, intelligence and skills needed to build and maintain strong cyber resilience.

Question reference: S6W-41999

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether data on the average time a patient has spent on a trolley in emergency departments is published routinely by NHS boards, and if this is not the case, whether it will commit to doing so.

As detailed in response to S6W-41997 on 9 December 2025, A&E activity data published by Public Health Scotland does not differentiate patients who were treated on trolleys. It is important to highlight that patients frequently spend time in a trolleyed area while undergoing assessment and treatment within our Emergency Departments in line with clinical need. In respect of patients being cared for in non-standard patient areas while awaiting admission to an inpatient bed, we are in active discussions with PHS regarding the feasibility of a national data collection however, our absolute focus is on addressing the cause of the conditions which lead to care in non-standard areas.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-41997

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how long on average patients have spent on a trolley in emergency departments in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-42256

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current status of DSM-Firmenich's Bovaer production facility in Dalry, and whether it can confirm whether the plant is now operational or when it expects full commissioning to take place.

Question reference: S6W-42222

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Audit Scotland report, Cyber-attack affecting operations and services: The 2023/24 audit of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which was published on 27 November 2025, what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding their resilience to deal with cybersecurity threats, including what preparations they have in place should an attack occur, and whether such discussions are ongoing.

The public sector provides a range of digital public services and it is critical that these are secure and resilient.

Local Authorities are independent corporate bodies, entirely separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it plans for, manages, and mitigates its risks. However the Scottish Government routinely engages with and encourages public sector organisations to adopt a proactive, risk-based governance approach, with board-level accountability to build and improve their cyber resilience.

The Scottish Government has set out a framework including guidance on how to:

Assess their cyber resilience maturity,
Align with minimum security standards,
Benchmark performance, and
Prioritise investment based on risk.

It is supported by practical tools such as self-assessment templates and critical systems mapping resources.

The Scottish Government has in place the Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary process which encourages Scottish Public Sector bodies to report cyber incidents to the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre the SC3). The process also encourages reporting of cyber incidents to the UK Government National Cyber Security Centre and Police Scotland where appropriate.

The SC3 also provides ongoing support to local authorities in the form of:

24/7 national incident response coordination
Daily threat intelligence and early warning notifications
Cyber exercising and preparedness programmes, and
Guidance on standards and best practice.

This national support is helping to equip our public bodies with the tools, intelligence and skills needed to build and maintain strong cyber resilience.

During December the Director of Resilience in the National Cyber Security Centre will be briefing all CEOs on the importance of cyber resilience. The Scottish Government will also be meeting with all Chief Information Security Officers to reinforce the importance of extra vigilance during the festive period.