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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: S6O-00332

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what role Scotland is playing during COP26 in relation to innovation and economic activity.

Question reference: S6O-00334

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the 2019 Scottish export statistics.

Question reference: S6O-00333

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for active ventilation in classrooms now that its inspection programme has been completed.

Question reference: S6O-00328

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the ecological status of Scotland’s lochs and rivers.

Question reference: S6O-00330

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the measures it has been taking to protect and enhance the marine environment through no-take zones and marine protected areas.

Question reference: S6O-00329

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the climate tech industry.

Question reference: S6W-03689

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the (a) money allocated and (b) costs incurred by the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board since March 2019.

In 2019, the First Minister announced a programme of investment over 4 years to improve perinatal and infant mental health services across Scotland.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board was established to drive forward this work by providing oversight and strategic direction. This includes supporting boards to develop services and ensure that recruitment happens in a timely manner.

Since March 2019, the Scottish Government has invested over £16 million in perinatal and infant mental health.

This figure includes;

funding for community specialist mental health services in every health board in Scotland and inpatient services for women and families with the highest level of need,
investment in the third sector across 33 organisations providing perinatal mental health support to women and families, and
funding to support the voices of lived experience to shape the development of policy and services, and raise awareness of perinatal and infant mental health among professionals, policy makers and the public.

Scottish Government will continue to invest in these services over the life of the Programme Board. We will continue to invest in perinatal and infant mental health to extend our investment in these services beyond the life of the Programme Board. This funding will enable boards to recruit the required staff, fully establish specialist community perinatal and infant mental health services and deliver on Scottish Government commitments towards perinatal and infant mental health in the long term.

The Programme Board has incurred £423,044 in costs since 2019-20. This includes fees for Programme Board management, research and publishing, as well as the administration and development of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health third sector funds.

Question reference: S6W-03545

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in NHS (a) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (b) Ayrshire and Arran have waited longer than the 12-week waiting time standard for an outpatient appointment for orthopaedic treatment in each month since January 2020.

Question reference: S6W-03382

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of cancelled appointments within NHS consultant clinics, and what guidance it has issued on this.

Any decisions to scale back elective activity, including decisions to cancel consultant clinics, are being taken on an evidence basis and where the need to support COVID-19 patients and provide urgent care exceeds capacity for elective care.

However, the NHS in Scotland continues to work to deliver appointments in new and innovative ways to avoid as many cancellations as possible. For example, Active Clinical Referral Triage (ACRT), which is being supported within NHS Scotland via the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, enables Senior Clinicians to triage patients to the most appropriate pathway for their individual needs. For example, some patients will receive written clinical information outlining treatment options, including self-care and the option to ‘opt in’ for a face-to-face discussion if required (e.g. EQuIP pathway for Inguinal Hernia). Other patients, where appropriate, will be offered a virtual consultation or may be sent straight onto a diagnostic test. By embedding the ACRT process within routine care, it will support clinical prioritisation and enable services to provide patients with the optimum pathway to meet their needs, and lead to fewer appointments being cancelled.

Importantly, ACRT also facilitates the continuous monitoring of patients awaiting review e.g. Endoscopy Services continue to validate both new and routine waiting lists using a 3-stage validation and clinical guidelines where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-03381

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how long it estimates it will take the NHS to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it anticipates NHS waiting times will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Recovering our NHS is our top priority. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is the central aim of our NHS Recovery Plan.

The Plan is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment to support delivery of improvements throughout the 5 years of this Parliament. Amongst other things, it will increase primary care investment by 25% and restore face to face consultations in GP surgeries. It will reduce A&E attendances by 15% to 20% and increase outpatient capacity by 10% compared to pre-Covid levels.

While it is not possible to determine when NHS performance will return to pre-pandemic levels, we will continue to work to identify ways of adding additional activity, through new facilities or through improvements to existing ways of working in order to reduce the length of time patients are waiting and bring waiting times back within standards.