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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-44018

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the forthcoming publication of its Alcohol and Drugs Plan, what steps it has taken to ensure that the plan’s objectives and funding commitments will be sustained beyond the end of the current parliamentary session in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-44021

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner to discuss matters relating to veterans' housing, and what the outcome of that meeting was.

Question reference: S6W-44019

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the forthcoming publication of its Alcohol and Drugs Plan, whether it has reviewed the current formulas for funding allocation for alcohol and drug services to establish if they adequately reflect the additional challenges of delivering services in remote, rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-44020

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to permitting alcohol and drug partnerships to carry forward underspends between financial years.

Question reference: S6W-44022

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on developing a method to capture and measure the activity of veterans’ start-up businesses.

Question reference: S6W-43891

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the establishment of a national screening programme for ovarian and other gynaecological cancers.

Scotland, along with the other UK nations, follows the expert advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) when implementing screening programmes. We have fully implemented the UK NSC’s recommendations regarding cervical screening.

The UK NSC has previously considered the evidence regarding ovarian cancer screening, including the clinical data from the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS), which recruited more than 200,000 women. This trial found that screening using the most viable methods did not have a meaningful impact on mortality compared with not screening at all. The Committee therefore concluded that there was not enough evidence to support a screening programme and did not recommend introducing one. Further information regarding their decision can be found on their website: https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/ovarian-cancer/.

The UK NSC has not considered the evidence for any other gynaecological cancers. However, they welcome proposals to consider new conditions for screening during their annual call for topics. Guidance regarding this process is provided on their website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal.

If the UK NSC determines that there is an effective test and sufficient evidence to support implementing ovarian or other non-cervical gynaecological cancer screening, and issues a positive recommendation in the future, the Scottish Government will work with the NHS to implement that recommendation.

Question reference: S6W-43902

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 2 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will fund the removal of seasonal and peak fares on the Northern Isles Ferry Service (NIFS) between 24 and 31 March 2026, ahead of the £1.8 million secured for the 2026-27 budget.

Question reference: S6W-43846

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Royal Mail in relation to issues around recruitment and retention of staff in Scotland and their impact on postal deliveries.

Royal Mail and postal delivery services are reserved policy areas for the UK Government.

However, the Scottish Government engages regularly with Royal Mail, raising concerns around staffing, service performance, and local delivery issues. We continue to provide constructive challenge to ensure that postal services meet the specific needs of communities across Scotland.

The First Minister visited the Glasgow Mail Centre on 22 December to see operations first-hand and to reinforce the importance of maintaining high service standards for Scotland’s communities.

Question reference: S6W-43896

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of an annual gynaecological check-up entitlement to improve early detection of gynaecological cancers and conditions.

Question reference: S6W-43894

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support is offered to ovarian cancer patients who have to travel to England for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery.