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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-43893

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 work is being done to make hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery for ovarian cancer available in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-43890

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 engagement it has had with Royal Mail regarding the reported operational pressures it faces and the possibility of late or non-delivery of election material, including postal ballots, which could compromise the democratic process ahead of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election period.

Question reference: S6W-43881

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 how much funding for Shetland it (a) has provided in each financial year since 2023-24, including 2025-26 to date, and (b) plans to provide in 2026-27 (i) for healthcare provision, (ii) for a new hospital to replace the Gilbert Bain Hospital and (iii) directly to NHS Shetland.

Question reference: S6W-43892

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 how ovarian cancer patients in Scotland can access hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery.

Question reference: S6W-43895

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 funding it provides to support gynaecological cancer research.

Question reference: S6W-43766

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government recently announcing that financial support will be available to families of children and young people with cancer to cover travel costs to and from appointments, what plans it has to make similar financial support available to families of children and young people with cancer in Scotland.

Scottish Government recognises that families play a vital role in supporting children and young people while they are in hospital, and the cost of visiting should not be a barrier to providing that support.

Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available through NHS Board patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes such as the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) and the Patient Travel Expenses Scheme (PTES). Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts may reclaim reasonable travel costs associated with attending hospital appointments, subject to eligibility criteria and clinical requirements. These arrangements apply across Scotland and provide support to eligible young people and their families irrespective of condition

In some cases, the family of a young cancer patient may be eligible for support under the Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF). This would be if the cancer patient is under 18 years of age and receiving inpatient treatment. In such an instance, the parents, primary carers and/or siblings (aged under 18 years) of the young inpatient could claim under YPFF if they are ordinarily resident in Scotland and have incurred allowable expenses as a result of a hospital visit. Full YPFF terms and conditions can be found here - https://www.mygov.scot/young-patients-family-fund/help-and-support.

Question reference: S6W-43804

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Social Housing Net Zero Standard.

Question reference: S6W-43413

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report by The Brain Tumour Charity, The Cost of a Brain Tumour: The Economic Case for Urgent Action, including the recommendations made.

Question reference: S6W-43200

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the joint report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission, which highlights that unpaid carers are often involved too late in hospital discharge planning despite their legal rights under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards receive clear training and guidance on involving unpaid carers from the point of admission, and how compliance with these duties will be monitored.

We have funded NHS Education for Scotland to develop three training modules for the health and social care workforce, to help them to identify, include and support unpaid carers. This includes highlighting carers’ right to involvement in hospital discharge decisions. These were launched in January 2024.

We have also funded Healthcare Improvement Scotland to improve practice on carer involvement across health, with a focus on carer involvement in hospital discharge.

The Discharge without Delay and the Home First approach is based on the Discharge without Delay Discussion Best Practice Guidance. This is the foundational document outlining how key interventions like Planned Date of Discharge should be implemented, and specifies the requirement to include unpaid carers in discharge conversations.

This is further demonstrated in our publicly available guidance on our Home First approach (https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/access/home-first/), developed in collaboration with the DWD National Steering Group in 2024, makes clear that discharge conversations and assessments should include unpaid carers to ensure both the patient and carers are prepared for the next stage of the patient’s journey.

Question reference: S6W-43056

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the operator of the Northern Isles Ferry Service to ensure sufficient freight capacity during the autumn 2026 livestock sales season.

The responsibility and expertise for operational decisions rightly, sits with Serco NorthLink Ferries (SNF). As has been the case in previous years, SNF will forecast requirements in advance of the autumn livestock sales season based on feedback and engagement with relevant industry stakeholders.

The Scottish Government will take advice from SNF on how they intend to manage capacity and we remain committed to ensuring services are run effectively through the busy livestock season.