Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-05016

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to ensure that public body officials do not misuse their position for personal gain.

Question reference: S6W-40397

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to identify all residential buildings containing Large Panel System concrete.

The Scottish Government takes matters of building safety seriously. While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. This Forum has been established to ensure that potential building safety issues are identified and shared amongst those who may have an interest, to allow them to take action where necessary.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers

Question reference: S6W-40399

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure the safety certification of all Large Panel System buildings.

Scotland does not have a legislative provision for safety certification of Large Panel System buildings. Local authorities in Scotland have statutory powers under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 to address buildings that pose a risk to public safety due to structural instability or other hazards.

Owners of LPS buildings can use the long established guidance from the Building Research Establishment to assess and manage their property and can use information from The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) website: An update about Large Panel System (LPS) - The Institution of Structural Engineers.

Question reference: S6W-40251

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support services are available for families affected by exposure to the pregnancy medication, stilbestrol (DES), including fertility, cancer screening and psychological support.

The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the professional body for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK, has recommended that women who believe they may have been exposed to stilbestrol (DES) in utero and who are concerned about the risks of vaginal and cervical cancer should be offered careful monitoring by annual colposcopic examinations in specialist centres.

Cervical screening is offered to women who live in Scotland and are aged between 25 and 64 years and we encourage all women to take up routine cervical screening appointments when invited.

Evidence for an increased risk of other cancers is less conclusive but participation in the National Breast Screening Programme is recommended. Pregnant women who know that they were exposed in utero to DES should inform their obstetrician and be aware of the increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and preterm labour.

The Scottish Government continues to fund the charity Health in Mind to deliver peer support services to those affected by historic forced adoption, including mothers and adoptees.

Question reference: S6W-40398

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many high-rise residential buildings are currently assessed as high-risk due to Large Panel System construction.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Ensuring the safety of Large Panel System buildings is a shared responsibility, where there are multiple property owners in a shared residential block they hold joint accountability.

While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. The forum includes key sector leads in this area including local authorities and NHS assure. This forum helps to inform the Scottish Government approach to such buildings in Scotland.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

Question reference: S6W-40437

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to raise through taxation to fund the reported welfare spending increase.

Question reference: S6W-40425

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in (a) specialist staff and (b) facilities to deliver thrombectomy treatment since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-40392

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that young people are taught critical thinking skills and resilience in engaging with political debate.

Learning in the Social Studies curriculum area helps young people to develop important skills in research and evaluation, creativity, critical thinking and communication and it helps our young people develop as responsible, informed citizens with a global outlook covering important topics such as democracy and voting. In particular, Modern Studies helps to equip pupils with a range of Investigative and critical thinking skills; and English helps pupils to engage with texts of all kinds, critically evaluate the contents of those texts, and make informed judgements about the material they encounter on a day to day basis. SQA course specifications for Modern Studies and English are available at: A to Z of National Qualification (NQ) subjects - SQA To support learning and teaching, schools can already draw on a range of resources. For example, in relation to political literacy they can access the You decide - A political literacy resource | Resources | Education Scotland from Education Scotland, which provides guidance on how to ensure that learners use their voice, participate and contribute to decision-making processes.

The Scottish Government is providing funding to Time for Inclusive Education’s Digital Discourse Initiative. The resources provide teachers with the tools they need to teach core critical and digital media literacy skills, and to equip pupils with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding they need to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

Later this year, Education Scotland will publish further professional learning resources on English, aimed at supporting teachers’ understanding of what critical literacy is and how they can support children to develop these crucial skills.

Finally, as the member may be aware, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle is also updating and strengthening the curriculum across all curricular areas.

Question reference: S6W-40414

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of early release on knife crime rates.

There has been no direct assessment made about the impact of early release of prisoners on knife crime rates.

The Scottish Government's work to address violence in Scotland is set out in the Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland (May 2023). This framework is supported by an evidence supplement. Page 10 of the evidence supplement specifically highlights knife crime evidence and statistics.

Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/publications/violence-prevention-framework-scotland/

Question reference: S6W-40431

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS patients have died while waiting for treatment since 2020.

Seòmar agus comataidhean