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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-42425

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42190 by Neil Gray on 5 December 2025, how many NHS 24 staff it calculated were needed for staffing levels to meet the required service standards for winter 2025-26, broken down by job role.

Question reference: S6T-02794

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Ayrshire and Arran suspending routine hospital visits due to a sharp increase in flu cases, whether it will provide an update on the action that it is taking to support NHS boards in relation to increasing winter pressures.

Question reference: S6W-42410

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) specialist nursing workforce to meet the IBD standards, in light of the finding in Crohn's & Colitis UK's research that almost a third of services in Scotland are not meeting safe staffing levels.

Question reference: S6W-42190

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional staff have been recruited to NHS 24 for winter 2025-26, and how it determined (a) the number required and (b) their geographical placement.

NHS 24 current staffing levels are at their highest to date, enabling the strongest level of treatment capacity on record. So far this year, NHS 24 has successfully recruited 71 Call Handlers and 51 Clinical Supervisors.

Required workforce is based on detailed call forecasting and demand modelling, using historical winter data and current trends to predict patient demand, call durations, and staffing requirements. These inputs feed into an algorithm to calculate staffing levels required to meet service standards.

Geographical placement is not a primary consideration, as NHS 24’s national telephony system routes calls in real time to available staff across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-42193

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the planning cycle for the NHS Scotland 2025-26 winter preparedness plan began.

Question reference: S6W-42195

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement on 2025-26 Winter Preparedness by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on 13 November 2025, for what reason this statement was made at a later point in the year than the similar statement for 2024-25, which was delivered on 24 September 2024.

The statement on 13 November covered both winter preparedness and the broader work we have been undertaking on national planning. The timing reflects the Scottish Government’s strategic shift toward embedding surge and winter planning as a core year-round operational priority, rather than a discrete seasonal exercise.

It is important to recognise that the statement did not mark the start of the winter planning process, but rather was an opportunity to communicate to Parliament the work being undertaken within the context of national planning. Planning for winter pressures began immediately after last winter, informed by lessons learned from last year.

Question reference: S6O-05271

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take in its Budget to support high street retailers in the South Scotland region that are at risk of closing.

Question reference: S6W-42273

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent publication of the report by Carers Scotland, State of Caring, The cost of caring in Scotland 2025, which found that 62% of parent carers with a disabled child were cutting back on essentials such as heating and food to make ends meet, what action it is taking to address poverty amongst carers, and whether the upcoming Scottish Budget will consider carer poverty, including amongst parent carers of disabled children.

Question reference: S6W-41932

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to improve prevention of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

All women should be supported with compassion and with advice and services to promote lifestyle changes during their pregnancy to improve their own health and the health of their baby.

As part of the new maternity pathway published earlier this year, midwives begin conversations with women about alcohol use from their first maternity appointment, and revisit this as appropriate throughout the pregnancy.

Women experiencing social complexities such as alcohol use should have continuity of care, where the majority of their care is provided by their primary midwife. This can help women develop a strong, trusting relationship with their midwife throughout their pregnancy.

Midwives can refer women who need additional support to specialist services. In cases where there is significant alcohol use, midwives can also refer women to an obstetrician for their care planning, to make sure they are receiving the care they need.

Ready Steady Baby! includes information about alcohol in pregnancy. It advises women that the safest option is to stop drinking when trying to get pregnant or as soon as they know they are pregnant. It provides women with additional information about the impact of alcohol on their baby, and signposts women to resources of help and support.

Question reference: S6W-42194

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its paper, Surge and Winter Preparedness in Health and Social Care Services National Planning Priorities and Principles, which was published in November 2025, how national planning priorities and principles will address corridor care by NHS Scotland in winter 2025-26.