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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-02352

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on resourcing community sport as part of efforts to eradicate health inequalities.

Question reference: S6O-02273

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in its Budget 2023-24 for the roll-out of free school meals to all primary school pupils.

Question reference: S6W-17758

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce any barriers to community land buyouts.

There are several ways that the Scottish Government assist communities to take ownership of assets. The Scottish Land Fund, which will be doubled to £20m by 2026, allows groups to purchase assets, often through negotiated sales, from both public and private owners.

In addition, there is a Land Reform Bill which shows our commitment to introducing Land Reform legislation to further improve transparency of land ownership, help ensure large scale land holdings deliver in the public interest and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how land in their area is used.

Question reference: S6W-16019

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what its position is regarding the impact in Scotland of the UK's agreement to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), including whether ECT membership is consistent with achieving climate change targets, and what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding ECT membership.

The Scottish Government share many of the concerns raised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others regarding the Energy Charter Treaty. As our Vision for Trade makes clear, no part of a trade or investment agreement should limit the ability of the Scottish Parliament to regulate in devolved areas, or constrain much needed action to achieve our net zero goal.

We continue to engage with the UK Government and other Devolved Administrations on the UK’s future membership, and impact in Scotland, especially in light of recent developments amongst EU member states and the potential impact of this on the modernisation process.

Question reference: S6O-02114

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting NHS boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, which have outsourced Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in order to reduce waiting times, to bring such services back in-house.

Question reference: S6W-16098

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its proposed new cancer strategy will address the findings of the Cancer Research UK report, Cancer in the UK: Deprivation and cancer inequalities in Scotland, including the finding that more deprived populations (a) are less likely to take up cancer screening invitations, (b) are less aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer and (c) report more barriers to seeking help for potential symptoms.

We know that those from areas of deprivation are less likely to take part in screening and more likely to delay presenting with possible symptoms. This is why we launched, and continue to invest in, our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme with a focus on reducing health inequalities such as these. The Programme adopts a whole-systems approach to improving earlier diagnosis rates from public awareness & education to supporting primary care improvements.

We committed £2 million over 2021-22 and 2022-23 to tackle inequalities in cancer screening programmes and will invest a further £1 million in 23-24 to build on progress to date. This commitment will be reflected in the forthcoming cancer strategy. To direct and support this work, the first Equity in Screening Strategy is being produced in collaboration with NHS and third sector partners, setting out a vision to achieve equity for all those eligible for screening.

We regularly undertake research with people from areas of deprivation in Scotland to help inform and measure our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme’s behaviour change campaigns. As a result of our most recent insight we developed and launched ‘Be the Early Bird’ on 6 March 2023 to increase awareness of possible symptoms and empower those concerned to act early. A roadshow is currently touring areas of deprivation across Scotland to reinforce this message and encourage prompt action.

A wealth of data and insight from varying sources has been analysed to help inform Scotland’s new cancer strategy, including incidence, survival, staging, socioeconomic insight and pathway timings to name a few.

Question reference: S6O-02099

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will provide an update on pay negotiations with trade unions representing Scottish Parliament staff.

Question reference: S6O-02092

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on investment in research and coordinated care services to support those living with long Covid.

Question reference: S6W-15618

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) East Ayrshire Council regarding any potential risks on the A76 at Mauchline that may have been heightened by recent housing developments.

Transport Scotland, acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, is a statutory consultee in the planning process for all planning applications that have the potential to impact the performance and safety of the Trunk Road Network.

East Ayrshire Council consulted Transport Scotland on two separate planning applications for residential developments in Mauchline on the A76. Both planning applications were supported by detailed transport appraisals, the outcomes and recommendations from which were accepted by Transport Scotland. Following extensive dialogue with the developer regarding the proposed junction accesses onto the A76 trunk road, and submission of Road Safety Audits, Transport Scotland responded to the planning authority on both applications recommending approval subject to a number of conditions.

Question reference: S6W-15607

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average waiting time is for a gynaecological consultation in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board, and how it plans to reduce these waiting times.

Statistics relating to the waits patients experience for a new outpatient attendance and inpatient or day case appointment at NHS Board and specialty level are published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) up to 31 st December 2022 and can be found using the following links:

New Outpatients - https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/18024/newop_feb23.xlsx

Inpatients/Daycases - https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/17838/ipdc_feb23.xlsx

The statistics published in the tables above include the median and 90th percentile waits in days for:

New outpatients waiting (‘1.1 Table’)
New outpatients seen (‘1.2 Table’)
Inpatients/day cases waiting (‘2.2 Table’)
Inpatients/day cases seen (‘2.1 Table’)

We continue to work intensively to clear long waits, which have been exacerbated by the impact of the global pandemic and are determined to provide NHS Boards with support necessary to drive improvements. This includes targets announced in July 2022 to address the backlog of planned care, maximising theatre productivity, optimising Golden Jubilee National Hospital capacity, and the delivery of the £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan to support sustainable improvements and new models of care, such as the National Treatment Centre Programme.

We are also working with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CFSD) and boards to embed regional and national working to ensure that long waiting patients can access treatment more quickly.