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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.

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Question reference: S6W-40670

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a long-term and sustainable model for National 5 Creative Industries courses in roof slating and stone carving to be rolled out across Scotland.

Operational responsibility for the National 5 Creative Industries course is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

This Skills for Work qualification has been designed to link broadly to National Occupational Standards in the creative industries sector and provides some of the underpinning knowledge required for the industry. The course also gives learners experience of the practical skills required to work in the sector and helps prepare them for further training.

The course is context free so centres can choose which creative industries sector to base their course on. The City of Edinburgh Council is piloting using Roof Tiling and Stone Carving as the context for their course. This is not an SQA pilot although SQA did agree with the City of Edinburgh Council that the course could be used for this purpose.

The qualification itself is already established and available to all schools in Scotland.

We want young people to have the opportunity to undertake the pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations.

SQA attainment data from Results day this year showed that the number of pupils and students achieving passes in vocational and technical qualifications and awards has reached a record high of 110,380 – this represents a year-on-year increase of 22.6% compared to 2024.

Question reference: S6W-40480

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in each year since 2022 to research in (a) brain, (b) liver, (c) lung, (d) oesophageal, (e) pancreatic and (f) stomach cancer.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland. These schemes provide funding opportunities for research across the clinical spectrum inclusive of research relating to all types of cancers. Applications submitted to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

Funding awarded through these schemes in the years from 2022 onwards for research relating to cancer has included:

Brain cancer

2023- £299,918

2024- £340,000

2025 - £349,033

Liver cancer

2022 - £246,841

Oesophageal cancer

2025- £349,366

Pancreatic cancer

2022 - £20,000

2024 - £207,732

2025 - £348,150

No funding has been awarded for research specifically relating to lung or stomach cancer over this period.

In addition, CSO contributes financially to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in order that NIHR research programmes are open to applications from researchers in Scotland. These programmes also provide research funding opportunities for cancer research.

CSO also provides funding to support NHS Research Scotland infrastructure, enabling NHS Boards to host and participate in clinical studies and trials funded by public, charitable, and industry sectors. This includes dedicated support for a Cancer Research Network, which facilitates the setup and delivery of cancer studies across Scotland. Annual funding for this network is approximately £1 million encompassing both the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network and the CSO’s contribution to the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The ECMCs are jointly funded on a 50:50 basis with Cancer Research UK.

Question reference: S6F-04336

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2025

To ask the First Minister what urgent action the Scottish Government is taking in light of Public Health Scotland's estimate that dementia in Scotland is set to rise by more than 50% by 2044.

Question reference: S6O-04987

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with stakeholders regarding the development and scaling up of sustainable aviation fuel production, in light of the need to support the infrastructure, skills, and supply chains required to make Scotland a leader in the sector.

Question reference: S6W-40300

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will renew the Investing in Communities Fund after it ends in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-39948

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regards to offering autistic people who are unable to use the phone, communication methods appropriate to their needs, for example, letters or in-person communication.

The Scottish Government is committed to advancing inclusive communication in Scotland. We have therefore commissioned an inclusive communications toolkit for listed authorities, which includes NHS Boards, to consider. This toolkit aims to make improvements for those with different communication needs in Scotland.

The project will provide practical support to all public bodies in Scotland. It will help them to mainstream inclusive communication throughout their organisation and so meet the general equality duty.

The toolkit is currently being co-produced with people who communicate in diverse ways, public bodies, and other expert organisations. We intend to roll out this toolkit by early 2026.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has collaborated with both autistic people and professional partners to produce resources to help healthcare practitioners understand and accommodate the communication needs of autistic individuals. These include an Autism Informed Services eBook and a series of posters, co-produced with an autistic working group, detailing how healthcare practitioners can anticipate, enquire about, and arrange adjustments to meet the needs of autistic patients, including communication needs. These resources are freely accessible on our Different Minds website.

Question reference: S6O-04866

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with business leaders regarding work to maximise the economic impact of Edinburgh's festivals.

Question reference: S6W-39853

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people have been supported to have repairs made to their homes through the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S6W-39479

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made regarding its plans to implement a nationwide, 24/7 national thrombectomy service.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service that is available across Scotland whenever people need it. The majority of NHS Boards can now refer to thrombectomy Hub centres, increasing geographical access to thrombectomy procedures.

Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion. While there is not a specific date for publication, we expect the next steps for service expansion to reflect work to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This alignment with wider health service planning aims to support oversight of thrombectomy planning for the NHS Chief Executive Group and encourage greater collaboration between NHS Boards in delivering this vital service.

Question reference: S6W-39526

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish its public sector pay award for 2025-26.

At this time there is no agreed pay award for Scottish Government.

Following a period of negotiation the Scottish Government made a formal pay offer to the recognised trade unions (PCS, Prospect, and FDA) on 14 July 2025. The offer was rejected by PCS and Prospect. FDA indicated they could not recommend acceptance to their members. We will continue to explore next steps with the trade unions to find a solution.