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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-43611

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to reduce waiting lists for cardiology outpatient appointments.

We have allocated more than £135.5 million over 2025-26 to cut waits and the latest figures show our plan is delivering for the people of Scotland.

A further £20 million funding has been made available to support waiting times for the last quarter of the year, with the focus on Boards and specialities with long waits. This year’s funding includes over £500,000 for Cardiology services.

Our plan is working and delivering for the people of Scotland, and we are now seeing the tangible impact of our significant investment. The latest data shows NHS waiting lists have fallen and waits of more than a year have reduced for the seventh month in a row for New Outpatients.

The total list size for Cardiology New Outpatients has reduced by 12.5% from 31 July 2025- 31 December 2025 and waits over 52 weeks for Cardiology New Outpatients have reduced by 58.7% from 31 July 2025- 31 December 2025.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with Health Boards to maximise capacity and reduce the length of time people are waiting for appointments and treatment.

Question reference: S6W-43577

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 16 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any public body holds and is able to publish practice-level data on the total number of complaints made about individual dental practices that receive NHS General Dental Services payments, including complaints relating to private treatment provided by those practices in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-43698

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has decided to recalculate the baseline for funding the uplift to the real Living Wage in its draft Budget 2026-27, in light of it funding it in its entirety for nearly 10 years for adult social care workers, and concerns that social care employers will have a £19 million gap to cover.

Question reference: S6W-43610

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the response of the Scottish Funding Council Apprenticeship Committee is to the recommendations of the Commission on Race in Apprenticeships, including how it will implement these.

Question reference: S6W-42552

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timetable for the review of statutory charges and vehicle recovery legislation for e-bikes and e-scooters that it has been discussing with Police Scotland, the Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) and wider stakeholders.

The Prescribed Sums and Charges etc (Scotland) Regulations 2019 and The Police (Retention and Disposal of Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 are the existing pieces of legislation governing the fees which vehicle recovery operators can charge Police Scotland for picking up abandoned vehicles from Scotland’s roads.

Key stakeholders and policing partners have highlighted the need to update this legislation to reflect increases in insurance premiums, recruitment and retention costs, vehicles, equipment, and training in addition to the additional costs associated with the removal, storage and disposal of alternatively fuelled vehicles.

Officials have engaged with key stakeholders including Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, and the Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) members to establish a Vehicle Recovery Working Group (VRWG) and will be coordinating stakeholders workshops early in the new year.

The feedback gained will help the working group develop a consultation document seeking views on the necessary legislative changes and associated updates to the charging matrix.

Question reference: S6W-42482

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the provision of bleed kits across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland. We encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the public to learn the basic first aid skills which could be vital in saving a life.

During incidents where bleeding control is required, it is important that bystanders are given the best advice on how to provide direct pressure to a bleeding wound using readily available items such as dry towels or clothing. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handlers are well trained to provide first aid advice to bystanders before an ambulance arrives.

SAS follows the position of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which is supported by a number of UK organisations such as the London Ambulance Service and the NHS England London Violence Reduction Programme, in promoting bystander first aid but not the general role out of commercially available bleed kits.

The SAS major trauma team regularly reviews how best to treat patients experiencing significant bleeding, which includes reviewing and taking part in guidance and research.

Question reference: S6W-42491

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how often ministers meet with local authorities and divisions of Police Scotland to assess the progress of antisocial behaviour strategies.

Ministers meet regularly with both Police Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, including to discuss antisocial behaviour. They do not, however, meet with individual local authorities or Police Scotland divisional commanders to assess the progress of each local antisocial behaviour strategy. This reflects that formal development, review, and revision of these strategies is carried out by each local authority and Police Scotland. This is as set out in section 1 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S6W-42059

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 4 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the University of Edinburgh, in its current dispute with the University and College Union, is fulfilling its obligation under the paper, Fair Work First - Guidance, to provide "appropriate channels for effective workers' voice".

While the University of Edinburgh is an autonomous institution with responsibility for its own operational decision making, I expect constructive and meaningful engagement with UCU to seek a resolution to this dispute - in line with Fair Work principles. Central to our Fair Work approach is the expectation that employers, workers and trade unions work together to reach the right decisions and ensure that workers are treated fairly.

Implementation of Fair Work First must be the guiding criteria to promote fairer work practices for staff within the university sector, and the Scottish Government has made this clear in its most recent letter of guidance to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The SFC continues to monitor universities’ compliance through annual reporting and accounts, and as part of their Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model, and consider any appropriate interventions to support compliance.

Question reference: S6W-42097

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the potential introduction of regulations to prevent breeders of greyhounds from taking their dogs to races in England, and whether it will consider working with MSPs to amend the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill to that effect.

Question reference: S6O-05202

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its decision to narrow the eligibility criteria for the autumn COVID-19 booster, what assessment it has made of the cost to the NHS and the impact on hospitalisation rates.