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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-41035

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) outwith sexual health services in (a) the NHS Grampian pilot area and (b) elsewhere in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to expand access to HIV PrEP, informed by engagement with stakeholders across sectors to develop inclusive models of care. The actions include funding NHS Grampian to undertake a project exploring the feasibility and acceptability of providing PrEP in primary care settings. This project is expected to conclude later this financial year and we will carefully consider its findings.

Elsewhere in Scotland, NHS Boards are exploring various outreach models for populations who have barriers to accessing sexual health services. These include a PrEP initiative for people who inject drugs in Glasgow, and an outreach sexual health clinic for trans and non-binary people in NHS Lothian. We are also funding an e-PrEP pilot which would reduce the frequency in which some individuals would need to attend clinic appointments.

Question reference: S6W-41036

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery models, in addition to the E-PrEP pilot.

Ensuring equitable access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains a priority for the Scottish Government. Our assessment of PrEP delivery models is informed by multi-sector engagement, expert advice from the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan Implementation Group and surveillance data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

The latest HIV in Scotland report from PHS highlights increased uptake of PrEP among women and trans people, alongside sustained demand among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. However, we recognise that further action is needed to increase awareness and uptake of PrEP, particularly among people who may face barriers to accessing sexual health services. In addition to funding the online PrEP (e-PrEP) clinic pilot, the Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to increase awareness of PrEP and explore alternative access routes, including primary care, community pharmacies and outreach-based models.

Question reference: S6W-41032

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to committing to multi-year funding to combat any HIV stigma on (a) a national level and (b) in health and social care settings.

The Scottish Government continues to build on the landmark national anti-stigma campaign launched in 2023, alongside targeted efforts to raise awareness and reduce HIV-related stigma within health and social care settings. As part of our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan we committed multi-year funding to NHS Education for Scotland to develop training resources for healthcare professionals in non-HIV specialist roles. This included the establishment of a specialist educator post to support provision of training across Scotland. That funding concludes during this financial year and we will consider future funding thereafter. We also recognise the crucial role of the voluntary sector in tackling stigma. To support this, we have provided funding to Waverley Care to lead a workforce education project aimed at reducing stigma in health and social care settings. We are currently working with Waverley Care to consider the next phase of this project.

Question reference: S6W-41034

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to improving access to blood borne virus testing in NHS board areas where emergency department opt-out testing will not be available.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to blood borne virus (BBV) testing across all NHS Board areas as part of our BBV elimination efforts. While we are taking a phased approach to implementing emergency department opt-out testing – initially focusing on areas of higher prevalence - we will consider further expansion if evidence emerges to support this.

All NHS Boards and other relevant services are encouraged to adopt approaches to BBV testing which are appropriate to their local contexts. These include testing in primary care, drug and alcohol services, custodial settings, community pharmacies and through outreach initiatives. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Government has set targets for BBV testing in prisons and drug and alcohol services to encourage uptake.

In addition, work is underway to increase testing for patients who present with symptoms that may indicate a BBV. This includes the development of a national HIV indicator condition action plan and local adoption of tools such as intelligent liver function testing to support earlier diagnosis of hepatitis.

Question reference: S6W-41033

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on what timescale it plans to roll out emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing in (a) NHS Lothian and (b) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The Scottish Government is working at pace with participating NHS Boards and Public Health Scotland to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to roll out emergency department opt-out testing for blood borne viruses. Following a successful pilot at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the first phase of the programme has been expanded to include NHS Grampian, where testing began in early October. Preparations are also underway in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where we expect testing to begin by March 2026.

Question reference: S6W-41281

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39821 by Mairi McAllan on 1 September 2025, should the Scottish Law Commission conclude that compulsory owners’ associations can be established in law, what its position is on whether the current obligation on owners to insure under section 18 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 should be updated to instead place the duty on owners’ associations to provide insurance under a single common policy.

Question reference: S6W-40837

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it plans to make to the (a) Scottish Procurement Policy Manual and (b) Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for it to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".

Question reference: S6W-40838

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a review of existing public sector procurement contracts, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for it to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".

Question reference: S6W-40836

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to review its procurement contracts and practices, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for the Scottish Government to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".

Question reference: S6W-37444

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its 2014 public procurement policy note regarding illegal settlements, what action it has taken to prevent public funds being used for activities related to illegal Israeli settlements.

Any action which the Scottish Government takes on public procurement must comply with obligations in applicable international agreements.

It has been the consistently expressed view of the Scottish Government that the exploitation of assets in illegally occupied territories is likely to constitute grave professional misconduct for the purposes of public procurement law. This would give rise to grounds to exclude a bidder engaged in such conduct from procurement processes. Any decision to exclude such a bidder, is however, one for the contracting authority awarding the contract in question, and must be taken following assessment of available evidence. I have asked officials to refresh our guidance to public bodies on this point.

Following the publication in 2020 of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights' database of companies believed to be active in listed activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Scottish Government wrote to all Scottish public bodies, asking them to identify any companies on the database with whom they had a relevant and ongoing relationship.

As Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, I wrote to those identified companies in June 2022, asking them to explain what they were doing to cease the specific activities which had led to their inclusion in that database.

Last year, the Minister for Business wrote to Scottish public bodies in October, advising them that the database had been updated, and that it should be used as part of their due diligence processes.

On 3 September, the First Minister outlined a range of measures which the Scottish Government is taking in response to the situation in Gaza. This includes pausing the payment of new business grants to, or investment in, companies involved in the design, production, supply, and support of military equipment, technologies and services, whose products or services are provided to specific identified countries, where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country.

The First Minister also called on the UK Government to prohibit the import of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.