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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-38606

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided in relation to locating defibrillators outside school buildings.

Question reference: S6W-38616

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that palliative care is considered and reflected in other relevant policy areas.

Question reference: S6W-38604

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many defibrillators have been located in (a) nurseries, (b) primary schools and (c) secondary schools in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-38612

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings laid out in Public Health Scotland's recent report on CAR-T for haematological malignancies from 2020 to 2023.

Question reference: S6W-38608

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many classroom assistants have been employed in schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6O-04815

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the eligibility criteria for rapid cancer diagnostic services, including the rationale for them usually only being available to those over the age of 18, in light of any unique challenges faced by children and young people being diagnosed with cancer.

Question reference: S6W-38602

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment ministers have made of the policy to provide an automated external defibrillator to every state school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; whether it will adopt this policy in Scotland, and, if not, for what reason.

Question reference: S6W-38513

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the Skills Investment Plan For Scotland’s construction sector to determine its effectiveness, and, if necessary, update the plan to reflect the current needs of the Scottish construction industry.

Question reference: S6W-38027

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any economic impact of untreated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism.

As part of preparations for the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, the Scottish Government collated existing information on how current barriers in society affect the outcomes and wellbeing of neurodivergent people. Whilst we did not secure specific data for ADHD, we identified that employment rates were 29% for autistic people compared with Scotland's national employment rate, which in 2024 was 83% for non-disabled people and 51.7% for disabled people. Responses to the consultation suggested that various barriers prevent neurodivergent adults from securing and maintaining employment, meaning that our economy is not benefiting from neurodivergent people’s skills and talents as much as it could.

Research conducted both in the UK and abroad suggests that there are further economic impacts of not providing appropriate support for neurodivergent people, including increased healthcare, education, and benefits costs.

In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.

To help improve the wellbeing of autistic adults, including those with ADHD, we invest £1 million a year through our Adult Autism Support Fund to provide community support to autistic adults, both before and after their diagnoses. In a recent independent evaluation of the current Fund, 77% of participants reported feeling more confident about the future, and 66% said that their quality of life had improved. We hope that, correspondingly, such support will help ensure that autistic adults, including those who also have ADHD, continue to experience positive outcomes in healthcare, employment, and other areas that in turn helps maximise any economic contribution that they may wish to make to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-38029

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the genomic laboratory transformation programme, initiated in 2022, is now complete, and what the new laboratory network now comprises.

The Genomic Laboratory Transformation Programme, initiated in 2022, is ongoing and has not yet been completed.

In March 2024 the NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) transformation team developed a two-year delivery plan to guide the next phase of transformation, running through to 2026.

The programme aims to deliver a more efficient, equitable and sustainable genomic laboratory service across Scotland. Key areas of focus include service delivery models, workforce planning, bioinformatic support, data and digital infrastructure and financial sustainability.