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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-36289

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Public Health Scotland report, Future prevalence and burden of chronic liver disease, which was published on 18 March 2025, and what action it plans in response to the report's projection of a 54% increase in chronic liver disease by 2044.

Scottish Government notes this report with interest and is fully aware that the risk of liver disease is increased by the impact of harmful alcohol use and obesity.

This is why we are determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm, one of the most pressing public health challenges that we face in Scotland. We take a whole population approach to tackling such harm, in line with the World Health Organisation’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

Our Alcohol Framework 2018 contains 20 actions to tackle alcohol-related harm. One of the key actions was the implementation of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) in May 2018. Since then, we have seen a reduction of 3% in total alcohol sales, with a focus on the cheap high-strength alcohol which is often drunk by people drinking at harmful levels. Recent research by Public Health Scotland has found that MUP has been found to save more than 150 lives a year and 411 fewer hospital admissions. It’s also encouraging to see that this research has highlighted that the policy is having an effect in Scotland’s most deprived areas – which experience higher death rates and levels of harms from problem alcohol.

We also want everyone in Scotland to eat well and have a healthy weight to help reduce the impact of a range of diet-related ill health conditions, including liver disease. We continue to implement the wide-ranging actions set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan to address this challenge. This includes our commitment to restrict less healthy food promotions and improve the availability of healthier options when eating out, as outlined in our Out Of Home Action Plan.

Scottish Government through its national Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) has formed a Specialty Delivery Group for Liver Disease with the first meeting on 6th November 2024. Early Detection is one of the pathways being prioritised.

The Early Detection Pathway has already been passed through the first Gateway in the CfSD delivery pathway. The challenges are around how individual boards can implement this before the National Laboratory Information Management System.

There has been progress in developing the Early Detection pathways in individual health boards using the technology as currently available while others are using the Referral Advice to Primary Care with increased use of the FIB-4 and Fibroscan with advice for Lifestyle changes and repeat investigation as required.

Question reference: S6W-36286

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what most recent assessment it has made of the value of golf to the economy.

Golf is important to Scotland’s economy, culture and reputation. We have more than 550 golf courses, host world-renowned events and enjoy the benefits from a thriving golf tourism sector.

Golf events and golf tourism bring significant economic benefits to Scotland.

The economic value of golf tourism for the Scottish economy is approximately £300 million per annum, around 5000 jobs and approximately £150 million in GVA.

Scotland’s portfolio of golf events, including The R&A’s major championships and our annual national Opens, help maintain our worldwide reputation as the ‘Home of Golf’.

In 2024, Scotland successfully delivered an exceptional summer of golf, hosting five high-profile tournaments across the men’s and women’s games, headlined by the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. All five events were supported by Scottish Government funding.

Independent research from Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre found that last year’s Open at Royal Troon generated an estimated £87.3 million in total economic impact – new money entering the economy – for Scotland.

The figures for Royal Troon bring the total economic benefit generated by the ten stagings of The Open in Scotland since 2005 to £1.36 billion.

The 2024 Genesis Scottish Open reported £19.2 million in economic impact for Scotland.

In addition to direct economic benefits, Scotland’s golf events also bring wider benefits, including supporting charitable causes, engaging communities and young people, increasing participation in sport and general wellbeing, and advocating for policy priorities such as environmental issues.

Question reference: S6W-36287

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments by the chair of the Scottish Police Federation that a (a) lack of investment has seen parts of the country become "policing deserts" and (b) fall in police officer numbers, including following a recruitment freeze between September 2023 and March 2024, has led to "record absence [among officers] through physical and mental health illness [and] challenges with recruitment, retention and job satisfaction."

The Scottish Government is investing a record £1.64 billion in policing in 2025-26, an increase of almost £90 million of additional funding from the 2024-25 budget.

Our investment in policing has enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, with around 1,200 new officers joining since the start of 2024. In February, Police Scotland reported their officer establishment was 16,614.

To support the Chief Constable’s reform and modernisation programme, an additional £10m has also been provided to Police Scotland, to enable the delivery of her three-year business plan and bring frontline policing to its strongest possible position.

I am pleased that Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, direct access to occupational health services and a greater focus on mental health. This highlights the priority that Police Scotland places on supporting the health and wellbeing of the workforce, supported by a Health and Wellbeing Action Plan to underpin delivery.

Question reference: S6W-37138

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider working with NHS Scotland and NHS boards to ensure that standalone anti-stalking policies are introduced and embedded across the health service, for the protection of staff, volunteers, patients and visitors, in line with the findings and recommendations of the charity, Action Against Stalking.

Question reference: S6W-37137

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has spent on the implementation of the Respiratory Care Action Plan 2021-26 since its launch.

Question reference: S6W-37136

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when universal and equitable access to pulmonary rehabilitation will be available to people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and similar conditions, as set out in the Respiratory Care Action Plan 2021-26.

Question reference: S6W-36263

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many illegal combined sewage overflow discharges have occurred in each of the last five years.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Combined sewer overflows are licensed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and are designed to prevent the sewer network from becoming overwhelmed during times of heavy rainfall and putting homes and businesses at risk of internal flooding.

Scottish Water does not hold information for reported spills during dry weather, or the reasons for spills, however it publishes all reportable pollution events each year to SEPA and this information is available in its annual reports, which can be found at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports. In addition, Scottish Water has recently launched an online map to provide customers with near real-time information about the operation of their monitored storm overflows and this map, as well as information about storm overflows, is available on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Your-Home/Your-Waste-Water/Overflows/Live-Overflow-Map. To help address the issue of pollution incidents, Scottish Water is already expanding its intelligent sensor network to predict and prevent incidents and help speed up the operational response.

Question reference: S6W-36262

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will achieve compliance with the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 requirement to publish an environmental strategy.

Question reference: S6W-36288

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the early detection and prevention of liver disease.

The Scottish Government is supporting the development of UK-wide clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which will be published this year, and is also committed to publishing a service specification for alcohol treatment and recovery. The clinical guidelines and service specification will set out the need for early detection and prevention of alcohol-related liver disease. Implementation of early detection will build on existing pilot initiatives and services already commissioned in local areas.

Question reference: S6W-36203

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent media coverage, including a video showing discarded fish on the seabed, how many fines it has issued in relation to illegal discarding in each year since 2020.