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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-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-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-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.

Question reference: S6W-35582

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many official visits by a First Minister have been made to each Scottish Parliament constituency since the start of the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-35633

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that unpaid carers have (a) timely access to social care support and (b) breaks from caring.

Local authorities have duties under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 to provide adult carer support plans or young carer statements for any carer that wants one and to provide support to carers according to their eligible needs. These responsibilities are set out in the Carers’ Charter.

We are working to establish a right to breaks from caring through the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, to support people to protect their wellbeing and sustain caring relationships. The Bill creates a right to personalised breaks support for any carer who is not currently able to access ‘sufficient breaks’ – accessed via their personalised plan under the Carers Act. It ensures that being able to take sufficient breaks from providing care is an “identified personal outcome” of every carer – and that where a carer is unable to take such breaks, the need for support is an “identified need” of the carer. This amends the Carers Act to require local authorities to determine whether a carer is able to take sufficient breaks from their caring role; and if not, to provide support to enable them to take sufficient breaks.

The Bill (as amended at Stage 2)sections 38A and 38B creates new requirements for Ministers to make regulations setting timescales for local authorities to prepare adult carer support plans and young carer statements for all carers .Statutory guidance states that these should be delivered in “an efficient and timely manner.” Local authorities already have a duty to provide such plans within 10 working days for carers looking after someone with a terminal illness. The intention of sections 38A and 38B is to enable all carers to access support under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 – including under the proposed right to breaks - in a timely fashion and ensure more consistent national delivery.

Ahead of the new legislation, the Scottish Government is increasing the voluntary sector short breaks funding by £5million to a total of £13million for 2025-26. This is expected to support up to 15,000 additional people to be able take short breaks away from their caring responsibilities.

Question reference: S6W-35634

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that unpaid carers can access (a) regular health checks and (b) flexible healthcare appointments, as outlined in the carers strategy.

The Scottish Government’s National Carers Strategy published in December 2022 sets out a cross-government approach to tackling issues that affect carers, including through health and social care policies. The Strategy sets out our intentions regarding carers’ healthcare at chapter 3. We are considering whether it is feasible to provide flexible health appointments for carers, including replacement care for appointments as part of the implementation process of the Strategy.

There are already a range of services in place, including access to personalised, flexible short breaks and preventative support through the Carers Act, that can support unpaid carers to better manage their health. Some have a carer-specific focus, while others are more general. The Scottish Government will continue to raise awareness of these services among unpaid carers and will ensure that our health services consider the needs of carers. Taking a strategic approach to this will support a joined-up approach that supports all aspects of carers’ lives, and this will be done under the auspices of the National Carers Strategy.

Question reference: S6O-04518

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to progress its ambition for Scotland to be a world leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture practice.

Question reference: S6W-35580

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 26 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that Hamilton Mausoleum (a) is kept in good condition and (b) will remain open to public visitors in the future.

The Scottish Government understands that Hamilton Mausoleum is a category A listed building owned by South Lanarkshire Council, and is managed and maintained by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture SCIO which is a recognised Scottish Charity. It is important to be aware that the owners of listed buildings are responsible for the repair and maintenance of their property.

Regarding the member’s question about public access to the building, I understand that the local authority offers tours available on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from February to November. The local authority would therefore be best placed to provide further information on the upkeep of the property and provide further information on their plans for public visitor access.

Question reference: S6W-35578

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support and improve the mental health and emotional wellbeing of female unpaid carers, in light of a recent report by Carers Scotland, which states that 35% of such carers reported having bad or very bad mental health, and that 58% said that they felt overwhelmed always or often.

We know that many carers experience mental, physical, employment and financial impacts as a result of their caring role. We recognise that a highly effective mental health system must address all levels of need. It means recognising and responding to the many underlying social determinants, circumstances and inequalities that can affect people's mental health and wellbeing.

The Scottish Government’s National Carers Strategy (https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-carers-strategy/) published in December 2022 sets out our cross-government approach to carer support and recognition, and sets out the importance of carers, including young carers, and their mental health.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy Delivery Plan and the Workforce Action Plan were published jointly with COSLA in November 2023. Actions in the Delivery Plan cover a wide spectrum, from maintaining good mental wellbeing, to support in communities, to ensuring specialist services are available whenever needed.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan recognises the valuable role of carers and sets out our ambition to both improve carer awareness training for the mental health and wellbeing workforce and also improve access to wellbeing support for carers.

Our National Wellbeing Hub provides advice for unpaid carers, with information and resources to support carers to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

The National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions was published in September 2023. It aims to improve access to and the quality of psychological therapies and interventions so that people accessing help, including unpaid carers, have positive experiences.

Support for carers is one of the aims of the Core Mental Health Standards, which includes signposting to support and resources when needed. These standards were developed with the input of individuals with lived experience, including carers and set out clear expectations for what services will provide and to let individuals, their families and carers know what they can expect from a secondary mental health service. They emphasise the involvement of carers in care planning and decision-making, as well as the importance of gathering and acting on carer feedback.