Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 962 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-37608

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Programme for Government 2025-26 announcement of 20,000 additional orthopaedic, ophthalmology and general surgery procedures is in addition to the announcement of 30,000 procedures contained within the NHS Operational Improvement Plan, which was published in March 2025.

Question reference: S6W-37337

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will review and update its social security uptake strategy.

Question reference: S6W-37069

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provides to Scottish Borders council to reflect any additional costs directly associated with providing nursery education in a rural setting.

The Local Government finance funding formula provides a complex but objective assessment of need and uses the most up to date information for the full range of indicators, including factors such as rurality, population, road length and deprivation. Rurality is accounted for within the Local Government finance settlement, both in relation to Early Learning and Childcare and school funding. In Early Learning and Childcare this relates to support being distributed in relation to the number of pupils living in rural areas.

The vast majority of funding allocated to councils is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on Education, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The annual Funding of Local Government publication provides an overview of the process of funding council in Scotland, while the Local Government Allocation Statistics (Green Book) publication sets out in more detail the date, methodology and calculations underlying the distribution of the funding between councils. https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#thefundingoflocalgovernmentinscotland.

Question reference: S6W-37232

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will (a) complete and (b) publish the outcome of its review of the guidance on the mothballing of rural schools and nurseries.

Question reference: S6O-04599

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that one in three diagnoses of prostate cancer in Scotland are at stage 4, which is a higher proportion compared with the rest of the UK.

Staging prostate cancer is often complex and whilst data published by Prostate Cancer UK in 2023 shows apparent variation across the UK nations. Comparison to other nations should be approached with caution due to differences in staging data collection methodology and definitions.

Survival rates, the most crucial measure for any patient, can however be robustly compared and Scotland’s five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is 85.7%, similar to that of the other UK nations.

Question reference: S6W-36538

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that muirburn does not create smoke levels that damage human health or cause a nuisance, in light of reports of significant smoke drift affecting communities in the Scottish Borders, including Peebles and Stobo.

Muirburn is currently guided by the Muirburn Code: https://www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-muirburn-code which is a non-statutory code and sets out both the law and good practice relating to muirburn.

Section 3.3 of the current Muirburn Code clearly states that the person undertaking muirburn must not burn within 30m of a public road; create smoke that is a nuisance; and endanger anyone’s health and/or safety.

Anyone with concerns that the law is not being complied with in regards to muirburn should contact Police Scotland.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act 2024 introduced a provision to further regulate the use of muirburn including that all muirburn will need to be carried out under licence.

A condition of the licence will be that anyone carrying out muirburn must have completed a training course. In future this will include both an online and a practical course. Currently no training is required for carrying out muirburn in Scotland.

NatureScot are also currently consulting on a new Muirburn Code that will accompany the licensing scheme, which sets out the essential considerations for muirburn, including where and when muirburn can be carried out, the required notifications before setting muirburn and necessary safety measures. The muirburn licensing scheme and revised Muirburn Code are being introduced to help ensure that muirburn is carried out safely and appropriately.

Question reference: S6W-36537

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement measures are in place to address any breaches of muirburn regulations, and whether it will review the existing guidance in order to improve the protection of public health.

The current Muirburn Code: https://www.nature.scot/doc/guidance-muirburn-code is a non-statutory Code which sets out both the law and good practice relating to muirburn and applies to all moorland managers and includes farmers, crofters, shepherds and gamekeepers.

A new licensing scheme for muirburn, as introduced by the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 is expected to come in to effect later this year. NatureScot are currently consulting on a new statutory Muirburn Code that will accompany the licensing scheme. It will set out where and when muirburn can be carried out, the required notifications before setting muirburn and necessary safety measures.

As with all laws, enforcement is a matter for Police Scotland. NatureScot will also have statutory powers to modify, suspend or revoke a licence for non-compliance of the Act.

Question reference: S6O-04522

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

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to renewing the Heart Disease Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-35646

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34926 by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025, what discussions it has had with the Respiratory Specialty Delivery Group within NHS Golden Jubilee to develop a pathway for (a) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and (b) interstitial lung disease.

Scottish Government are not directly involved in the development of a pathway for IPF and ILD however we are aware that the Centre for Sustainable Delivery has a Speciality Delivery Group for respiratory and this pathway development has been added this to their work plan for this year. We will continue to collaborate with colleagues leading this work to ensure all key stakeholders are informed of its progress.

Question reference: S6O-04508

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to ban house coal, as set out in its strategy, Cleaner Air for Scotland 2.