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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-40964

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all NHS boards can accurately measure total patient waiting times for treatment and what the timeline is for implementing systems that allow full patient data linkage.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40963 on 17 October 2025.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any NHS Scotland Health Board that cannot accurately measure total patient waiting times for treatment.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-40985

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the role of NatureScot as both conservation regulator and custodian of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, in light of reported concerns by some event organisers regarding potential conflicts of interest.

NatureScot has a statutory role to promote and publicise the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) and to keep it under review. This does not conflict with NatureScot’s role in protecting and conserving nature. The SOAC is very clear that disturbance of wildlife or protected areas does not fall within the standards of responsible behaviour expected and would not, therefore fall within the definition of ‘responsible access’ rights. It should go without saying that our laws relating to nature conservation should be complied with.

NatureScot and the National Access Forum have recently updated guidance on managing wildlife disturbance and outdoor access, which provides more detail on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-40986

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 are applied consistently and fairly to small-scale, low-impact outdoor adventure and sporting events.

The management of access rights is a matter for access authorities, who have a statutory duty and powers to ensure access rights are upheld. This is done within the framework of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) which provides specific guidance for event organisers, land managers and the public in respect to responsible access. Clearly all events of the kind mentioned vary in scale, sensitivity and location and there may, therefore, be the appearance of this guidance being applied differently. Examples of Guidance associated with outdoors events include Outdoor events in Scotland and Commercial access to the outdoors.

Question reference: S6W-40987

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the current Scottish Outdoor Access Code guidance for outdoor event organisers, and if so, how it will ensure that any such updated guidance reflects the practical realities of responsible outdoor access, while protecting Scotland’s natural environment.

NatureScot have a statutory duty to promote, publicise and keep the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) under review. In discharging this duty NatureScot work with access authorities and the National Access Forum. Currently the Outdoor events in Scotland and Commercial access to the outdoors guidance is being reviewed and updated by NatureScot and the National Access Forum. This work is being led by a group which has been established with representatives of access managers, land managers and event organisers.

Question reference: S6W-40967

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Public Health Scotland has paused the 18 weeks referral-to-treatment standard reporting, and what steps are being taken to address any underlying data quality issues.

The 18 weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) standard is one of a number of targets set by the Scottish Government for access to hospital services.

The decision by Public Health Scotland (PHS) to pause RTT collection and reporting is consistent with the Scottish Government’s Chief Statistician letter to the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in October 2024 which set out the importance of statisticians having the authority to take decisions to improve their statistics to service a wide range of users.

It is for each individual analytical area in Scottish Government and the agencies, including PHS, to determine the approach they want to take to deliver on the priorities. Critical to that delivery is the ability for statisticians to properly resource the work to develop their priorities and this means that some publications may need to be scaled back or paused to make space for transformative work and deliver on the Statistical Strategic Priorities for Scotland.

PHS’s decision reflects the need to release capacity to focus on new priorities, such as expanding the diagnostic activity statistics for the eight key diagnostic tests. Developing these statistics will contribute to the measurement of progress towards the Scottish Government’s Operational Improvement Plan commitments in the financial year 2025-26.

Furthermore, PHS publishes a wide range of statistics about waiting times for different services and in recent years the focus of NHS boards and Scottish Government has been directed to individual targets for each part of the patient journey such as 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) and New Outpatient Standard.

In line with the principles in the Code of Practice for Statistics, PHS informed users of the pause on 18 March 2025 and invited feedback from users to assess the impact of this decision. This information will help inform future plans or PHS’s waiting times statistics.

Question reference: S6O-04988

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with community groups that have raised concerns regarding the proliferation of energy infrastructure, including pylons, battery energy storage systems and wind farms.

Question reference: S6O-04959

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its ongoing review of the guidance on the mothballing of nurseries.

Question reference: S6W-39101

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund has been allocated to the Scottish Borders.

Since 2011, the Scottish Government has provided over £65 million to support the development of public EV charging across Scotland. As a direct result of this funding, and increasing private sector investment, Scotland now has over 6,900 public charge points, a target for 6,000 public charge points was met in October 2024, two years ahead of schedule. Scotland has one of the most comprehensive public charging networks in the UK, with, on a per head of population basis, more rapid public EV charge points than any other part of the UK except the South East of England.

Through our £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund, we continue to support local authorities to work in partnership with the private sector to expand public EV charging across Scotland. With public funding prioritising those areas of Scotland less likely to benefit from stand-alone private sector investment in public EV charging infrastructure, including our rural and island communities.

To date Scottish Borders Council has received £137,000 in funding from the EV Infrastructure Fund to support the development of an EV Infrastructure Strategy and Expansion Plan covering the Scottish Borders. Scottish Borders Council has also bid for project funding from the EV Infrastructure Fund as part of a partnership which also includes City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian and West Lothian Councils. The project funding awarded to this partnership through the EV Infrastructure Fund to expand public EV charging across the South of Scotland is due to be announced later this year.

Question reference: S6W-38994

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many new build homes have been (a) started and (b) completed in the Scottish Borders in each year since 2003.

The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes started and completed throughout Scotland, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

Figures specific to new build homes started and completed, broken down by local authority area and by financial and calendar year, can be found in the table ‘New house building – All sectors starts and completions’

Question reference: S6W-38984

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38295 by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2025, how much of the £39 million has been awarded to NHS Borders.