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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-39211

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the planned long-term conditions framework will be (a) prioritised and (b) resourced to address the (i) current and (ii) future projected burden of disease for such conditions.

The Scottish Government published its Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) on 17 June 2025. This Framework provides a high-level guide for change, to ensure the sustainability, efficiency, quality, and accessibility of health and social care services in Scotland. Within the SRF, we set out our commitment to publish the Long-Term Conditions Framework and its aim and outcomes will be closely linked to the principles of the SRF.

We are considering using an evidence-based process to determine which improvement work will be prioritised and details of this will form part of the Long-Term Conditions Framework which we will publish in December 2025. Resources will be addressed as part of the ensuing series of action plans.

Question reference: S6W-39210

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38812 by Jenni Minto on 26 June 2025, what prior engagement it had with the clinical community to inform the development of the long-term conditions framework consultation, and what feedback it received from any such engagement.

Question reference: S6W-39079

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential of embedding specialist support practitioners, such as specialist nurses, dieticians, and psychologists, within local settings, in order to (a) improve (i) access to holistic care and (ii) the management of long-term conditions, such as Crohn’s disease and colitis, closer to home and (b) prevent avoidable hospital admissions.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living with long term conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can access high-quality, person-centred care.

We have provided additional investment to NHS boards since 2015 to support clinical nurse specialist provision and care. Boards make the decisions on where to prioritise this funding based on local need.

The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to ensure that patients with specialist conditions have appropriate access to a range of professionals, including specialist nurses, to ensure the best management of their condition. NHS Boards have been asked to work in partnership with third sector organisations, social care partners and patients with specialist conditions in designing and delivering services.

Question reference: S6W-39080

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of the initiative to provide more specialist clinical care in the community, as detailed in the Health and Social Care Renewal Framework, whether increased specialist support in local settings will be available for people with inflammatory bowel disease in order to allow those with Crohn’s disease or colitis to manage their condition closer to home.

The Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland; however, the statutory responsibility for delivering or commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS Boards and integrated health and social care partnerships. Operational decisions, including whether there is a need for additional specialist nurses, are therefore matters for those bodies.

Question reference: S6W-39212

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on developing a clear, consistent set of national standards and care pathway guarantees that set out the level and standard of care that everyone with a diagnosis of dementia should expect throughout each stage of their condition.

Question reference: S6W-39213

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been undertaken to understand the potential impact of increasing eligibility criteria to access local social care services on people living with dementia.

Question reference: S6W-39209

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported variability of access across Scotland to the 12-month minimum guaranteed post-diagnostic support for people living with dementia.

Question reference: S6W-38145

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what patient-facing features will be available to people piloting the national Digital Front Door app within NHS Lanarkshire later in 2025.

The initial users in NHS Lanarkshire will be patients accessing dermatology outpatient services. They will have the following features:

Secure login using a unique ID through Scot Account.
Receive digital letters from the dermatology team
View dermatology appointments
Access personal health information, including demographics, medications and allergies.
Use a national service finder to locate health and care services.

These details have been published in our Operational Improvement Plan which you can access here; https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-operational-improvement-plan/pages/5/.

To ensure good practice in our approach, we intend for the initial version to be tested thoroughly in Lanarkshire before we seek to spread and scale it across Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-04775

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any economic implications of the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s latest forecasts and the potential impact of rising public health costs on businesses across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-37823

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether legislation will be required to deliver an integrated social care and health record, as referenced in its Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2024-25.

The Scottish Government are committed to delivering a digital health and care record and can confirm that legislation is not required to create such a record. However, Part 2 of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, if passed, will create the enabling conditions for success of a digital health and care record by improving information sharing and usage between individuals and organisations within the health and social care system. The Scottish Government is listening to the views of MSPs presented at Stage 2 of the parliamentary process and considering what amendments may be useful in delivering a record that improves outcomes for people in Scotland.