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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-40574

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38373 by Gillian Martin on 17 June 2025, whether it will provide an update on its plans to review and revise the guidance regarding the exceptional circumstances in which it is permissible for storm overflows to spill.

Question reference: S6W-40587

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding local authority officers instructing external legal counsel to defend decisions in which they are directly involved, and what conflict-of-interest protections are in place.

Local authorities are entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government and their powers are set out in statute. It is up to each local authority to manage its own day to day business. The Scottish Government does not have a role in the operations of councils, including decisions to instruct external legal counsel. The Scottish Government expects all councils to have robust internal procedures in place to manage conflicts of interest and to ensure decisions are taken in a transparent and accountable manner.

Question reference: S6W-40584

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review national guidance to ensure that any local authority contract enforcement failures do not undermine public trust or distort competition in public procurement.

Public bodies, including local authorities, are expected to comply with all relevant procurement legislative requirements. Public bodies are responsible for deciding their actions in individual cases.

In addition to following organisation-specific guidance, the Scottish Procurement Policy Handbook provides guidance on the rules and policies that apply to the procurement activities of public bodies in Scotland. Additional and more specific guidance and e-learning is available to public bodies in various forms such as via the Procurement Journey website, Sustainable Procurement Tools and various Scottish Procurement Policy Notes.

The Scottish Government reviews its guidance on an ongoing basis to ensure necessary and helpful updates are made as appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-40485

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in the First Minister's recent meetings with the President of the United States, the issue of the Open Championship golf tournament being held possibly at the Trump Turnberry course in Ayrshie was discussed.

Question reference: S6T-02701

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason patients across Scotland will reportedly not be able to fully access the new MyCare NHS app until 2030.

Question reference: S6W-40743

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the £4.5 million fund that it announced for NHS boards as part of the budget for 2025-26 will deliver specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome and other similar conditions.

Further to Parliament’s approval of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 25 February 2025, the Scottish Government has been engaging closely with NHS boards to support the allocation of resource for new specialist support for Long COVID, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions.

Boards told us that having funding only for a single financial year would be a barrier to their ability to develop new support. Therefore, following further assessment in line with Scottish Government spending controls, we wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding will now be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.

NHS Boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding will be allocated in full on an recurring basis. From the financial year 2026-27 onwards NHS Boards will receive the £4.5 million resource annually.

In 2025-26 the £4.5 million funding is being provided in addition to remaining resource of approximately £3 million from the £10 million long COVID Support Fund (established 2022). The £10 million fund will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

A breakdown is as follows:

NHS Ayrshire and Arran	£327,482
NHS Borders	£99,208
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	£133,076
NHS Fife	£307,495
NHS Forth Valley	£246,390
NHS Grampian	£437,038
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£957,544
NHS Highland	£300,399
NHS Lanarkshire	£561,378
NHS Lothian	£676,576
NHS Orkney	£21,985
NHS Shetland	£21,466
NHS Tayside	£346,825
NHS Western Isles	£29,138

Total	£4,466,000

We will also provide funding of £33,366 to Action for ME to support their Learn about ME online CPD module for health & social care professionals.

Question reference: S6W-40141

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of the impact of human activity and pressures on the marine area the Marine Directorate has carried out ahead of developing the National Marine Plan 2 to inform its preparation, as set out in the legal duties of Section 5 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40140 on 24 September 2025. The assessment of condition is being prepared in line with our duties, and will include the impact of human activity and pressures on the marine area. 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-40140

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of the condition of the marine area the Marine Directorate has carried out ahead of developing the National Marine Plan 2 to inform its preparation, as set out in the legal duties of Section 5 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Question reference: S6W-40533

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to provide fire evacuation equipment to fire services to accommodate all levels of accessibility need.

Question reference: S6W-40142

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the updated National Marine Plan will include a clear spatial plan covering all marine sectors, including fisheries, in line with the findings of its literature review on a marine just transition, which suggested marine spatial planning as international best practice for managing increasing competition for space and ensuring fair outcomes for coastal communities and marine sectors.

The intention of National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2), as set out our Planning Position Statement (PPS), is to support the development of spatial management measures through dedicated policies, some specific to fisheries, as well as working to build a stronger evidence base to inform future spatial planning and management where possible.

It is essential that we consider the outcomes from current consultations, the literature review referenced, and issues raised via our PPS consultation. We have therefore made the decision to postpone our consultation on a draft NMP2 to allow for further consideration of the feedback received.