Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-39197

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 25 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-37919 by Neil Gray on 5 June 2025, whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the digital dermatology pathway to (a) GPs and (b) NHS boards, including how many GP practices are currently participating in the system.

Question reference: S6W-39081

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 24 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase policing and police presence in communities with a high level of bike theft.

The operation of Police Scotland, including the deployment of staffing, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is supported by the Scottish Government to shape the workforce in response to operational needs. The latest official statistics show there were 16,553 FTE police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2025.

There are already a wide range of effective actions currently available to Police Scotland to prevent and reduce bike theft, empowering officers to lawfully pursue and tactically engage thieves, where it is deemed necessary. Theft is a criminal offence under Scots law, which has developed over centuries through operation of the courts rather than being provided for in statute.

Question reference: S6W-37254

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct an immediate strategic audit of any potential implications for (a) public bodies, (b) infrastructure and (c) energy systems in Scotland of (i) Chinese investment in offshore wind and (b) the use of Hikvision cameras by public sector bodies.

The UK Government is responsible for national security, the regulation of international trade, elements of critical national infrastructure including energy, and the application of the National Security and Investment Act.

It is a priority for us to secure inward investment where it is possible to do so. We are engaging closely with the UK Government to understand the progress it is making in considering the security implications of Chinese and other potential foreign investment in energy-related infrastructure.

Regarding the use of Hikvision cameras by public sector bodies, councils and public bodies are separate from the Scottish Government. Therefore, as long as they act lawfully, each public body is accountable for its own decisions in relation to day to day business, including procurement competitions.

Public procurement regulations specifically allow for companies to be excluded from tendering, where it can be demonstrated by appropriate means that they are guilty of grave professional misconduct. The Scottish Government expects all public sector bodies to undertake appropriate due diligence on companies in receipt of public money. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of public sector bodies to make decisions on how best to deliver services to their communities.

Question reference: S6W-39198

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards have received the new theatre scheduling tool that was due to be rolled out by end of June 2025.

The tool is currently live in six territorial boards, and work is continuing to implement the tool for the remaining territorial health boards and National Hospital Golden Jubilee. In line with the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-operational-improvement-plan/pages/1/), all territorial health boards, and National Hospital Golden Jubilee, have been scheduled into the current theatre scheduling tool rollout plan, as at the end of June 2025.

Question reference: S6W-39017

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently being prescribed weight loss medications, including GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro).

For the purpose of this request, the Scottish Government has classified four medications as being widely recommended for use for weight loss in Scotland. Three of these medications (Mounjaro®, Saxenda®, Wegovy®) are Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (aka GLP-1s or GLP-RAs) and the other is tetrahydrolipstatin, also known by its brand name orlistat.

Data provided by Public Health Scotland (PHS) indicates that the number of patients who have received items paid as Mounjaro®, Saxenda®, Wegovy® or orlistat in Scotland in the period from Jan to Mar 2025 and dispensed from community pharmacies is as follows:

Brand/VTM	Formulation	No of patients
MOUNJARO ®	SOLUTION FOR INJECTION	4082
ORLISTAT (VTM)	ORAL CAPSULE	3168
SAXENDA ®	SOLUTION FOR INJECTION	28
WEGOVY ®	SOLUTION FOR INJECTION	406

TOTAL		7660*

*The CHI capture rate in the period for Saxenda® is 100%, for orlistat is 95.52%, for Wegovy® is 95.50% and for Mounjaro® is 94.13%. Therefore there is a small amount of underestimation in the number of patients who have had these drugs dispensed in NHS Scotland.

Patients who have received items from more than one brand will be counted under each. This means that the sum of patients across all brands may not match the sum of patients by brand.

Question reference: S6W-37253

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 16 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to any implications for community safety in Scotland, whether the Minister for Business raised the issue of alleged "secret Chinese police stations" on his recent trip to China.

During my visit, I raised concerns about China’s human rights record.

Any foreign country that operates within Scotland, must abide by Scottish law. The Scottish Government fully supports individuals’ rights to freedom of expression, which is an extremely important principle.

Investigations into infringements of law and civil rights are a matter for law enforcement agencies. As a matter of long-standing policy we will not comment on the detail of security.

Question reference: S6W-38729

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 4 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019, including whether it is aware of any data setting out (a) the views of children and families on the impact of the Act, (b) the views of professionals with responsibility for child protection on the impact of the Act, (c) whether the Act has led to an increase in referrals of families to social work or other family support services, and (d) whether the Act has led to an increase in parental prosecutions for assault.

The Scottish Government has not yet carried out an assessment of the impact of the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) Scotland Act 2019.

The Implementation Group for the Act continues to meet on a yearly basis. Minutes of these meetings are at: Children (Equal Protection From Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 implementation group - gov.scot.

We are not aware of any data on the views of children and families on the impact of the Act itself. However, the Policy Memorandum for the Bill which became the 2019 Act summarised information on the incidence of physical punishment and on children and young people’s views of physical punishment. Please see Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill Policy Memorandum (paragraphs 46 to 51).

On the views of professionals, the Scottish Government is aware of a recent open letter by a range of health bodies calling for the removal of the “reasonable punishment” defence in England: Thirteen leading public health organisations call on Government to outlaw physical punishment | RCPCH.

The Scottish Government does not have data on changes in relation to the number of referrals to social work or other family support services. The Child Protection Statistics for Scotland only started including data on inter-agency referral discussions (IRDs) from 2023-24: Children’s Social Work Statistics: Child Protection 2023-24 - gov.scot In any event, the reasons for IRDs taking place are varied.

Data on the number of people convicted for common assault as a main charge is available at criminal-proceedings-scotland-2022-23-main-tables.xlsx (see table 4b). If there are multiple charges proven against an accused in a single proceeding, the main charge is the crime or offence receiving the most severe penalty. The data is not split to show whether the person being prosecuted is a parent: this information is not held in the Criminal Proceedings data. The figures for 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 are likely to reflect the impact of the pandemic and should not be considered indicative of longer-term trends.

Information on crimes recorded by the Police is available at Recorded+Crime+-+2024-25+-+Bulletin+tables.xlsx (see table A1 for information on common assault). Again, this does not show information on whether a person recorded as committing a crime is a parent.

Question reference: S6F-04215

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 June 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-38386

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it currently oversees the work of non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos; how they are held accountable for their decision-making, and whether it plans to review any such arrangements.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) sets out the lines of accountability for public bodies. Executive NDPBs are directly accountable to Ministers, and through Ministers to Parliament. The Chief Executive is designated as the Accountable Officer (AO) responsible for the use of resources. However, Ministers remain accountable to the Parliament for the allocation of public funds. A Board holds the Chief Executive to account and the relationship between Ministers, SG and the NDPB is set out in the relevant legislation and the Framework Document for the public body. Sponsorship also plays a crucial role in ensuring that public bodies are contributing as fully as possible to delivering the Government’s targets and National Performance Framework national outcomes.

Further information can be found in the written submission to the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee which can be viewed on the Parliament’s website.

Question reference: S6W-38283

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to educate students about cardiovascular health by adding more in-depth content to the curriculum in personal and social education lessons.

Health and Wellbeing is one of the eight curricular areas in Curriculum for Excellence. Learning in Health and Wellbeing is designed to ensure children and young people develop the knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes which they need for mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.

While the Curriculum for Excellence framework is set at a national level, it is up to local authorities and schools to determine how they will deliver the curriculum to best suit the children and young people in their area. Local authorities and schools will use a range of approaches and resources to support children and young people with their mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing in line with local needs and circumstances. This can include learning and teaching about cardiovascular health for which there are existing learning experiences and outcomes in Health and Wellbeing and Sciences where this learning can be delivered.

Health and Wellbeing is also about the whole approach of the nursery, school, college or other setting. The concept of health and wellbeing as a responsibility of all emphasizes that everyone, including educators, parents, and community members, plays a crucial role in promoting and supporting health and wellbeing of children and young people.

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