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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: S6O-05030

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what representations NGOs have made to it regarding its work to support humanitarian assistance in Palestine.

Question reference: S6O-05041

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what actions Police Scotland is taking to deal with problem street drinkers.

Question reference: S6O-05031

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its role in proposing the scheduling of parliamentary business, how it can help ensure that parliamentary time is used constructively for the remainder of this parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-40646

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the General Dentist Council (GDC) and Dental Complaints Service (DCS) regarding the possibility of the organisations (a) capturing relevant practice-level data, in particular practice name, full address and company number where relevant, and (b) publishing anonymised, practice-linked complaint aggregates, with small-number suppression, in order to enable patients to have access to more information when choosing a private dental practice in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has held no talks with the General Dental Council (GDC) regarding the provision and publication of statistics relating to private dental clinics. Regulation of dentists is reserved to the UK parliament and the GDC is the independent statutory regulator for the dental team. It does not however regulate dental premises, with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) being the regulator of independent clinics in Scotland. Where available, HIS publishes inspection reports for independent clinics on its register.

Question reference: S6W-40598

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support Migraine Awareness Week, which runs from 22 to 28 September 2025, and raise awareness of migraine as a neurological condition.

We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery launched the national headache pathway in October 2023, to improve care for migraines and headache across Scotland. The pathway is being implemented to aid with the diagnosis and management of headache disorders including migraine, offer guidance on management, and support health boards to aid their future planning.

The Scottish Government funded £221,176 to the Migraine Trust across 2022-2024 to work upskilling community, primary and secondary care pharmacists across NHS Grampian to help people with migraine manage their condition more effectively. This included funding to partner other health boards to extend the reach of this model and increase care and support for people living with migraine.

An eLearning programme for NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) platform TURAS was developed through the project, comprising a suite of training materials available for all pharmacists and pharmacy teams in Scotland to access.

Additionally, NES Pharmacy hosted a webinar in September 2024 to provide guidance to pharmacy staff on the assessment, support and management of people living with migraine in line with the Scottish National Headache Pathway.

Following publication of the Pathway, Scottish Government has liaised with NHS24 and clinicians to produce public-facing accessible information on migraine, available at Migraine | NHS inform.

Question reference: S6W-40655

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses were fined for selling illegal (a) vapes and (b) cigarettes in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-40644

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what body currently provides practice-level oversight of private dental practices in Scotland, and if no such body exists, whether it has considered creating one.

Question reference: S6W-40603

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding mechanisms are available to help (a) farmers and (b) crofters improve farm security.

Question reference: S6W-40607

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the recent changes to Lanarkshire sexual health services on accessibility for people across the region, including centralising the repeat prescription service for contraception to Coathill Hospital.

Following a review of services and in order to prioritise access to specialist sexual health services for those in greatest need, NHS Lanarkshire have made a decision to centralise non-Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) prescription appointments to Coathill Hospital. Patients are still able to access non-LARC contraception (such as the pill) at Coathill Hospital or through their GP, which may be more convenient for them. Appointments for LARC continue to be available throughout the wider sexual health service in Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6W-40642

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure consistent implementation of the Coeliac Disease Pathway across all NHS boards.

Following the launch of a new national evidence-based pathway for coeliac disease in 2018, we expect all Health Boards to fully implement the Coeliac Disease Pathway in Scotland to improve under diagnosis, time to diagnosis and to ensure dietetic person-centred support for people living with this condition so that they can take control and manage its impact on their health and quality of life.

Our £70 million Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan is increasing capacity and supporting workforce training. This also includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition.

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is invasive and often requires sedation or anaesthesia. A no-biopsy approach, now fully adopted across adult services in Scotland, reduces the need for endoscopy and speeds up diagnosis for eligible patients.