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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: S6F-03194

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6F-03193

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-27683

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 June 2024

Question reference: S6W-27506

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the resources that are given to local rehabilitation services are adequate to ensure that all adults can access the appropriate support as close to their local areas as possible, as set out in the Framework for Supporting People through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The resourcing and commissioning of local rehabilitation services is the responsibility of individual Health Boards.

The Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach which supersedes the Framework for Supporting People through Recovery and Rehabilitation during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic (‘The Framework’) sets out the Six Principles of Good Rehabilitation. The Scottish Government expects that Health Boards have given consideration to these Principles to provide a good standard of rehabilitation services across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27676

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work being carried out by the Strategic Board for Teacher Education.

The Board agreed its workplan in September 2023. The most recently published version of the workplan can be found on the Scottish Government website. https://www.gov.scot/publications/strategic-board-teacher-education-meeting-27-thursday-1-february-2024-10-00am-11-30am/pages/2/

The workplan contains three workstreams:

Workstream 1 – Workforce Planning and Increasing Diversity of the Profession
Workstream 2 – Improving the Promotion of Teaching as a Valued Career
Workstream 3 – Continuum of Teacher Education

The Board has held meetings in November, February and March to progress these workstreams. The agendas, minutes and papers from these meeting are published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/groups/strategic-board-for-teacher-education/

The Board last met on 15 May 2024, and the agenda, minutes and papers from this meeting will be published on the Scottish Government website following the next meeting of the Board, which is scheduled for 27 June.

Question reference: S6W-27681

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was of providing (a) bus and (b) taxi replacement services for any cancelled scheduled ScotRail train services in financial year (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23 and (iii) 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-27726

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to investigate any reasons for the standardised mortality ratio reportedly being (a) above the upper warning limit for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and (b) below the lower warning limit for the Western General Hospital, in 2023.

Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio data is one of a series of measures we use to monitor safety in Scotland’s hospitals. With regard to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE), the Deputy National Clinical Director (DNCD) has been in contact with NHS Lothian and has received assurance that this has been investigated.

The investigation provided evidence that there were a number of factors that have contributed to the higher-than-predicted mortality for admissions to RIE. The DNCD is confident that appropriate action has been put in place to address the findings of the investigation.

The Regional Centre for Cancer and Clinical Neuroscience is based at the Western General, and this is an important factor in its HSMR data. The slightly different case-mix of patients have understandably higher predicted probabilities of mortality.

The mix of patients seen varies between hospitals, and the mortality rate may be higher or lower at a hospital for many reasons; the patients seen, for example, may be more seriously ill than average. HSMRs therefore take account of some of the factors known to affect the risk of death, so that comparisons between individual hospitals and Scotland are made on a comparable basis.

Question reference: S6W-27674

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be of Aberdeenshire Council reportedly receiving only 20 of the 44 newly qualified secondary school teachers it requested for the coming school year.

We recognise there is a challenge around the recruitment of teachers in certain geographical areas and in certain subjects. It is for this reason that we have manually allocated Preference Waiver Payment (PWP) probationers this year. Manually allocating PWPs will ensure those probationers are placed in the areas who have the most difficulties in securing probationers.

I recently met with Aberdeenshire Council to discuss their concerns about teacher recruitment and probationer allocations. The Council indicated that they welcomed the approach taken to probationer allocations this year, which has resulted in an increase on the number of PWPs allocated compared to last year.

Question reference: S6W-27703

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent painkiller overdoses in young people.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in combination with retailers, already limit the sale of paracetamol to a maximum of two packs (containing up to 16 solid dose tablets or capsules) in a retail environment. The aim of these voluntary measures is to balance the need of people for access to pain relief medicines against the dangers for vulnerable individuals and reduce the opportunity for people to purchase, on impulse, excessive quantities of any single analgesic (paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen). A pharmacy may sell larger packs containing up to 32 tablets or capsules under the supervision of a pharmacist; it is illegal to sell more than 100 tablets or capsules of either paracetamol or aspirin in any one retail transaction. Since most packs available for sale are for 16 or 32 dose units, this means that, in practice, 96 is the maximum number that can be sold.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has provided guidelines to community pharmacies on the dispensing and supply of medicines to children and young people. The decision on whether a supply is appropriate is on a case by case basis and will involve considering the individual circumstances. The guidelines apply for both NHS and private prescriptions as well as pharmacy services such as NHS Pharmacy First Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-27691

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to offer more training programmes in audiology to help tackle the reported workforce shortage.