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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-38184

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many retail units are vacant in high streets and town centres across the country.

Question reference: S6W-38418

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its pledge to eliminate delayed discharge from hospitals.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing delayed discharges and addressing the variation in delays across the country and this remains a priority for this Government. However, it is important to reflect that 97% of all discharges happen without delay.

The latest published delayed discharge figures show some progress in reducing the number of people delayed, and we continue to work to drive that number down further. Statistics show that during April 2025, on average 1,854 people were delayed in hospital each day, 3% fewer than in April 2024, the lowest level since October 2023, and a 9% reduction from the peak in October 2024.

The progress comes off the back off intensive work that is being done on a whole system basis, with Health and Social Care Partnerships, the National Health Service, Local Government and community and voluntary sector partners – to ensure that capacity is there to support them.

Furthermore, our budget for 2025-26 set out a clear plan to reduce waiting times, delayed discharges and improve hospital flow, supported by £200 million in targeted investment. Underpinning this is the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan which was published on the 31st of March this year. This is a plan to improve access to treatment, shift the balance of care from acute services to the community, and improve access to health and social care services through digital and technological innovation and prevention.

I am confident that this improvement can continue, delivering better outcomes for patients so that they are cared for in the right setting and hospital beds are there for those who need them.

Question reference: S6W-38467

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care's reported statement to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee on 4 June 2025 in relation to the Thistle safer drug consumption facility that "[his] contention is that [...] were those service users not within the Thistle, they would not have survived", whether it will provide the evidence on which this statement was based.

My statement to the Scottish Affairs Committee on 4 June 2025 is based on operational data and the clinical interventions of the Thistle Safer Drug Consumption Facility team.

By the end of April 2025, staff had managed 30 medical emergencies requiring urgent intervention. These incidents involved overdose responses, including naloxone and oxygen administration, in situations where lives were at immediate risk. The evidence underpinning this statement is drawn from Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership’s published service data and the professional assessments of clinical staff on-site to attend to medical emergencies

Question reference: S6W-38126

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it evaluates whether local authorities, including Scottish Borders Council, are fulfilling their duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Local authorities are supported in fulfilling their duties under the 2004 Act through the statutory code of practice on additional support for learning.

In instances where parents/carers are concerned that education authorities may not be fulfilling their duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, there are a range of dispute resolution mechanisms available under the 2004 Act. These include mediation, independent adjudication, and referral to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal.

Under section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 any interested party can make a reference to the Scottish Ministers that a responsible body (the managers of a school or education establishment, an education authority or other persons) has failed to discharge a duty imposed on them by or for the purposes of any enactment relating to education.

Question reference: S6W-38117

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reduce ovarian cancer surgery waiting lists in the south of Scotland.

The South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) continue to focus on reducing waiting times and improving outcomes for people diagnosed with ovarian cancer. They have made recent innovations in both the pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis parts of the pathway:

Pre diagnosis: patients referred with suspected ovarian cancer automatically receive a CT scan appointment and should the scan show any suspicious features, the multi-disciplinary team will review and an action plan will be formalised. They report that this has significantly decreased waiting times.
Post diagnosis: 10 dedicated advanced ovarian cancer surgery lists are offered each week supported by the specialist gynae-oncology team and the colorectal and hepato-biliary surgery teams, as appropriate, aiming to improve post-surgery outcomes including survival rates.

Question reference: S6O-04833

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what responses have been received from LGBTQ+ staff or organisations that it has consulted with, or been contacted by, since the announcement of its interim policy on Parliament facilities, following the UK Supreme Court ruling.

Question reference: S6O-04832

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the response to question S6O-04050, what the findings were of the review of the terms and conditions of staff employed by MSPs, particularly in relation to parental leave policies.

Question reference: S6W-37973

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the recommendations in the Climate Change Committee report, Scotland’s Carbon Budgets.

Following receipt of the Climate Change Committee (CCC)’s report, work is ongoing to consider the advice carefully and at pace. My intention is to lay regulations to set Scottish carbon budgets in legislation as soon as possible following Scottish Ministers’ consideration of both the CCC’s advice and the target-setting criteria contained in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. On the same day as laying the regulations, I will publish an accompanying statement providing further detail on the proposed carbon budgets and the Scottish Government’s position.

Question reference: S6W-37974

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the "key drivers" targets in the Climate Change Committee report, Scotland’s Carbon Budgets, that are deemed necessary to achieve net zero emissions by 2045.

Question reference: S6W-38046

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 12 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether any formal evaluation of the £60 million play park renewal programme has been commissioned, and whether this will include full access to delivery data by local authorities.