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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: S6W-42345

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase patient capacity in community and social care settings in order to reduce hospital overcrowding.

We have a clear plan to reduce delayed discharge and are investing more than £200 million to tackle waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that are keeping some patients in hospital longer than they need to be. Improving patient flow is a top priority and a key commitment that we’ve successfully delivered across all NHS boards is our frailty service which provides specialist, multidisciplinary assessment and care for older patients to accelerate early discharge, reduce delays, and shorten hospital stays. We are seeing reductions in delayed discharge in some Health and Social Partnerships in recent months and are working closely with all health boards and local authorities to drive forward improvements. We are confident that we can build on this learning, to deliver better outcomes for patients so that they are cared for in the right setting and hospital beds are there for those who need them.

We also continue to grow our capacity through the expansion of Hospital at Home services. By providing care in this way we’re enabling more people to receive treatment in the comfort of their own home rather than on an acute ward, relieving pressure on frontline services in traditional hospital settings.

H@H services prevented almost 16,000 people spending time in hospital during April 2024 to March 2025, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year, relieving pressure from A&E and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Question reference: S6W-42342

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Royal College of Nursing's findings in its report, On the frontline of the UK's corridor care crisis, regarding staff providing daily care in unsuitable settings.

We accept that caring for patients in non-standard patient areas is sub-optimal and we are clear that no patient should be treated in a space not fit for clinical care.

We recognise the need to improve the acute care experience for patients and work has been underway over the course of 2025 to develop enhanced frailty services through the Healthcare Improvement Scotland - Frailty at the Front door standard. As a result, all NHS Health Boards have a frailty service which includes Multi-Disciplinary teams which support our front doors.

The Hospital and Community Services for Older People Living with Frailty in Scotland HIS report shows that Scotland has made significant progress in ensuring older and vulnerable patients receive timely, specialised care from the moment they arrive.

Question reference: S6W-42249

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the total costs of any work that it has undertaken in relation to the matters detailed in the Scottish Information Commissioner Decision 279/2025 (Written evidence to James Hamilton’s investigation into the First Minister under the Ministerial Code), including the cost of (a) any (i) internal and (ii) external legal advice, (b) its officials' time and (c) any other spending related to these matters, and what its estimate is of the potential cost of appealing the decision to the Court of Session, should it decide to do so.

Question reference: S6W-42275

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what alternative (a) funding mechanisms or (b) private-sector investment options were considered by Scottish Enterprise before its decision to provide financial support to Offshore Solutions Group, and what assessment was made of the necessity for public funding for the Moray FLOW-Park project.

Question reference: S6W-42276

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of any (a) financial or (b) non-financial support provided by Scottish Enterprise to Offshore Solutions Group, including the (i) value, (ii) type of support, and (iii) the criteria used to approve such support.

Question reference: S6W-42278

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) monitoring, (b) reporting and (c) performance-measurement requirements Scottish Enterprise has put in place for Offshore Solutions Group following the award of financial support, and whether any clawback provisions exist should agreed outcomes not be delivered.

Question reference: S6W-42277

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what due (a) diligence and (b) value-for-money assessments were undertaken by Scottish Enterprise prior to awarding financial support to Offshore Solutions Group, particularly in relation to the proposed Moray FLOW-Park floating offshore wind storage project.

Question reference: S6W-42396

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on planned reforms to the governance of ferry services provided by CalMac under the Clyde and Hebrides (Third Generation) contract, which commenced on 1 October 2025.

Regarding the governance recommendation Scottish Ministers have not taken any decisions at this stage on potential further reforms to the governance of Scotland’s ferry bodies. Work to consider all available options is ongoing, and no approach has been ruled out.

The immediate priority is the successful delivery of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS3) contract, which commenced on 1 October 2025, and the introduction of six new major vessels into service. These measures are essential to strengthening resilience and improving the reliability of services for island communities.

Question reference: S6W-42260

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue from passengers it estimates has not been collected as a result of CalMac’s reported issues with its ticketing (a) hardware and (b) software on its non-bookable services.

The current booking system was released under the previous contract with CalMac to operate the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services. Under that contract CalMac were required to provide farebox revenue as a whole for routes across the network. The Scottish Government does not hold information on uncollected revenue, and there was no contractual requirement for them to provide this information to Ministers.

Question reference: S6W-42377

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average ambulance response time is in Inverclyde, and how this compares with the national average.