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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-18353

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18348

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Pathologists, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18170

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many suspected marine invasive non-native species have been reported to Marine Scotland in each year for which data is available.

Marine invasive non-native species (INNS) are reported to the Scottish Government by statutory organisations such as NatureScot and SEPA and regional partnership groups, to inform international reporting obligations for INNS monitoring.

Year	Number of INNS reported to Marine Scotland (OSPAR data call & MSS data)
2022	8
2021	18
2020	2
2019	3
2018	6
2017	14
2016	32
2015	0
2014	2
2013	10
2012	5

A small number of ad hoc reports are received from the general public though these are not always possible to verify due to incomplete information received or absence of physical specimens to analyse in a laboratory. Marine INNS are not all reported directly to the Scottish Government but may be submitted via iRecord by members of the public. All verified reports are then collated on the National Biodiversity Network Atlas and freely accessible to all.

Question reference: S6W-18172

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-17666, S6W-17669 and S6W-17670 by Paul McLennan on 17 May 2023, how much money has been allocated, in total, by the funds during the current parliamentary session, broken down by local authority.

A total of £18.181 million has been allocated from the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund for the current parliamentary term, this includes spend of £9.088 million. The following table provides a breakdown by local authority area.

Local Authority	Allocated	Spend
Argyll & Bute	4.196	2.914
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	0.813	0.709
Dumfries and Galloway	0.408	0.408
Highland	5.926	1.931
Moray	1.443	1.424
Orkney	0.961	0.846
North Ayrshire	1.512	0.000
Perth & Kinross	0.384	0.000
Scottish Borders	0.737	0.737
Stirling	0.586	0.000
West Lothian	1.215	0.119
Total	18.181	9.088
This table includes provisional programme management information for 2022-23 and 2023-24 and could be subject to change.

Question reference: S6W-18181

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring mechanisms are in place to evaluate the impact of the £145.5 million allocated to local authorities to protect teacher numbers, and whether it plans to publish any such evaluation.

We will use the September 2023 annual census levels, which will be published in the Official Statistics Summary School Statistics in December 2023 and March 2024, to confirm whether numbers have been maintained. It is important that all stakeholders have confidence in the statistics being used. Official Statistics on teacher numbers, delivered via the annual teacher census, have delivered robust data for many years and they will continue to be the definitive measure.

We have introduced an additional monitoring period in May 2023. At this point, local authorities will be asked to provide an aggregate count of their total teacher and pupil support staff numbers, together with any commentary and supporting evidence.

Question reference: S6W-18207

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been carried out to review the safety implications of bus stop bypasses, also known as "floating" bus stops, and whether it will confirm when any such work took place.

Transport Scotland commissioned Living Streets in 2021 to investigate issues of inclusion where bus stop bypasses are introduced, primarily to accommodate cycle facilities. The study has visited sites across the UK, photographing, measuring and recording behaviours of pedestrians and cyclists, and has analysed footage using fixed cameras. The study has also included a literature review, and consultation with a wide range of user groups including disabled people and others who are most affected. The study is due to report late summer 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18286

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm what Level 3 budget line(s) funded the teacher pay settlement, agreed in March 2023, and how much funding came from each individual budget line.

Question reference: S6W-18203

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its innovation strategy.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with stakeholders across the country from industry, academia and the public sector to develop a National Innovation Strategy for Scotland, which will set out a roadmap to transform Scotland's economy over the next decade by placing innovation at the heart of our economic growth and societal prosperity and wellbeing. The Scottish Government intends to publish its National Innovation Strategy this month.

Question reference: S6W-18292

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting time is for routine assessments for menopause in each NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

It is important that women are provided with consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms, be it through primary or specialist care.

Through the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan , we want to ensure that all women have timely access to menopause support and services when required, and more information about the progress we have made on delivering this action can be found in our Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress .

Through the Women’s Health Plan we are working to improve collection and use of data, including qualitative evidence of women’s lived experiences to inform service design and improve healthcare services and women’s care and experiences.

Question reference: S6W-17852

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve occupational therapy staffing levels in the NHS.

Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) Staffing levels in Occupational Therapy have increased by 19% or over 400, from 2161.4 at September 2007 to 2573 at December 2022. Overall, NHS Scotland’s staffing levels are up by around 28,900 WTE. This is a 22.7% increase, from 127,061.9 WTE at September 2006 to 155,926.9 WTE at December 2022).

In March 2022, the Scottish Government published the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social care, which sets out our long term vision for achieving a sustainable health and care workforce, alongside the action we are taking now to support the training, attraction and recruitment of staff, including allied health professionals. This includes a commitment to investing over £11 million in the current parliament, in international recruitment activity, and the provision of some £22 million in 2022-23 to local authorities, to support the employment of additional staff including occupational therapists.