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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-42003

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on the impact of delayed NHS 24 callbacks on patient outcomes.

NHS 24 have robust practices in place to ensure patient safety is paramount and that the appropriate procedures are in place for assessing risk.

Scottish Government monitor the performance of NHS 24 and regularly engage with the service to discuss performance related issues. NHS 24 is required to escalate any concerns about patient safety to the Scottish Government immediately, in line with agreed protocols.

Question reference: S6W-41987

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in Argyll & Bute have had to travel outside their own NHS board for treatment in each of the last three years, and what the longest distance has been for a patient to travel.

Question reference: S6W-42005

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients were assessed through the NHS 24 111 service and subsequently not referred for further clinical care in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-41953

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much money was budgeted for agricultural support payments in each of the last five years, and how much of this budget remained unspent at the end of each of those last five years.

Agricultural support payments are funded through a range of budget lines in the Rural Affairs, Islands and Land Reform portfolio. The following table sets out the total budget for the relevant budget lines for each of the previous five years and how much was unspent at the end of each year (based on the outturn for each budget). In 2020-21 and 2021-22, these figures were significantly affected by EU funding. The total budgets shown are a combination of EU and national funding, excluding the corresponding EU receipts.

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

Revised Budget

Unspent

Revised Budget

Unspent

Revised Budget

Unspent

Revised Budget

Unspent

Revised Budget

Unspent

£670m

£27m

£619m

£40m

£601m

£14m

£594m

£26m

£587m

£16m

The data is provided by financial year, based on the final revised budgets for Pillar 1 Basic and Greening Payments, Other Pillar 1 Payments, Less Favoured Area Support Scheme, Convergence Funding, Agri Environmental Measures, Agricultural Transformation Fund, Forestry, Business Development and National Test Programme. Together these budgets funded the following agricultural schemes:

Basic Payment Scheme (including Greening & Young Farmer Payments)

Financial Discipline Reimbursements

Voluntary Coupled Support Schemes

Less Favoured Area Support Scheme

Agri-Environment Climate Scheme

Farm Environment Assessment

Beef Efficiency Scheme

Habitat Scheme

Agricultural Floodbank Repair Scheme

Farm Woodlands Scheme

Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund

Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme

Food Processing and Marketing

Small Farms Grant Scheme

New Entrants Start-up Grant

New Entrant Capital Grant

Young Farmers Start Up Grant

Preparing for Sustainable Farming

Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme

Agricultural Transformation Fund

Question reference: S6W-41962

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason solar thermal installations do not currently receive the same level of grant support as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Our Heat in Buildings Programme offers a wide variety of schemes that provide funding to reduce heat demand and decarbonise heat in our homes and buildings.

The most common use for solar thermal technology is in providing domestic hot water heating only. Whilst it can provide space heating, for this reason, it was described as a secondary technology within the Heat in Buildings Strategy.

For homeowners seeking to install solar thermal technology to their home, up to £5,000 of loan funding is available through the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan scheme. Solar thermal is also funded through our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS), where specific criteria are met.

No funding is available for solar PV systems through the HES Grant and Loan Scheme, however targeted deployment of this technology is funded through the WHS programme and Area Based Schemes.

Question reference: S6W-41966

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the National Framework for Pain Management in Scotland’s Workforce Short-Life Working Group will report on service provision and staffing recommendations.

We are committed to rapidly improving care and services for people with chronic pain by delivering the actions in the Supporting documents - Pain management - service delivery framework: implementation plan - gov.scot at the pace that is required.

A dedicated short-life working group on workforce planning has been established to review current provision of chronic pain services and consider what future models and capacity are required to ensure services are sustainable. This group is due to present their recommendations in the new year.

Question reference: S6W-41963

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the level of grant support available for solar thermal installations, with a view to bringing it in line with that for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Our Heat in Buildings Programme offers a wide variety of schemes that provide funding to reduce heat demand and decarbonise heat in our homes and buildings.

The Scottish Government currently offers loan funding of up to £5,000 for solar thermal installations through the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme. No grant or loan support is available for solar PV installations through the scheme, however, targeted support for this measure is available through our Warmer Homes Scotland and our Area Based Schemes, where scheme specific criteria are met.

Currently, the Scottish Government does not plan to review the level of support available for solar thermal installations through the HES Grant and Loan scheme.

Question reference: S6W-42068

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of slavery or forced labour, as per the definition in the Scottish Crime Recording Standard: Crime Recording and Counting Rules, and received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence, in each year since 2021.

The figures are provided in the following tables.

Custodial

How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of Slavery or forced labour, and received a custodial sentence:

Details	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Slavery or Forced Labour - Total Custodial	-	-	3

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Non-custodial sentence

How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of Slavery or forced labour, and received a non-custodial sentence:

Details	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Slavery or Forced Labour - Non-custodial	-	-	-

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Question reference: S6W-42066

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of stalking, as per the definition in the Scottish Crime Recording Standard: Crime Recording and Counting Rules, and received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence, in each year since 2021.

The figures are provided in the following tables.

Custodial

How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of stalking, and received a custodial sentence:

Details	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Offence of stalking – Total custodial	23	28	37

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Non-custodial sentence

How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of stalking, and received a non-custodial sentence:

Details	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Offence of stalking – Total non-custodial	196	313	345

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Question reference: S6W-41881

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to NHS boards regarding (a) arranging and (b) funding patient travel and accommodation for elective and planned care delivered in a different board area, and what datasets it collects from boards on such transfers of care.

Scottish Government guidance on the Patient Travelling Expenses Schemes can be found here: 1996-70.pdf. As set out, financial support for travel is available to eligible patients attending hospital appointments, and authorised escorts, and this can include travel where treatment is not available within their own health board area.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold data on travel arranged – this is an operational matter for Boards. Boards are expected to support patients in identifying and accessing available support.