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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-41132

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council and SWestrans regarding the impact of recent changes to bus services on communities.

Scottish Government officials met with Dumfries and Galloway Council and SWestrans earlier this year to obtain updates on changes to bus services in the area. However, the Scottish Government is not involved in decision making in relation to local bus services.

Under the Transport Act 1985, local authorities have a duty to identify where there is a social need for particular bus services and can subsidise these at their discretion. In this case, Dumfries and Galloway Council and SWestrans carried out a procurement exercise to award contracts to operate local authority subsidised bus services and school transport services.

Question reference: S6W-40992

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent report by Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, which notes that the demand for modern apprentice places exceeds funded placements, how it plans to support colleges to meet local and national skills needs in sectors such as engineering, construction, digital, healthcare and renewables.

The Scottish Government is investing more than three quarters of a billion pounds in our 24 colleges to support apprenticeships and a wide range of skills and qualifications. The most recent Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocations provide increases of 2.6% to teaching funding and almost 5% in capital maintenance. This will help colleges’ future investment in students' learning experiences and in meeting Scotland’s skills.

Coupled with this, the SFC College Transformation Framework offers bespoke funding option arrangements between colleges and the SFC, enabling colleges to plan their future long-term curriculum more effectively.

Through its Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model (OF&AM), SFC engages with colleges to ensure they are engaging with employers to respond to industry and sector needs. Modern Apprenticeships are one form of provision that colleges provide to meet those needs.

The Scottish Government is providing £185 million this year to support 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeships, 5,000 new Foundation Apprenticeships and over 1,200 new Graduate Apprenticeships. This is in addition to the funding for 37,000 apprentices already in training.

It is our ambition to grow our apprenticeship offer and to increase opportunities for people to ‘earn as they learn’, in response to demand. The Tertiary Education (Scotland) Bill supports this ambition by simplifying the funding landscape and better aligning support for apprenticeships and work-based learning.

While apprenticeships remain a vital part of Scotland’s skills landscape, they are one of many high-quality pathways available. Our investment in colleges and universities supports a broad spectrum of learning routes, including work-based learning, so people can access the skills and qualification that best suit their ambitions and Scotland’s economic needs.

Question reference: S6W-40936

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's speech on 27January 2025 regarding improving public services and NHS renewal, what impact the introduction of specialist frailty teams is having on (a) A&E waiting times and (b) outcomes for older people; what progress it made toward delivering such teams in every A&E department by the target of summer 2025; what funding and staffing resources were allocated towards this; what steps have been taken to address any recruitment or training challenges faced; what criteria is used to assess whether an A&E department now has a fully functioning team, and how many teams are now in place, compared with summer 2025 target.

The Scottish Government is investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. This includes £85 million in 2025–26 to support unscheduled care improvements, such as expanding frailty services, Discharge without Delay, and Hospital at Home. Funding has been allocated based on boards’ needs and priorities, including frailty provision and performance.

All NHS boards now have access to frailty services, with tailored models being developed to meet local needs. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) are providing practical improvement support to local systems to increase capacity and improve front door frailty pathways - an update on progress will be provided in the autumn. While not every board has a dedicated frailty unit in place, work is ongoing to develop or enhance these where appropriate, tailored to local needs and infrastructure.

While current A&E performance is below the levels we all wish to see, we are working closely with boards to manage pressures. These measures are already delivering early results—improving outcomes, reducing delays, and helping shift care from hospital to home.

Question reference: S6W-40944

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether its commitment set out in the March 2021 paper, Green Datacentres and digital connectivity: vision and action plan for Scotland, to "position Scotland as a leading zero-carbon, cost competitive green data hosting location, which can contribute towards our ambition of achieving net zero emissions by 2045" means that ministerial planning approval will only be given to those centres for AI and related purposes that are zero carbon.

We are responding to investor interest which has identified data centre sites that utilise our renewable energy sources while exploring opportunities to recycle waste heat from these facilities into the wider community. While data centres are very large consumers of energy, Scotland’s abundant renewable energy generating capacity presents an opportunity for the country to become a leader in green data centres. Local authorities will assess any planning application for data centres in the first instance. As a matter of law, all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Application of planning judgement to the circumstances of an individual situation remains essential to all decision making, informed by principles of proportionality and reasonableness. Should Scottish Ministers be asked to make a final decision, then similar processes would be observed.

Question reference: S6W-40990

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to support NHS staff during the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app.

The MyCare.Scot app is part of a programme of digital transformation for health and social care services. To support this transformation the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the right digital and data skills they require to effectively deliver digital services.

Support for staff to develop and maintain their digital and data skills is already underway as part of the wider Scottish Government and COSLA’s cross sector Digital Capabilities suite of resources and activities that are available on the Digitally Enabled Workforce TURAS site at https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/53956.

NHS Lanarkshire are currently working on training and support to staff for the launch of the MyCare.Scot app. Feedback from the evaluation of the launch in December 2025 will be a part of understanding any additional support needed for staff prior to MyCare.scot being made available to everyone across Scotland from April 2026.

Question reference: S6W-40876

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government who will make up its delegation to the COP30 climate conference in Brazil in November 2025, and what their priorities will be.

The Scottish Government will be sending a delegation to Brazil led by myself, alongside three supporting officials. The Scottish Government’s key priorities include engaging with partners to strengthen subnational climate cooperation, promoting Scotland’s domestic climate and energy achievements as well as our successful climate justice and loss and damage programming and advocating for greater recognition of states, regions and devolved governments within global climate policies and processes and for the scaling up of good quality climate finance that meets the needs of the most vulnerable.

Question reference: S6W-40867

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to educate young people, primarily children, about the need to provide online consent and raise their awareness of the risks of not providing this.

Question reference: S6W-40878

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to engage with the (a) Under 2 Coalition and (b) Regions 4 network at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil in November 2025, and how such involvement could help it to achieve its goals in relation to climate change.

Question reference: S6W-40879

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will meet representatives of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Campaign at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil in November 2025.

Question reference: S6W-41566

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with credit unions regarding the termination of the Family Protection Plan by C Mutual and Maiden Life Försäkrings from 30 November 2025.