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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-43948

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that (a) NHS boards and (b) Health and Social Care Partnerships are able to fully-fund independent advocacy services for patients.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003is clear that every person with a mental disorder shall have a right of access to independent advocacy. The 2003 Act places these duties at local level, allowing services to be designed and commissioned in a way that reflects local needs and circumstances. This is an essential part of delivering a person-centred system of health and social care.

As8 such, responsibility for securing and commissioning independent advocacy services rests locally with NHS Boards and Local Authorities, working in partnership through Integration Joint Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships. In 2026-27, NHS Boards will see an increase in their baseline funding, bringing total investment of over £17.6 billion, an average real terms uplift of 1.8%.

Question reference: S6W-43953

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) what new action it has taken to reduce waiting times for gender-affirming care at Glasgow's Sandyford Gender Identity Clinic, and (b) what funding it has allocated in the Budget 2026-27 to support this work.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Health Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to improve the delivery and accessibility of gender identity services in Scotland.

Since December 2022, the Scottish Government has invested over £8.5 million to support this work. Of this, over £2.2 million has been allocated directly to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to support the reduction of waiting times for these services. This includes an anticipated £430,800 of new funding for the 2026-27 financial year, subject to final budgetary processes.

In February 2026, I met with the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to discuss what more can be done to bring down waiting times for these services. This discussion included the exploration of new models of care, the role of sub-national planning, the sharing of best practice between Health Boards; and providing recurrent funding to stabilise staff recruitment and retention.

Additionally, work is also progressing to implement a new Target Operating Model for young people’s gender identity services. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is currently considering how this model will be applied locally.

Question reference: S6W-43942

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide access to NHS dentists across the Highlands and Islands.

Our Operational Improvement Plan commits to reviewing and refreshing the existing financial incentives available to the dental sector, to better support patient access in rural and island areas.

This work is currently underway and we anticipate revised incentives will be introduced in the 2026-27 financial year.

Officials continue to have regular discussions with NHS Highland to understand local issues.

We also continue to make available a range of additional financial support to areas where access is particularly challenging, including rural and island areas. This includes grants of up to £100,000 for establishing new dental surgeries and allowances of up to £37,500 for new dentists practising in qualifying areas.

Question reference: S6W-43879

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Buvidal injections NHS boards have returned to community pharmacies for destruction due to non-attendance at appointments at clinics in each month of the last three years, and what the total value of any such waste has been, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-43947

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) NHS boards and (b) Health and Social Care Partnerships have yet to retender a contract for the provision of independent advocacy services for patients.

Question reference: S6W-43910

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent tooth decay in children, and what recent discussions it has had with the British Dental Association regarding this.

Scottish Government made significant improvements to children’s dental care as part of our payment reforms introduced in 2023, with NHS dentists now able to undertake a much wider range of preventive treatments for all children. Following this intervention, official statistics published by Public Health Scotland show that over 1 million child patient contacts were made in 2025.

In addition to this, we continue to invest in our flagship Childsmile programme which provides universal oral health interventions for all children and additional targeted measures for children from vulnerable backgrounds. The programme has supported a long-term improvement in child oral health, with the latest National Dental Inspection Programme results showing that 81.5% of P7 children have no obvious tooth decay, compared to 52.9% in 2005.

Scottish Government officials continue to meet with British Dental Association Scotland on a quarterly to discuss all aspects of NHS dental care delivery.

Question reference: S6W-43889

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Barra and Vatersay Community Campus project, including the preparation of the Outline Business Case, and what can be done to share this information more proactively with community organisations in those islands.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to the delivery of the Barra and Vatersay Community Campus project.

Scottish Government officials have written to the Chief Executives of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and NHS Western Isles requesting an updated cost estimate and timeline to support completion of a single joint business case, expected to be developed over the coming months. This will set out clear governance and delivery arrangements.

We recognise the importance of strong community engagement, and we encourage local partners to ensure the community is kept fully informed as the project progresses through the business-case development phase.

Question reference: S6W-43871

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, whether temporary accommodation will be included as part of the regulations to set deadlines for landlords to fix damp and mould hazards (Awaab’s Law).

The draft Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026, if agreed by Parliament, will apply to all accommodation provided under a private residential, Scottish secure or short Scottish secure tenancy. This means that Awaab’s Law extends to temporary accommodation, such as accommodation provided under a short Scottish secure tenancy. However, I recognise that other types of temporary accommodation are utilised by local authorities.

Whilst the type of tenancy is determined by local authorities, all temporary accommodation they provide must comply with the Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework and the Tolerable Standard.

As part of our next steps, we will be engaging with stakeholders to understand how Awaab’s Law can be extended further, including to other types of temporary accommodation that is not currently covered.

Question reference: S6W-43842

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the rolling stock of train carriages throughout the country, and what its response is to reports of leaking roofs and uncomfortable carriages on services between Glasgow and the (a) Oban and (b) Fort William/Mallaig branch of the West Highland Line.

The Scottish Government expects that all train operators providing rail services in Scotland, including publicly owned ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper, as well as cross-border operators, schedule the necessary maintenance work to ensure the rolling stock they operate is travel worthy. These are operational matters for these operators.

I refer the Member to the answer to the question: S6W-43106 on 26 January 2026. All parliamentary questions are published on the Scottish Parliament’s website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-43877

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any NHS boards have discontinued the supply of nasal naloxone, and, if so, which boards, and what the reasons are for this in each case.

The Scottish Government is unaware of any NHS Board having discontinued the supply of nasal naloxone.

All NHS Boards in Scotland have access to both nasal and injectable formulations of naloxone as part of Scotland’s national harm-reduction approach. The exception is NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which has historically utilised injectable naloxone within its services and did not introduce nasal naloxone into routine clinical provision. As such, nasal naloxone has not been discontinued in that Board area, as it was not previously adopted.

Decisions regarding formulation reflect clinical practice, service delivery models and operational considerations, while maintaining alignment with national policy to ensure timely access to life-saving overdose reversal medication across Scotland