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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-34954

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with NHS Grampian to support the improved delivery of dermatology services, in light of reports that waiting times for urgent referrals for suspected cancer are more than five months, and waiting times for routine referrals are more than two years.

Each territorial Health Board across Scotland has agreed performance improvement plans in place, detailing what is being done at local level to drive improvements. The Scottish Government has a sustained focus on the delivery of these plans and meet with Cancer Management Teams in all Health Boards across Scotland frequently, including NHS Grampian, to identify challenges, explore solutions, and share best practice.

This year we have allocated an additional £30 million funding to reduce waiting times across a range of specialities, including diagnostics and cancer. As part of this, NHS Grampian were allocated almost £200,000 for the treatment of skin cancer.

If approved by Parliament, the Scottish Government’s budget for the coming year will invest a record £21.7 billion in Scotland’s health and social care services, including £200 million to reduce waiting lists and improve capacity.

In addition, our National Digital Dermatology Programme, backed by £1.8 million funding, will help to reduce long waits for outpatient dermatology appointments across Scotland’s NHS. This allows for images of skin conditions to be captured in Primary Care and securely transferred to clinicians so diagnoses and follow-up appointments can be arranged. This leads to a better and quicker service for patients – allowing clinicians to see patients in the right place sooner - and could potentially reduce demand for outpatient dermatology appointments by up to 50 per cent.

The Digital Dermatology Programme was launched in November 2024, with patients in Dumfries and Galloway and Greater Glasgow and Clyde the first to benefit from this new pathway, and is due to be deployed to all Health Boards, including NHS Grampian, by Spring 2025.

Question reference: S6W-34373

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that social tenants are not required to meet any costs associated with cladding remediation.

Question reference: S6W-34220

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what training and development opportunities are available to Food Standards Scotland staff based in Aberdeen.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) manages talent strategically to build a high performing workplace and commitment within the People Strategy 2022 - 2026 to build a high performing workforce and foster a climate of learning. FSS has demonstrated a commitment to investing in its people through offering a diverse range of learning activities. Employees and Line Managers are encouraged to make effective use of Personal Development Planning by utilising personal learning plans. FSS offers mandatory learning for all staff across a broad range of topics including HSE, Data Protection, Inclusive Culture, Diversity and Inclusion and learning is accessed across a range of available platforms including SG Pathways, Civil Service Learning and Essential Skills. A range of inhouse learning has been developed including face to face and e-learning packages. In 2024, FSS undertook a skills audit to support in identifying skills gaps and to ensure that our staff are offered the opportunity engage in activities to enhance their own development including job shadowing, project work and to work with new colleagues to gain new experiences. Leadership and Management Development opportunities have also been offered to our staff to ensure that we develop our talent and equip managers with the right skills and experience to effectively lead and manage their teams.

Question reference: S6W-34235

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what resources are currently allocated to the Food Crime and Incidents Unit in Food Standards Scotland, and how this compares to 2018.

Question reference: S6W-34145

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any delays in the prosecution of speeding cases and the factors contributing to these.

The average length of time between the date of alleged commission of a criminal offence and the date of a final court verdict increased considerably as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions brought in to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

This affected the prosecution of all types of offences, including speeding offences. Scottish Government investment has helped aid the recovery of the summary courts from the effects of the pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-34142

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what penalties have been imposed as a result of successful speeding prosecutions in each year since 2018, broken down by (a) trunk road and (b) penalty type.

(a) The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of penalties issued for speeding offences by specific trunk road location or road number. This level of detail is not recorded in the Criminal Proceedings database.

(b) The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23.

Number of people convicted for speeding offences (regardless of location), where main crime, by result, 2018-19 to 2022-23.

	Custody	Community sentence	Monetary	Other	Total convicted
2018-19	-	17	9,002	54	9,073
2019-20	1	10	9,083	82	9,176
2020-21	-	1	2,190	11	2,202
2021-22	-	3	4,426	42	4,471
2022-23	-	3	4,303	65	4,371

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.

Please note: data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are affected by the pandemic, subsequent court closures, reduced court capacity due to physical distancing measures and delays to cases where key participants were forced to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19, and may not be considered indicative of long term trends.

Question reference: S6W-34064

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the effectiveness of the Scottish Government Resilience Room’s (SGoRR) responses to emergencies is evaluated, and what improvements have been implemented in the past 10 years as a result.

The Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR), like any other part of Scotland’s resilience system, conducts regular debriefs following activations, gathers feedback from stakeholders on its effectiveness, and works with partners to identify notable practice. This regular identification and implementation of lessons ensures the continuous improvement of the SGORR function. Numerous improvements have been implemented in the past 10 years, including a comprehensive review of standard operating procedures, the updating of technology, and initiatives to secure more strategic, regular engagement with partners, e.g. a meeting series held during the winter season to review collective preparedness for winter hazards.

Question reference: S6W-34157

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what penalties have been imposed following convictions for assaults on nurses in each year since 2018, broken down by the (a) type of penalty and (b) NHS board.

Question reference: S6T-02340

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking, in light of reports by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that the number of people waiting in A&E for over 12 hours is almost 100 times higher than in 2011.

Question reference: S6T-02350

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish Water continues to pay bonuses to its executives, when public sector pay policy reportedly prohibits this.