- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason only 56.7% of inpatient or day case treatments were completed within 12 weeks of referral during the quarter ending March 2025.
Answer
We must recognise that our health service has experienced unprecedented pressures over the past few years, including pandemic backlogs, staff shortages and the most difficult winter the NHS has ever faced, with the pausing of all non-emergency treatment inevitably leading to planned care delays and an increase in waiting times.
We have remobilised services but understand that activity levels are still lower than we would wish them to be. Patients requiring urgent care, including cancer treatment, are being prioritised. The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering reductions in waiting times.
Our Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care. More than £106 million has been allocated to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for procedures and operations.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether any stock assessments have been conducted for (a) Loligo forbesi and (b) L. vulgaris in Scottish inshore waters since 2010, and, if so, what the findings were of any such assessments.
Answer
We are not able to provide you with this information as no stock assessments have been undertaken for squid in recent years.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is provided to clinicians who are considering prescribing a medicine off-label when unlicensed for a particular condition, when there is a Scottish Medicines Consortium approved medicine available, which is licensed for that indication.
Answer
Guidance to clinicians to support prescribing medicines off-label is provided by the General Medical Council (GMC) . The guidance states that doctors should usually prescribe licensed medicines in accordance with the terms of their licence but they may prescribe medicines off-label where, on the basis of an assessment of the individual patient, they conclude, for medical reasons, that it is necessary to do so to meet the specific needs of the patient. In addition, extant guidance states that, unless there is a specific clinical reason, clinicians should prescribe a licensed medicine which has been accepted for routine use in the NHS in Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) as opposed to prescribing off-label or unlicensed medicines.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection of a 36% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers by 2045, how it will assess the impact of any reduction in the beef herd on rural communities.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the vital role the livestock sector plays in supporting rural communities. We do not have a policy to reduce livestock numbers and fully recognise the value that livestock plays in Scotland's rural communities, maintaining bio diversity and our food sector. In order to understand what is happening within the sector we are committed to assessing, through engagement with stakeholders, the potential social and economic impacts of any changes in the size of the beef herd - whether driven by market trends, consumer behaviour, or technological change - on rural areas across Scotland.
This assessment will be carried out through ongoing engagement with farmers, crofters, industry representatives and rural stakeholders, alongside analysis of rural economies and land use. In stark contrast to the UK Government we continue to demonstrate our commitment to the beef sector through a range of support schemes, including the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS), which provides targeted, coupled support for livestock producers In addition, the retention of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in Scotland is helping to maintain income stability for many beef producers. This reformed direct support reflects the unique challenges facing our farming and crofting communities and underlines our determination to deliver a sustainable future for rural Scotland.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in relation to issuing bonds to finance key infrastructure in Scotland since it announced its intention to do so in October 2023.
Answer
On the 4 December as part of the Budget, The Scottish Government published a borrowing memorandum (Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026: Scottish Government borrowing - gov.scot), which included the outcome of the initial phase of Due Diligence on the work towards an inaugural Scottish Government Bond. The second phase of Due Diligence on Bonds issuance is currently ongoing, and the Government will continue to update Parliament over the course of the year as this work progresses
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, whether it will consider holding an independence convention during summer 2025.
Answer
The Scottish Government is focused on delivering for people across the country and making the case for taking decisions in Scotland for Scotland with independence.
The Scottish Government will publish further material on independence to give the people of Scotland the information they need to make an informed choice about their constitutional future. We are not planning an independence convention this summer.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Climate Change Committee's projection of a 36% reduction in cattle and sheep numbers by 2045, how it will assess the impact of any reduction in the beef herd on the abattoir and meat processing industry.
Answer
The Scottish Government will consider the advice of the Climate Change Committee before setting out its own proposals for taking necessary actions on climate change.
The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting our livestock farmers in playing a full part in Scotland’s journey to net zero, including by reducing methane emissions in ways that strengthen farm productivity and resilience. The Scottish Government has no policy to reduce the national herd, our approach focuses on reducing emissions intensity rather than livestock numbers, through improvements in genetics, low-methane breeding, and appropriate uptake of methane-suppressing feed products. We continue to support the sector through a range of schemes including the SSBSS and through reformed direct payments – in stark contrast to the policies of UKG.
We recognise that the meat processing industry is a vital part of the supply chain, and have supported the sector. This has included a Ministerial discount scheme which has been applied to Official Veterinarian charges since 2015, as well as resource funding through the Small Producers Pilot Fund to explore solutions to challenges surrounding abattoirs and small producers’ access to private kill services. The recently published Programme for Government commits to £5 million to support food processing and marketing.
We will continue working with the sector to ensure it thrives as part of a climate-smart food system, while recognising the importance of Scotland’s livestock products to UK and international markets.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support land managers to integrate agroforestry and hedgerows into productive farmland.
Answer
The Scottish Government fully recognises the benefits of hedgerows and trees.
We have a range of policies and initiatives in place to support the integration of trees on farms. The Forestry Grant Scheme offers financial support for the creation of new woodland and the sustainable management of existing woodland, including the planting of new agroforestry systems. Farmers and crofters can also access up to £1600 funding to enlist the help of a specialist adviser to help with the integration of trees on farms through the Farm Advisory Service and the award-winning, farmer-led Integrating Trees Network offers free online and in person events to support peer to peer engagement on integrating trees on farms.
Additionally, the £14 million Future Farming Investment Scheme will offer flexible support to improve efficiency or support nature and climate-friendly farming and through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) we fund small-scale tree planting and the planting, restoration, and management of hedgerows. Importantly, the 2025 round of AECS sees the restrictions on hedgerows lifted, allowing businesses to now apply for funding for over 1000m of hedgerows.
Through the Agriculture Reform Programme and in collaboration with Scottish Forestry and NatureScot, we are also considering opportunities to improve how we support farmers to integrate trees and hedgerows on their land and engaging with our stakeholders through the Trees on farm subgroup of Scottish Forestry’s Customer Representatives Group.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for Carer Support Payment that were completed in each month since it was launched took (a) 51 to 60, (b) 61 to 70, (c) 71 to 80, (d) 81 to 90, (e) 91 to 100, (f) 101 to 110, (g) 111 to 120 and (h) 121 or more working days to process, expressed as a (i) total number and (ii) percentage.
Answer
Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on application processing times for Carer Support Payment as part of official statistics releases.
The latest statistics covering the period to 31 March 2025 were published on Tuesday 13 May and can be found at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics.
Supplementary analysis, based on the latest published statistics, is provided in the following tables.
Table 1 - The number of applications processed for Carer Support Payment by financial year and processing time .
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Total applications processed | | | |
Applications processed in 41-50 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 51-60 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 61-70 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 71-80 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 81-90 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 91-100 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 101-110 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 111-120 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 121 or more working days | | | |
Table 2 - The percentage of applications processed for Carer Support Payment by financial year and processing time.
| | | |
Total applications processed | | | |
Applications processed in 41-50 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 51-60 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 61-70 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 71-80 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 81-90 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 91-100 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 101-110 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 111-120 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 121 or more working days | | | |
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for Carer Support Payment that were completed in each month since it was launched took (a) between six and nine months and (b) nine months or more to process, expressed as a (i) total number and (ii) percentage.
Answer
Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on application processing times for Carer Support Payment as part of official statistics releases.
The latest statistics covering the period to 31 March 2025 were published on Tuesday 13 May and can be found at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. It is important to note that, following a staggered pilot launch, Carer Support Payment was rolled out nationally on 4 November 2024.
Supplementary analysis, based on the latest published statistics, is provided in the following tables.
Table 1: The number of applications processed for Carer Support Payment by financial year and processing time.
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Total applications processed | | | |
Applications processed in 121-180 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 180 or more working days | | | |
Table 2: The percentage of applications processed for Carer Support Payment by financial year and processing time.
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Total applications processed | | | |
Applications processed in 121-180 working days | | | |
Applications processed in 180 or more working days | | | |