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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-40743

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the £4.5 million fund that it announced for NHS boards as part of the budget for 2025-26 will deliver specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome and other similar conditions.

Further to Parliament’s approval of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 25 February 2025, the Scottish Government has been engaging closely with NHS boards to support the allocation of resource for new specialist support for Long COVID, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions.

Boards told us that having funding only for a single financial year would be a barrier to their ability to develop new support. Therefore, following further assessment in line with Scottish Government spending controls, we wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding will now be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.

NHS Boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding will be allocated in full on an recurring basis. From the financial year 2026-27 onwards NHS Boards will receive the £4.5 million resource annually.

In 2025-26 the £4.5 million funding is being provided in addition to remaining resource of approximately £3 million from the £10 million long COVID Support Fund (established 2022). The £10 million fund will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

A breakdown is as follows:

NHS Ayrshire and Arran	£327,482
NHS Borders	£99,208
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	£133,076
NHS Fife	£307,495
NHS Forth Valley	£246,390
NHS Grampian	£437,038
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£957,544
NHS Highland	£300,399
NHS Lanarkshire	£561,378
NHS Lothian	£676,576
NHS Orkney	£21,985
NHS Shetland	£21,466
NHS Tayside	£346,825
NHS Western Isles	£29,138

Total	£4,466,000

We will also provide funding of £33,366 to Action for ME to support their Learn about ME online CPD module for health & social care professionals.

Question reference: S6W-40490

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what further analysis it has made of the recommendations in the Patient Safety Commissioner report, The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, for mesh injured women to receive compensation through (a) an interim and (b) a main scheme, and what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding the possibility of financial redress.

The Hughes report was commissioned by the UK Government and was concerned in the first place with patients in England. But patients across the UK were affected by transvaginal mesh and by valproate, and this is acknowledged by the UK Government. The Scottish Government is unable to reach a view on the report until the UK Government sets out its position on the UK-wide aspects, including regulation.

Scottish Government Ministers stand ready to discuss the report with UK Ministers, and with Ministers from the other Devolved Governments. The Cabinet Secretary and I have offered to meet with the UK Government on three occasions since the July 2024 UK General Election. While the UK Government has agreed to a meeting in principle, and liaison between officials continues, no arrangements have been made and no proposals that could be discussed among Ministers have been offered. Ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland have also sought meetings.

We will keep the Parliament informed of significant developments as the Government is acutely aware of the cross-party interest in this important issue.

Question reference: S6W-40486

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what process is in place for a complainant to make representations to the Scottish Ministers following a report from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) regarding a property factor’s failure to comply with a Property Factor Enforcement Order, and whether it will consider extending the same right of representation to complainants as is currently afforded to property factors under the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011.

During development of the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011, careful consideration was given to homeowner redress. The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland was established as an independent judicial body to hear disputes and, where appropriate, issue Property Factor Enforcement Orders (PFEOs).

Failure to comply with a PFEO is formally notified to Scottish Ministers and informs the assessment of whether a property factor remains fit and proper. Ministers’ initial approach is to work with the factor to restore compliance and ensure service standards are met.

Removal from the register is considered only where compliance cannot be achieved, as this prevents the factor from operating anywhere in Scotland and affects all homeowners they serve. Therefore, full consideration of legal requirements, including Tribunal decisions, is essential.

Question reference: S6W-40171

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to fully decriminalise abortion, in light of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Concluding Observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the recommendation to be guided by the World Health Organization’s 2022 Abortion Care Guideline.

The Scottish Government committed in the 23-24 Programme for Government to undertake a review of abortion law to identify potential proposals for reforms to ensure that abortion services are first and foremost a healthcare matter.

To take this forward, the Scottish Government established an Expert Group in August 2024 to examine the current law; international examples; a range of stakeholder views and other evidence will be published in due course.

Question reference: S6W-40538

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the total cost of chartering the MV Alfred from Pentland Ferries, including the cost of any agreed future commitments.

Question reference: S6O-05011

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the current state of readiness is for the upcoming ban on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill.

Question reference: S6O-05015

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the climate action secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how to encourage homeowners to decarbonise their properties as part of Scotland’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2045.

Question reference: S6O-05013

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the steps that it is taking to support innovation and entrepreneurship in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05016

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to ensure that public body officials do not misuse their position for personal gain.

Question reference: S6O-05012

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that Scotland remains at the forefront of hydrogen development and deployment.