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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-35533

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments in the Highlands and Islands region.

The Scottish Government has allocated £123 million to Health Boards this year to improve the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services, for both adults and Children and Young People.

We are taking steps to ensure local services are supported and we engage regularly with NHS boards regarding their provision of support for neurodivergent people.

For children and young people, we are working closely with NHS Boards and local authorities towards implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People in full. This will help ensure that children and families receive the support and access to services that meet their needs at the earliest opportunity.

We have also commissioned the National Autism Implementation Team to support NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign adult neurodevelopmental services. NHS Highland was one of four NHS Boards funded by the Scottish Government to trial adult neurodevelopmental pathways in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-35526

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of the most recent research it has carried out into the affordability of rail fares for (a) average and (b) low income households.

Question reference: S6W-35642

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it selects locations for water quality monitoring and reporting.

Water bodies may be monitored for different purposes, such as public health or assessing the status of the water environment, which helps determine the location for quality monitoring and reporting.

The process for the designation of new bathing waters is set out on SEPA’s website: Bathing Waters | Designation | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

SEPA delivers a prioritised programme of cost-effective environmental monitoring across Scotland. Its monitoring network is defined using a risk-based approach that is designed to meet the requirements of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003. More information is available here: Monitoring | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Question reference: S6W-35631

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing through its No One Left Behind programme to help disabled people access employment.

No One Left Behind, has a key role to play in meeting our commitment to halving the Disability Employment Gap by 2038. Through a concerted focus on delivering person centred, place-based employability support, there has been significant progress in reaching and supporting disabled people towards and into work since the local delivery model was implemented in 2022. In the most recent quarter July to September 2024 32% of participants accessing the service reported a disability, which is the largest proportion in a single quarter to date, this is an increase of 6 percentage points from April to June 2024. We know there is more to be done to ensure our support remains accessible and meets the needs of disabled people who experience structural barriers to entering and sustaining employment. As set out in the Programme for Government 2024-25, we are introducing Specialist Employability Support for disabled people across Scotland by Summer 2025 underpinned by an uplift in funding of £5 million to Local Employability Partnerships to support delivery. We are building on past investment and engagement with employers across Scotland through an Apt Public Social Partnership to share learning and tools developed to support recruitment and retention of disabled people in employment.

We remain committed to continuously improving our services to ensure disabled people are effectively supported towards and into work, which includes working closely with disabled people and representative organisations to ensure that their voices and experiences help shape and guide policy.

Question reference: S6T-02446

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider an independent external evaluation of the pilot scheme that provides victims in rape and serious assault cases with access to transcripts, in light of reports of some waiting a year for transcripts of their court cases.

Question reference: S6T-02448

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what practical steps it is taking to review the funding model for Scottish universities, in light of recent reports that the number of international students enrolled at Scottish universities fell by more than 10% between 2023 and 2024.

Question reference: S6T-02447

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the reported £203 million it spent on external advisers to help administer agricultural support payments to be good value for money.

Question reference: S6F-03968

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent instances of water scarcity in 2025.

Question reference: S6F-03938

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03939

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.