Chamber and committees

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-26673

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to NHS Lothian to transfer patients with diabetes from their current treatment to a hybrid closed loop system, where this is appropriate for them.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million specifically for diabetes technologies. This is in addition to baseline funding to NHS boards. In 2023 we also invested £350,000 to pilot a national onboarding pathway to support roll out across Scotland.

We know there is more to do to increase access to diabetes technology and we continue to work with key stakeholders to determine the best way to do this and how to fund it. This includes working with NHS Lothian, via their clinical leads and Diabetes Managed Clinical Network.

Question reference: S6W-26554

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what further steps it will take to help mediate the reportedly ongoing industrial dispute in the college sector regarding pay and conditions.

It is the responsibility of the college unions and employers to negotiate pay, terms and conditions, not the Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government respects the right of trade unions to take industrial action, we remain concerned about the potential impacts this action will have on students.

That is why the Scottish Government continues to encourage unions and employers to reach a resolution that is fair and affordable and brings this action to a close.

Question reference: S6W-26692

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how often it has met with Professor Marmot in the last three years; what was discussed, and what action it has taken following any such meetings.

Scottish Government (SG) officials have met with Professor Sir Michael Marmot on various occasions during the period April 2021 - April 2024. Professor Marmot’s evidence-based approach to tackle health inequalities underpins the work of our Care and Wellbeing Portfolio and so each engagement has offered important insights into Professor Marmot’s work, helping to inform future policy development.

On 28 June 2022 Government officials met with Professor Marmot to discuss Scottish Government’s Place and Wellbeing Programme and the Care and Wellbeing Portfolio, more broadly, as well as to garner insights into the Marmot cities approach. Since then, officials have engaged with Professor Marmot as part of last year’s Public Health Scotland (PHS) Conference held on 28 November 2023. This included both a short meeting between Professor Marmot and the Permanent Secretary during the conference, plus an evening event in which senior SG officials alongside PHS, Local Government and NHS colleagues discussed priorities to improve Scotland’s health and tackle health inequalities.

In June 2023, SG and PHS soft launched the Care and Wellbeing dashboard as a source of data and intelligence to support the ambitions of the Care & Wellbeing Portfolio. This is structured around the evidence-based Marmot framework Fair Society Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review) - IHE (instituteofhealthequity.org) which looks at the wider social determinants of health, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age which can lead to health inequalities. Work is underway to integrate this into the Scottish Public Health Observatory ScotPHO profiles (shinyapps.io) (ScotPHO) Online Profiles tool, as a distinct Care and Wellbeing profile, to provide a single repository of public health intelligence to support local action to tackle health inequalities.

The Scottish Government remains eager to learn more from Professor Marmot’s work in our wider ambition to improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities.

Question reference: S6W-26741

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide funding to fill any gaps in NHS Scotland's provision for community children’s nursing posts.

The Scottish Government increased student funded places for pre-registration nursing, including children's nursing, for ten successive years and we now have a record intake target of 4,536 to support workforce sustainability.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board. This will depend on the service needs of each board taking account of national, regional and local priorities, and we expect NHS boards to plan and provide safe, effective and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities.

The Scottish Government actively supports health boards across Scotland to plan locally for service need and for service delivery.

Question reference: S6W-26763

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans for community audiology services to be able to make direct referrals to ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultants without going through a GP.

Question reference: S6W-26787

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of recent reports that its student teacher intake target was missed in 19 out of 20 subjects, and that 10 out of 20 subjects were unable to attract 50% of their target numbers.

This relates to indicative figures provided by universities at the start of the academic session. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) will publish the 2023-24 academic year Official Statistics data in 2025. These will provide the most accurate figures on enrolments into modern language Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes.

This information is informing the work of Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

Both the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council have offered to work with universities to develop alternative routes into subjects which have traditionally been difficult to recruit to.

Question reference: S6O-03386

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted of the impact of its reformed dental payments system, introduced on 1 November 2023, in the Mid Scotland and Fife region.

Question reference: S6O-03384

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding what steps it can take to protect horticultural workers on seasonal worker visas from unfair work practices and substandard accommodation.

Question reference: S6O-03383

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help local authorities tackle damp and mould in social housing.

Question reference: S6O-03380

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its involvement in the proposals for Glasgow to potentially host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.