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: S7W-04922

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how NatureScot uses information on the population status of mountain hares to ensure that licences do not cumulatively have a detrimental impact on the favourable conservation status of the species across its native range.

Question reference: S7W-04879

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 23 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent over the last 10 years on the restoration of Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites through grant schemes including the Forestry Grant Scheme and the Nature Restoration Fund, broken down by (a) year and (b) land ownership type.

Question reference: S7W-04588

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what procurement route will be used for any tender relating to the future provision of the Scottish Education Management Information System (SEEMiS).

Question reference: S7W-04258

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans and commissions services for neurological conditions where reliable prevalence data is unavailable or where routinely recorded diagnoses may underestimate the number of people living with the condition.

NHS boards are responsible for assessing the needs of their local populations and planning services accordingly. Where prevalence data are unavailable or limited, boards are expected to draw on the best available evidence to inform service planning.

This may include service activity data, waiting times information, workforce data, clinical expertise, and engagement with people living with neurological conditions and relevant stakeholders.

Question reference: S7W-04520

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the factors contributing to changes in orthopaedic waiting times over the last two years, and whether it will publish that analysis.

The Scottish Government has not carried out any specific analysis on the contributing factors to changes in orthopaedic waiting times over the last two years; however, we know that the growing older population has led to a higher prevalence of osteoarthritis which is the primary degenerative joint condition that leads to joint replacement.

During the past few years, the NHS has also been under the most severe pressure in its 78-year existence, experiencing rising demand, unprecedented levels of inflation across the public sector and pandemic backlogs. Despite this, the number of hip and knee arthroplasty operations reached an all-time high in 2025, with statistics from The Scottish Arthroplasty Project reporting that 18,707 first (primary) hip or knee replacements performed in NHS Scotland hospitals in 2025 compared to 15,908 in 2019.

This activity has been supported by the Scottish Government’s additional investment in trauma and orthopaedics over the last few years, including funding of over £38 million in 2025-26.

We are seeing positive trends across orthopaedic waiting lists, especially for those waiting the longest: orthopaedic waits over 52 weeks reduced substantially between September 2025 and September 2026, with new outpatient waits decreasing by 75.9% (6,027 to 1,450) and inpatient and day-case waits over 52 weeks decreasing by 44.5% (7,686 to 4,267). This which demonstrates that our targeted investment is having a real impact on people's lives.

Our National Treatment Centre Programme is also playing an important role in supporting orthopaedic activity. NHS Golden Jubilee is now the largest hip and knee replacement centre in the UK, marking a major milestone in the delivery of orthopaedic care across NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-04585

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending or renewing its existing arrangements with the Scottish Education Management Information System (SEEMiS) rather than carrying out a new procurement exercise, and what factors have informed this position.

Question reference: S7W-04576

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of white male school leavers who live in the most deprived quintile of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation was not in a positive follow-up destination in each of the last five years, and how this compares with male school leavers from other ethnic groups in the same deprivation quintile.

Question reference: S7W-04261

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide funding to NHS Fife's psychology service to enhance its "Thrive and Survive" domestic abuse support programme.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that domestic abuse can have on mental health and wellbeing and the importance of ensuring that survivors have access to appropriate support services.

The Scottish Government has not provided specific funding to NHS Fife's Survive and Thrive programme. Decisions on planning and delivery of local healthcare services, including psychology services and specific programmes delivered by NHS Boards, are matters for NHS Fife.

More broadly, the Scottish Government remains committed to tackling violence against women and girls and domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 created a specific offence covering psychological abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour, and we continue to support approaches which ensure that survivors receive trauma-informed care and support.

Question reference: S7W-04590

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) local authorities, (b) education bodies and (c) stakeholder organisations were consulted prior to any decision to commence procurement for a replacement or successor to the Scottish Education Management Information System (SEEMiS), and on what dates those consultations took place.

Question reference: S7W-04241

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has undertaken with NHS boards, including NHS Lothian, and primary care representatives regarding proposals to expand the role of GPs in the assessment of autism and ADHD, and what assessment it has made of the additional capacity and resources required to implement these proposals.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressures facing primary care, while also noting the important role that GPs and other primary care providers play in supporting people within their communities. We are continuing to work with NHS Boards, local authorities, COSLA, the third sector and other delivery partners to improve access to neurodevelopmental support for children, young people and adults.

Through the development of the first Adult Neurodevelopmental Route-Map, which will be published in November, and wider work to improve neurodevelopmental pathways, the Scottish Government has engaged with a range of stakeholders, including those working within our health boards, primary care and other clinicians, people with lived experience and third sector organisations.

We are also continuing to support implementation of the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People following a joint review of progress with COSLA in 2025. Our cross-sector Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopmental Taskforce, co-chaired by education and health, is supporting us to deliver this.

Although decisions regarding the design and delivery of local neurodevelopmental services, including workforce planning, capacity requirements and resource allocation, are matters for NHS boards, the Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS boards and other partners, to support implementation of the route-map and the Children & Young People’s Neurodevelopmental Specification.

Ethnic Group		2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
White	% positive	87.3	88.3	87.3	86.6	87.9
Non-white	% positive	93.3	91.3	93.3	92.5	93.6
White	Total Leavers	4,689	5,211	5,210	5,220	5,006
Non-white	Total Leavers	732	865	983	1,103	1,198