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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 40714 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-01445

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered all the implications of a border between an independent Scotland and England.

Question reference: S6W-10428

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is researching the introduction of a standardised computer tool for the screening of children to identify risk of reading failure.

Education Scotland are currently learning more about the evidence-based Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme and a related screening tool, Language Screen, which assesses four components of oral language skills. However, it is for individual schools and local authorities to decide if specific literacy screening tools and interventions such as NELI and Language Screen meet their strategic aims.

Question reference: S6W-11522

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost has been of funding any private dental treatment for NHS patients due to a lack of available NHS services in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, and (c) 2022 to date, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11523

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times NHS boards have funded private dental treatment for NHS patients due to a lack of available NHS services in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 to date, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11409

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on ME services in each of the last 12 months, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11412

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether any research has been commissioned regarding ME/CFS in Scotland following the Priority Setting Partnership's identification, in May 2022, of 10 research priorities for ME/CFS, and, if so, when this research will be carried out, and how much funding has been allocated for this purpose.

The Scottish Government partially funded the creation of a Priority Setting Partnership to agree the top 10 priorities for future research on ME/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and we are considering, with partners, how best we can progress these priority areas in Scotland. To help facilitate this, the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office is currently inputting to a newly-formed UK-wide working group on research into ME/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome through the UK Clinical Research Collaborative.

The Chief Scientist Office operates open competitive funding schemes for applied health research projects and fellowships across the wide range of NHS and health challenges in Scotland. These schemes are open to consideration of applications addressing priorities for research on ME/CFS that have been identified by the recent Priority Setting Partnership. Applications to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

Question reference: S6W-11410

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what ME-specific services are available, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11408

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many ME specialist nurses there are, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-11414

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review funding to Museums Galleries Scotland in order to help it support its member organisations during the cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-11411

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether any additional resources were made available for ME services following the National Clinical Director's letter to NHS boards, of June 2022, about investment to increase the number of specialist clinics and specialists with expertise in ME.

This information is not centrally held. While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require care and support for ME/CFS, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Given the range of symptoms which can be experienced with ME/CFS, we know there is no ‘one-size fits all’ response and our approach is to support people to access care and support in a setting that is appropriate and as close to their home as is practicable.

Our strengthening of the primary care workforce through recruitment of multi-disciplinary teams is making it easier for people to access this type of care and support. We have now recruited over 3,220 professionals, including community nurses and physiotherapists, with increased funding of £170m in 2022-23 to support further development of multi-disciplinary teams.