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-01792

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds in receipt of Adult Disability Payment are in employment (a) when they first receive the payment and (b) (i) 12 to 23, (ii) after 24 to 35 and (iii) 36 or more months after receiving their first payment.

Question reference: S7W-01521

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to introduce legislation to (a) modernise Compulsory Purchase Orders and (b) implement Compulsory Sales Orders and Compulsory Lease Orders, to give local authorities more powers to deal with empty homes.

The Scottish Government’s legislative programme will be agreed by Ministers and announced to Parliament in due course in the usual way.

The Scottish Government will shortly publish a summary of responses to the compulsory purchase reform consultation, and associated analysis of the questions on compulsory sale and compulsory lease orders, and will provide an update on next steps in line with our commitment for the first 100 days of government.

Question reference: S7W-01788

Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much Social Security Scotland has spent in each of the last five years on welfare payments to 16- to 24-year-olds, broken down by benefit type,

Question reference: S7W-01870

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly removed the £5,000 p/a pay supplement to civil servants working in the Digital Data and Technology Framework, resulting in real terms pay reductions of nine to 14%.

Pay supplements are operational matters for the Scottish Government Civil Service and are, by design, temporary and subject to periodic review. They are typically approved for a fixed term of up to three years and may be continued, varied, or withdrawn based on the outcome of that review. These supplements are attached to specific roles rather than individuals and are used to address recruitment and retention pressures in areas where market conditions require it.

The outcome to remove the previous Digital, Data and Technology pay supplement and replace it with the new Government Digital and Data pay supplement was informed by labour market evidence and pay data, with the process agreed between Scottish Government HR Pay and Reward and the Convention of Scottish Government Unions (CSGU). It included engagement with trade unions and senior leaders, with recommendations considered by an independent Pay Panel. As agreed with CSGU, there is a period of withdrawal for 12 months during which the DDaT pay supplement will be paid in full.

Pay supplements do not form part of contractual base pay and are explicitly intended to be temporary mechanisms linked to prevailing market conditions. There has been no reduction to the base pay of any individuals affected by the review.

Question reference: S7W-02056

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S7W-02060

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S7W-01457

Asked by: Helen McDade, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request NHS Education for Scotland to publish information on the number of children's and young people's nursing graduates compared with the number of available children's and young people's nursing posts, broken down by NHS board, in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S7W-01404

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25 broken down by NHS board, and what percentage this represented of the (a) total budget for mental health and (b) total health budget for each of these boards.

Question reference: S7W-01403

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25, and what percentage this represented of the total budget for (a) mental health and (b) NHS Scotland.

Data on child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland (PHS) in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24 and includes a breakdown by NHS Board. It shows estimated total expenditure on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) increased by £19.4 million in 2023-24 to £134.2 million, 9.03% of total mental health expenditure and 0.82% of total net expenditure in NHSScotland (an increase on 8.78% and 0.75% respectively in 2022-23).

Publication of Costs Book data for 2024-25 has been delayed due to the local NHS board implementation of a new costing system (PLICS) over the last year but PHS expects to publish available data for mental health on 11 August 2026.

Question reference: S7W-01405

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it achieved its targets over the previous parliamentary session for NHS boards to spend (a) 10% of their budget on mental health and (b) 1% of their budget on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Data on mental health expenditure and child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24. Data for 2025-26 which will determine whether the targets have been met is expected to be published in 2027.