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-38923

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline its plans for ensuring that island biosecurity, which is a commitment under the National Islands Plan and Goal 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, continues to be addressed throughout the island network when the current Biosecurity for Scotland project draws to a close in March 2026.

The Biosecurity for Scotland project is currently leading a series of co-design workshops to develop a plan for a long-term biosecurity programme and discussions are taking place around securing funding for this work beyond March 2026. The project has received over £350,000 from the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.

In addition, work is underway on developing a Scottish Plan for Invasive Non-native Species Prevention, Surveillance and Control which we aim to publish later this year. In developing our plan we will be considering what measures we need to put in place to ensure the continued biosecurity of Scotland’s islands. In particular we recognise that it is vital that Scotland’s globally important seabird populations are protected from invasive mammalian predators such as rats and mice. Discussions are underway with NatureScot and stakeholders to ensure the new National Islands Plan features tangible actions in support of our islands’ biosecurity, including in relation to invasive non-native species.

Question reference: S6W-38991

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that ambulance workers are regularly required to work through their rest breaks, what action it is taking to ensure that Scottish Ambulance Service crew members can take the rest breaks that they are legally entitled to.

Following discussions facilitated by the Scottish Government between the Scottish Ambulance Service and trade unions, a working group has been established to seek to resolve the complex issues surrounding rest break compliance. The group will meet fortnightly, with an oversight group established which includes representation from the Scottish Government. This oversight group will meet regularly to monitor the progress of the working group.

Question reference: S6W-38911

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to accelerate the publication of a coherent just transition plan, which sets out when and where key interventions will be undertaken to support any workers and communities that are dependent on high-carbon industries.

We are committed to developing Just Transition Plans that provide certainty for workers and communities. To that end, we published our draft Transport Just Transition Plan in February, our Grangemouth Just Transition Plan in June, and we intend to publish the consultation on our Land Use and Agriculture plan later this summer.

The judgements and issues we are considering will be informed and influenced by recent developments in the UK Government’s energy policy and court decisions. We are taking time and care to analyse the impact of these developments on Scotland. Our just transition planning to date will also be reflected in the next Climate Change Plan, which will be published in draft form later this year.

Question reference: S6W-39033

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings in the Royal College of Radiologists report, Clinical Oncology: Workforce Census 2024, how it plans to reduce the number of clinical (a) oncologists and (b) radiologists under the age of 50 leaving the NHS workforce.

As set out in answer S6W-38507, Scottish Government recognises that throughout their career, employees, including radiologists and oncologists, will face differing demands on their time and energies at home as well as at work which may lead to them leaving the workforce below the age of 50.

The national ‘Supporting Work Life Balance’ workforce policies provide staff with a range of flexible working options to help them to balance their lifestyle whilst maintaining and promoting the best possible service to our patients and service users.

Further, Scottish Government are supporting staff throughout the NHS, including radiologists and oncologists, through funding of over £2.5m annually to support staff wellbeing. Evidence shows that positive wellbeing enhances staff retention and engagement, which in turn raises standards of patient safety and quality of care.

This funding provides our workforce with access to psychological interventions and therapies, self-service resources through the National Wellbeing Hub and the National Wellbeing Helpline delivered by NHS 24. Registered staff also have access to confidential mental health services through the Workforce Specialist Service (WSS).

Question reference: S6W-38901

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of eligible businesses have accessed each of its national support schemes since 2020, broken down by (a) sector and (b) business size.

Our Programme for Government 2025-26 sets out a range of actions to make it easier for businesses in Scotland to grow and prosper, secure investment and compete globally. Working in tandem with the Scottish Government, our enterprise agencies are focused on helping businesses to grow. They provide financial support to businesses in the form of grant funding, equity investments and loans. They also provide a broad range of expert support and advice, including helping businesses to access finance and attract other investment to support their growth. Information on the enterprise agencies’ support for businesses within the last 5 years can be found in their annual reports and accounts, which are published on their websites.

Businesses in Scotland of all sizes, and in all sectors, can access support from the enterprise agencies and other public sector organisations through the ‘Find Business Support’ website. The Scottish Government does not collate information on the percentage of eligible businesses accessing public sector support.

Question reference: S6W-38835

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of waste it has directly generated in each of the last five financial years; how many tonnes of this waste were sent to landfill; how many tonnes it estimates it will generate in 2026, and how many tonnes of this waste it estimates will be sent to England from January 2026.

The Core Scottish Government reports the following figures for waste generated by its operations across premises over the past five financial years:

2019-2020: 1,497 tonnes total waste , includes 92.76 tonnes of landfilled waste
2020-2021: 867 tonnes total waste, includes 128.94 tonnes of landfilled waste
2021-2022: 1,648 tonnes total waste, includes 136.72. tonnes of landfilled waste
2022-2023: 1,760 tonnes total waste, includes 69.28 tonnes of landfilled waste
2023-2024: 1,127 tonnes total waste , includes 58.61 tonnes of landfilled waste

No landfilled waste was sent to England during this period.

The Core Scottish Government does not forecast future waste generation. Waste data is reported retrospectively after the end of each financial year.

The Core Scottish Government remains committed to reducing all forms of waste across its operations and continues to implement measures to improve sustainability and resource efficiency.

Question reference: S6W-39422

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish national minimum standards for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) post-diagnostic support.

Question reference: S6W-39416

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what communication and engagement plans it has in place to ensure that families, individuals and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) support groups are regularly updated on the development of the national ADHD strategy.

Question reference: S6W-39419

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it is taking to reduce waiting times for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments (a) across Scotland and (b) in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area.

Question reference: S6W-39406

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many parents have experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian in each year since 2021.