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: S6O-02302

Asked by: Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to tackle any challenges faced by NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6O-02307

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it will take to reverse the reported decline of NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6O-02304

Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on any recent engagement with health and social care ministers from the other UK administrations regarding a coordinated approach to dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-17775

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure access to NHS dentistry for the residents of Langholm, in light of reports that a dental practice in Langholm will be closing and NHS patients will be deregistered.

We are working closely with the Board and a Task Force has been set up to help the Board address local access issues. Unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via the Public Dental Service.

Scottish Government has also put in place a set of recruitment and retention incentives which pay £25,000 over a two year period to newly qualified dentists and those returning to the workforce after a five-year period, who wish to provide NHS dental care in Dumfries and Galloway. Grant funding of up to £100,000 is available to dentists that wish to establish a new, or expand or purchase an existing, NHS dental practice within the Board area.

We are also working apace on payments reform which will comprise a new, modernised system that will provide NHS dental teams with greater clinical discretion, and transparency for NHS patients. We are confident that this will help to sustain and increase NHS dental access as we move forward.

Question reference: S6O-02191

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reverse the reported decline of NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-16605

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any correspondence that it has (a) received from and (b) sent to dental organisations, regarding the multiplier payment, since March 2022.

The Scottish Government publishes relevant correspondence to dental organisations regarding the multiplier payment on www.scottishdental.org . Notes from recent meetings with dental organisations are shared here as well. However, correspondence received by Scottish Government from stakeholders is generally private, and we do not share it as a matter of routine.

Information on the extension of the multiplier payment was also shared in Parliament during the debate ‘Addressing the Crisis in NHS Dentistry’ on 8 February 2023. A copy of the debate can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 08/02/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-15620

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the General Dental Service, what action it is taking to reverse the decline in the number of registered (a) adults and (b) children participating in the service.

An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.

Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.

Question reference: S6O-02056

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported exodus of dentists from NHS dentistry.

Question reference: S6W-14890

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which universities offer dentistry undergraduate courses in Scotland, and what plans there are for new courses to be introduced.

Question reference: S6O-01968

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its Covid Recovery Strategy is supporting the tackling of health inequalities, including in relation to accessing key services such as dentistry.