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-40645

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an escalation pathway for patients of private dental practices.

The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Information regarding making complaints about private dental practices can be accessed online at: Making a complaint about independent healthcare services – Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40644 on 1 October 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-40644

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what body currently provides practice-level oversight of private dental practices in Scotland, and if no such body exists, whether it has considered creating one.

Question reference: S6W-40610

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what studies have recently been carried out regarding the experiences of young people receiving person-centred child and adolescent mental health services (CAHMS).

Through implementation of the Supporting documents - Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services: national service specification - gov.scot. Health Boards are required to fully engage with children, young people and families, and to gather outcomes data against these standards including on the experiences of young people accessing support through CAMHS. Health Boards are also required to report on performance and governance as part of their responsibilities under the Specification.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with all Health Boards to support implementation of the CAMHS specification and to improve the service provided to children, young people and families, as well as improve performance across CAMHS. We remain committed to supporting all Boards to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. We continue to provide enhanced support to those Boards not on track to meet the standard, providing access to professional advice, ensuring they have robust improvement plans in place and monitoring their implementation.

Question reference: S6W-40646

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the General Dentist Council (GDC) and Dental Complaints Service (DCS) regarding the possibility of the organisations (a) capturing relevant practice-level data, in particular practice name, full address and company number where relevant, and (b) publishing anonymised, practice-linked complaint aggregates, with small-number suppression, in order to enable patients to have access to more information when choosing a private dental practice in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has held no talks with the General Dental Council (GDC) regarding the provision and publication of statistics relating to private dental clinics. Regulation of dentists is reserved to the UK parliament and the GDC is the independent statutory regulator for the dental team. It does not however regulate dental premises, with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) being the regulator of independent clinics in Scotland. Where available, HIS publishes inspection reports for independent clinics on its register.

Question reference: S6W-40850

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the opportunity for rail freight diversion from the east and west coast main lines will be a factor in the business case for extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle.

Question reference: S6W-40121

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing with drone (a) manufacturing and (b) operating firms in Scotland to develop perimeter defence systems for (i) prisons and (ii) other sensitive secure sites.

In relation to prisons, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and the Scottish Government are aware of the negative impact of drones being used to introduce illicit items into the prison estate and the threat that has for the operational stability of prisons across Scotland.

Covert technology to detect when a drone is approaching or entering SPS airspace has been piloted. In addition, SPS is implementing low tech solutions such as window grilles, which have been fitted to 3 establishments so far, are also part of SPS’s response to this ongoing threat. SPS continue to analyse the marketplace as well as consult with other jurisdictions to keep pace with this ever-evolving environment.

Many sensitive secure sites in Scotland relate to defence and national security and are as such the responsibility of the United Kingdom Government. The legislative, physical and electronic defence of these sites are varied and the responsibility of the owner/operator.

Perimeter defence systems can form one of a number of physical and/or electronic defensive measures. It is for the site owner/operator, in co-operation with the National Cyber Security Centre and National Protective Security Authority to determine whether drone defences are appropriate, proportionate and effective for their site.

In relation to Critical National Infrastructure sectors, some of which are reserved, some devolved and some a mix of both, security risks will be assessed and appropriate mitigations developed.

Question reference: S6W-40510

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 29 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will lead the preparation of a plan and investment case for the development of Scotland's steel manufacturing, including the commissioning of a Direct Reduced Iron facility and Electric Arc Furnace to leverage part of the £2.5 billion allocated to the green steel fund from the UK Government’s National Wealth Fund and private sector investment.

Question reference: S6W-40831

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission a national shipbuilding strategy to address the reported current structural and competitive barriers to the growth of commercial shipbuilding exports.

Question reference: S6W-40611

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ask NHS boards to release a detailed breakdown of their spending on mental health services, and whether it considers that there is a need for greater standardisation of how finances are accounted for across boards.

NHS Scotland expenditure on mental health is published annually in arrears in the Scottish Health Service Costs book by Public Health Scotland. The Cost Book is publicly accessible and offers a consistent framework for financial data across NHS Boards. The most recent data published in February 2025 covers 2023-2024. Costs Book publication - Costs Book - Finance within the NHS - System monitoring, accountability and quality of care - Healthcare system - Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government continuously monitors NHS Boards’ financial positions through routine finance reporting. This resource provides a standardised approach to collecting detailed financial information, including outturn, spend by specialty, and achievement of efficiency targets.

Question reference: S6W-40507

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the NHS Scotland budget has been spent on pharmaceuticals in each of the last 10 years.

The following data is extracted from the Public Health Scotland (PHS) Costs Books reports. The most recent published data is from the financial year 2023-24.

Year	Drug Expenditure (£000)	Total Expenditure (£000)	Percentage (%)
2023-24	2,200,978	15,076,777	14.6
2022-23	2,019,454	13,939,750	14.5
2021-22	1,923,616	15,400,938	12.5
2020-21	1,822,793	14,623,897	12.5
2019-20	1,798,517,000	11,703,692	15.4
2018-19	1,769,398,000	10,632,900	16.6
2017-18	1,738,286	10,425,515	16.7
2016-17	1,675,111	10,174,065	16.5
2015-16	1,562,132	9,807,204	15.9
2014-15	1,421,788	9,438,174	15.1