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-32666

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, how it (a) assesses and (b) responds to any corruption risks associated with financial markets and infrastructure projects linked to foreign governments.

a) The Scottish Government’s Counter Fraud Toolkit within the Counter Fraud Framework contains a range of processes for assessing risks associated with fraud and corruption in all areas of public sector spending. These are aligned with the UK Government's Counter Fraud Standards and international best practice on the effective prevention of public sector fraud and corruption.

b) The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) contains the requirements for assessing and responding to the risk of corruption in all areas of public finance and infrastructure spending. Where the risk of fraud or corruption of any kind is identified, the SPFM requires that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent these risks.

Question reference: S6W-34067

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks; what was discussed, who attended, and when the next meeting will take place.

At the time of writing, the Scottish Government last met with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) on 4 February 2025. Scottish Government officials met with SSEN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Head of Public Affairs and Policy colleagues to discuss recent regulatory and policy developments.

The following items were discussed at the meeting:

Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP)
Upcoming community engagement events for SSEN’s proposed projects
Transition Impact Assessment (TIA) thresholds
Biodiversity funding

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 26 February 2025.

Question reference: S6W-34538

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 14 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much just transition funding has been allocated to the whisky industry in the last three years.

The Just Transition Fund has within the last three years provided £988k in capital funding support to the following projects:

£361,767 over 2022-23 to the Cabrach Trust for development of the Cabrach Distillery. The project aimed to create permanent skilled employment opportunities in the area, attract tourism, and support local economic growth and regeneration.
£626,734 over 2022-24 to Ripcell for its pilot Sustainable Solvent Recovery for EV Battery Recycling project utilising pot ale a whisky waste product.

Question reference: S6W-34635

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has paid for taxi transport for (a) doctors and (b) nurses who are (i) on-call and (ii) asked to come into work when off duty in each of the last five years, and what (A) national and (B) specific local policies for each board there are governing this.

Question reference: S6W-34107

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of maintaining cat’s eyes on (a) the A90 in the (i) section north of Dundee and (ii) other sections and (b) other trunk roads.

Maintenance/replacement costs for road studs on the A90 from August 2022 can be seen in table A.

Table A

Route	2022-23 (16th August onwards	2023-2024	2024-25
A90 North of Dundee	£48,069	£85,721	£29,746
A90 South of Dundee	£19,696	£14,240	£7,053

The above figures exclude expenditure on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmedie to Tipperty section of the A90. The contract with the DBFO Company, Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL) requires it to fulfil the contractual obligations in respect of maintenance at ARL’s own cost. These associated costs are not shared with Transport Scotland.

The total cost of road stud maintenance/replacement for all trunk roads within the North East Unit (including the A90 but excluding the AWPR/B-T Project) from August 2022 is as follows:

Table B

Unit	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
NE	£109,906	£171,719	£316,325

Question reference: S6W-34091

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress was made on securing partnerships to advance Scotland’s green hydrogen capabilities during the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy’s recent visit to Berlin.

Question reference: S6W-34116

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what policies or procedures are in place to address any situations where patients who are deemed “surgically fit for discharge” refuse to leave hospital.

Where a patient deemed ready for discharge refuses to leave hospital, there is a clearly defined procedure in place:

Healthcare staff will arrange a meeting with the patient to discuss the reason they are unwilling to be discharged from hospital and discuss a way forward.
Where no progress is made, the case will be referred to a Medical Director. The Medical Director will then write to the patient, reiterating their planned date of discharge.
Throughout the discharge process, it is made clear to patients that a person is not entitled to remain in hospital indefinitely, and that staying in hospital longer that necessary can have adverse health effects.

Therefore, in such limited cases, it is the responsibility of the Health Board and Medical Directors to manage reluctant discharges.

Question reference: S6W-34070

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported findings of the True North survey showing that 71% of respondents in Scotland want North Sea oil and gas to meet energy demand.

Question reference: S6W-34117

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to work with NHS boards and other stakeholders to reduce instances of patients refusing to leave hospital after being deemed “surgically fit for discharge.”

In addition to existing policies in place that address situations where patients who are deemed ready for discharge refuse to leave hospital, the Scottish Government continues to meet with NHS Boards to understand what actions can be taken to inform policy development and seek assurances on the implementation of Discharge without Delay and Home First principles, and reduce instances of patients refusing to leave hospital after being deemed fit for discharge.

Question reference: S6W-34122

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is provided to NHS boards regarding the management of so-called medical boarders in surgical wards to minimise disruption to scheduled surgeries.