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-33543

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many mental health services are currently available in rural areas, and what percentage of these are delivered via digital platforms.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Decisions around the provision of mental health services is a local responsibility, planned by Integrated Joint Boards and delivered through a mixture of NHS, local authority and third sector organisations. The availability of service, including via digital platforms, will vary depending the local population needs and will be guided by clinical decision making.

Question reference: S6W-33489

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of compulsory purchase orders issued in each of the last five years were contested, and how many of these contests resulted in changes to the original orders.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes a register of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) submitted to the Scottish Ministers for confirmation since 2012: https://www.gov.scot/publications/compulsory-purchase-order-register/. The current register, published in December, includes CPOs received up to the end of October 2024.

Whilst the register of CPOs does not include information on whether orders submitted for confirmation were opposed, it does indicate where orders were confirmed with modifications.

Question reference: S6W-33476

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many surgical procedures have been cancelled in each of the last five years due to a lack of available surgical kits, broken down by NHS board.

The number of cancelled operations under ‘non-clinical/capacity reasons’ is the most granular level of detail that’s provided from PHS’s website, breakdown as follows:

	12 month to March (Financial Years)
NHS Board	Apr-23	Apr-22	Apr-21	Apr-20	Apr-19
NHS Scotland	6049	6544	4960	2572	7501
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	375	399	231	85	658
NHS Borders	194	216	166	38	151
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	390	352	253	104	306
NHS Fife	339	407	274	97	365
NHS Forth Valley	375	156	154	36	227
NHS Grampian	598	871	713	496	899
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	987	1189	980	565	1145
NHS Highland	397	478	468	226	738
NHS Lanarkshire	392	332	220	91	572
NHS Lothian	1440	1499	782	502	1657
NHS Orkney	0	0	120	64	84
NHS Shetland	69	37	20	2	30
NHS Tayside	116	188	228	95	324
NHS Western Isles	20	16	9	15	30
NHS Golden Jubilee	357	404	342	156	315

Question reference: S6W-33516

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times in each of the last five years has a request by it to a UK Government department for data been (a) denied and (b) delayed, broken down by department; what steps were taken to resolve the issue, and what the outcome was, also broken down by data specifically in relation to (i) meeting its net zero targets and (ii) social security and poverty reduction policies.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested centrally. Where data sharing agreements are put in place under certain data sharing powers in Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017, these are recorded on a register of information which can be found at: Register of Information sharing agreements under chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 of part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 - GOV.UK. These can only be established where there is a clear legal gateway to undertake the sharing. Requests for UK government data which have been delayed or are in the process of being resolved are part of continued policy development. To support this, the Office of the Chief Statistician established its UK Data Sharing Team in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to the need for greater data sharing across the UK. The team provides advice and guidance on request to support Scottish Government in accessing data from UK Government departments for statistics and research. Delays often occur in identifying the appropriate legal gateway or in demonstrating technical and security requirements.

The Scottish Government is working with UK departments to resolve barriers to data sharing, such as those evidenced in the Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority by Professor Denise Lievesley (Independent Review of the UK Statistics Authority 2023 - 2024 - GOV.UK) which noted “systemic and cultural barriers to responsible data sharing between government departments”. In addition, it is working with the UK Government to continue to implement the Digital Economy Act which is expected to improve data sharing processes across programme for government policy areas in the future.

Question reference: S6W-33762

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on contracts for government-issued mobile phones in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33758

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what models of government-issued mobile phones are currently in use across its departments, and what criteria are used for their selection.

Question reference: S6W-33772

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it complies with the General Data Protection Regulation requirements in relation to the use of government-issued mobile phones.

Question reference: S6W-33557

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how often it reviews healthcare service provision in rural areas to ensure that it meets the needs of local communities.

The Scottish Government expects and relies on our Integrated Joint Boards and Health Boards to plan and deliver services to meet the needs of local populations. Local planning is expected to take account of the particular needs of these populations, and decisions on the provision of services will be based on ensuring fair and equitable access to services wherever this is possible.

The Scottish Government works with territorial Health Boards to ensure services meet the needs of local populations. NHS Boards set out service delivery in annually produced Delivery Plans, reviewed and discussed with the Scottish Government. These plans describe how Boards will deliver services to meet the needs of their own communities, including the particular needs of rural areas, with a focus on fair and equitable access to services.

At the national level, a Board-led working group has been convened to develop a framework for safe, quality and sustainable healthcare services across our rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-33710

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS Scotland (a) services and (b) departments still use paper-based medical records.

Question reference: S6W-33653

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in implementing telemedicine solutions in rural healthcare settings, and what impact this has had on patient outcomes over the last five years.

See answer to question S6W-33537 on 27 January 2025 regarding progress. Telemedicine related developments focus on ensuring people get choice in how they access care services, support independent living and reduce unnecessary appointments, regardless of where they live.

An example of this is the rollout of Digital Therapy services which has been successfully completed with 35 evidenced digital treatments available in all areas of Scotland, including all rural and remote areas. Across digital therapy services a range of technologies have been integrated into clinical service delivery to ensure that services can be accessed in a variety of ways to meet the circumstances of the individual. Over 74,000 referrals and self-referrals were received into digital therapy services in 2023-24.

Data provided by local services indicates high levels of usage of digital therapy services across remote and rural areas, with good clinical outcomes and showing much greater levels of treatment, accessibility and availability in these areas. NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles are some of the biggest users of digital therapies when adjusted for population.

Near Me video consulting for groups continues to show positive impact in areas such as travel miles saved. However, enabled choice is driving greater uptake and engagement with 81% of people completing Near Me group courses over just 75% attending in person. The average weight loss is 3.2kg for Near Me group sessions for weight management groups, nearly twice the average weight loss (1.7kg) for an in-person session. Further information is published here - near-me-groups-report-march-2023_0.pdf

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

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

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