Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-39848

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what induction is available specifically to African workers coming to work within the NHS and social care sector.

The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel in Scotland promotes high standards of practice in the ethical recruitment of all international staff and all health and social employers must adhere to the Code.

It provides employers of health and social care personnel with guiding principles that should be adhered to when undertaking international recruitment and states that internationally recruited staff have the same legal rights and responsibilities as domestic staff in terms of employment and conditions of work. This means high standards of induction and support is provided equal to all other employees. It must include cultural and pastoral support to help individuals settle into work and life in Scotland regardless of country of origin.

The code can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at Scottish Code of Practice for Ethical Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel

Question reference: S6W-40012

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the article in The Lancet, The potential role of Mifepristone in breast cancer prevention: beyond medical abortion.

Question reference: S6W-40013

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the article in The Lancet, The potential role of mifepristone in breast cancer prevention: beyond medical abortion, whether it would support research into the use of mifepristone as a drug to help prevent women at high risk of breast cancer from developing the disease.

Question reference: S6W-40011

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer, in light of it being the most common cancer affecting women in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39796

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the resources available to support the mental health and wellbeing of retail staff following an incident of retail crime.

The Scottish Government is committed to preventing violence and reducing its harm.

There are a range of options to support the mental health and wellbeing of employees, including those working in the retail sector.

Our Mental health and wellbeing strategy, published June 2023 sets out what a supportive system should look like, recognising the many different factors that can influence mental health and wellbeing, including employment.

As part of this work, we continue to work across government and with delivery partners to ensure employers are equipped with knowledge, skills and resources they need to promote and support conditions that enable good mental health at work.

Our ‘Supporting a Mentally Healthy Workplace’ employer platform, signposts employers to a range of free mental health and wellbeing resources and information. We continue to engage with employers to ensure content continues to meet the needs of employers across Scotland.

Scottish Government partners, including the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF), share best practice guidance and resources, such as the free Grocery Aid helpline, and Victim Support, for victims of violence and abuse in a retail setting.

Victim Support Scotland provide information, emotional support and practical assistance to help anyone affected by crime, including retail crime.

Question reference: S6W-39795

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether, in the next Budget, it will renew the additional £3 million of targeted funding allocated to Police Scotland to reduce retail crime.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling retail crime was reaffirmed in our Programme for Government, which makes clear our strong support for Police Scotland’s robust approach in addressing this issue.

The Scottish Government has commenced work on developing a multi-year Scottish Spending Review, which will deliver on its priorities in a fiscally sustainable way. The Government’s core priorities will sit at the heart of the spending review process, and guide how and where we will allocate funding.

Decisions on the future of the funding for retail crime, will be taken in the context of developing the 2026-27 budget and the Scottish Spending Review.

Question reference: S6W-39845

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns raised in the report by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding human rights and access to maternity services, and what lessons can be learned in relation to Wigtownshire maternity services.

Question reference: S6W-39484

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the UK Government committing £5.8 million to a smoke-free pregnancy incentive scheme in England in 2025-26, how much funding it has committed in total in 2025-26 for Quit Your Way services specifically aimed at delivering projects incentivising pregnant women in Scotland to give up smoking.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published Scottish Budget for 2025-2026 includes £72.2 million for the Outcomes Framework.

Question reference: S6W-39485

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the UK Government committing an additional £70 million to support stop smoking services in England in 2025-26, how much funding it has committed in total in 2025-26 for the specialist Quit Your Way smoking cessation services delivered by regional NHS boards in Scotland.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published Scottish Budget for 2025-2026 includes £72.2 million for the Outcomes Framework.

Question reference: S6W-39923

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the Scottish Ambulance Service is able to reach patients within its response time targets, especially in rural locations.

Chamber and committees