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-39847

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports charities like Nurture the Borders, based in Selkirk, which provides a variety of services for pregnant women who would not be able to access them otherwise.

Question reference: S6W-39849

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a six-month update regarding how many priority now actions of the miscarriage delivery framework shorter-term actions have been achieved.

Question reference: S6W-39846

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing for women to access antenatal classes in remote areas like the Scottish Borders.

Question reference: S6W-39843

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from NHS boards regarding implementation of the priority now actions from the miscarriage delivery framework.

Question reference: S6W-39844

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities in their efforts to reduce isolation and improve access to services for refugees in rural communities.

Question reference: S6W-39848

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2025

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

Question reference: S6W-39402

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that Public Health Scotland will publish the framework to support out-of-home outlets to provide and promote healthy food.

We are working with Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop our Eating Out Eating Well Framework, one of the actions from our Out Of Home Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/diet-and-healthy-weight-out-of-home-action-plan/. The new Framework is designed to help businesses serving food Out Of Home, such as restaurants and cafes, to provide healthier options for customers, and includes developing a Code of Practice for children’s menus.

PHS has recently completed a pilot for our new Eating Out Eating Well Framework. Papers for the pilot and more detail about the Framework have already been published and can be found at: https://eatingouteatingwell.publichealthscotland.scot/

We are also currently working with PHS and FSS to review learnings from the pilot. Once this review has been concluded and its recommendations considered, the Framework will be finalised and published.

Question reference: S6W-39506

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeline for the introduction of regulations to increase the income threshold for charity audits in Scotland from £500,000 to £1 million.

Question reference: S6W-39403

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research commissioned by Food Standards Scotland, which states that, when customers were exposed to price promotions on food ordering apps and websites, they were more likely to buy more food than they intended to, creating a culture of food waste and consumption of excess calories.

The food environment, including promotions, significantly influences the food choices people make, both in and out of home. This report adds further to (the evidence base and) our understanding that promotions can encourage impulse spend and can lead to people buying more than they need, overlooking cheaper and healthier alternatives.

The Scottish Government is taking forward wide ranging action to support people make healthier choices in the out of home sector.

On 17 June, the Scottish Government confirmed that it will introduce regulations to restrict the promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt to the Scottish Parliament this autumn. These regulations will, amongst other things, restrict unlimited refills for a fixed charge of non-prepacked soft drinks with added sugar in qualifying out of home businesses. Further detail on the final scope of the policy is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/restricting-promotion-food-drink-high-fat-sugar-salt-hfss-consultation-detail-proposed-regulations-scottish-government-response/.

We are working with Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland to develop our Eating Out Eating Well Framework https://eatingouteatingwell.publichealthscotland.scot/, one of the actions from our Out Of Home Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/diet-and-healthy-weight-out-of-home-action-plan/. The new Framework is designed to help businesses serving food out of home, such as restaurants and cafes, to provide healthier options for customers, and includes developing a Code of Practice for children’s menus. Further detail is set out in the answer to question S6W-39402 on 8 August 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/questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government will consider further action to improve the food environment, including in out of home settings, under the Population Health Framework.

Question reference: S6W-39398

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to rectify any negative health implications that women have faced more severely than men, in light of the findings of the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK.

We acknowledge the recent research findings, which highlight the disproportionate health impacts experienced by women in relation to the covid pandemic. Addressing these inequalities is a core ambition of the Scottish Government.

In August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/womens-health-plan/documents/). Developed with women and girls, the Plan articulates the commitment that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives. The next phase of the Plan is currently under development.

Improving health outcomes for women and girls requires the consideration of their specific health needs to address avoidable inequalities. The Women’s Health Plan is a key element within a wider, ongoing programme of work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls across Scotland.

Women are also prioritised as one of the at-risk groups within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has received £81 million in investment since 2021. A further £15 million has been committed for 2026-27 as part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding Pilot, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to supporting those facing the greatest challenges.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA co-published a ten-year Scotland's Population Health Framework (PHF) (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-population-health-framework/), setting out a refreshed cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve Scotland’s population health and reduce inequalities, with a focus on prevention.

While the PHF was developed with a population-wide perspective, it is deliberately designed to enable targeted implementation of its 30 actions. This ensures that priority groups including those with protected characteristics receive tailored support to address their specific needs including women and girls.