Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-04866

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with business leaders regarding work to maximise the economic impact of Edinburgh's festivals.

Question reference: S6W-39853

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people have been supported to have repairs made to their homes through the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S6W-39948

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regards to offering autistic people who are unable to use the phone, communication methods appropriate to their needs, for example, letters or in-person communication.

Question reference: S6W-39479

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made regarding its plans to implement a nationwide, 24/7 national thrombectomy service.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service that is available across Scotland whenever people need it. The majority of NHS Boards can now refer to thrombectomy Hub centres, increasing geographical access to thrombectomy procedures.

Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion. While there is not a specific date for publication, we expect the next steps for service expansion to reflect work to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This alignment with wider health service planning aims to support oversight of thrombectomy planning for the NHS Chief Executive Group and encourage greater collaboration between NHS Boards in delivering this vital service.

Question reference: S6W-39526

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish its public sector pay award for 2025-26.

At this time there is no agreed pay award for Scottish Government.

Following a period of negotiation the Scottish Government made a formal pay offer to the recognised trade unions (PCS, Prospect, and FDA) on 14 July 2025. The offer was rejected by PCS and Prospect. FDA indicated they could not recommend acceptance to their members. We will continue to explore next steps with the trade unions to find a solution.

Question reference: S6W-39173

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 22 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that public bodies meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in regard to offering reasonable accommodation and access to services for people who cannot communicate by phone.

Scotland should be a place where everyone can participate fully within society, access their rights and thrive within their communities. To realise this vision, we must make bold and sustained progress in tackling discrimination and advancing equality across Scotland.

To support BSL users to communicate by phone in their preferred language, the Scottish Government funds Contact Scotland BSL, a free national Video Relay Service that enables British Sign Language (BSL) users to make phone calls via qualified BSL interpreters, available 24/7. A new contract for this service is currently being tendered, and the Government has engaged with the Deaf and Deafblind communities and their representative organisations to understand their needs and priorities for the future service.

The Scottish Government expects all public bodies to fully comply with their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). This duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different groups. These responsibilities should be embedded in all aspects of decision-making, including the design and delivery of services.

While enforcement of the Equality Act, including the PSED, lies with the courts and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)—which operates independently of the Scottish Government—the Government supports compliance through guidance, engagement with public bodies, and monitoring how the PSED is implemented in practice.

Question reference: S6W-38862

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 44 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it has started a review of the package of financial support available to nursing and midwifery students, and, if so, when it expects to complete this review.

As set out in the answer to question S6W-37764 on 22 May 2025, The Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery (PNM) student financial support review is currently ongoing. This review will take time, as it is important that we clearly understand how we can support our PNM students to complete their studies. The options for consideration will be presented to me before the end of the year. An equalities impact assessment will be published once the review has concluded.

Question reference: S6W-38861

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 44 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it will provide an update on progress made towards identifying the barriers and enablers to attracting candidates to nursing and midwifery.

As set out in the answer to question S6W-38860 on 1 July 2025, the Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That is why we value the important role colleges play in widening access for students into higher education and into health professions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce set out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to develop alternative entry routes and consider the barriers and enablers to attracting students to nursing and midwifery professions. This includes, work on improving the existing Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Healthcare Practice for Nursing and the development of a HNC for Maternity which will more consistently support entry into Year 1 of Nursing and Midwifery degree programmes, and direct articulation into Year 2 Nursing degree programmes. This will be progressed in collaboration with identified higher education institutions.

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-38860

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 36 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it will provide an update on (a) progress made on the development of alternative entry routes into nursing and midwifery, including part-time routes and (b) any timeline that has been set for the roll-out of new entry routes.

The Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That is why we value the important role colleges play in widening access for students into higher education and into health professions.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce set out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to develop alternative entry routes and consider the barriers and enablers to attracting students to nursing and midwifery professions. This includes, work on improving the existing Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Healthcare Practice for Nursing and the development of a HNC for Maternity which will more consistently support entry into Year 1 of Nursing and Midwifery degree programmes, and direct articulation into Year 2 Nursing degree programmes. This will be progressed in collaboration with identified higher education institutions.

Question reference: S6W-38563

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 24 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to improve access to modern apprenticeships and employment for those completing pre-apprenticeship college courses.

The Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and other partners on post school education reform. This includes apprenticeship reform, improvements to careers information and advice and ensuring there are clear pathways for young people into apprenticeships, work and further learning.

We are investing £185 million this year to support apprenticeships - and looking at how we secure maximum benefit from this investment, including how public funding is utilised.

Colleges operate independently of government and therefore retain a degree of autonomy in how they support learners into apprenticeships. Access to Modern Apprenticeships, like all employment opportunities remains competitive, and can be influenced by a range of factors, including employer demand, sectoral priorities, and the suitability of individual candidates for specific roles.

Chamber and committees