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-41830

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the shingles vaccine in reducing the risk of dementia.

The Scottish Government is guided by the expert clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who base its recommendations on rigorous appraisal of the best available scientific evidence and continually monitor vaccination programmes to ensure they remain clinically effective and cost-efficient.

In June 2025, the JCVI considered emerging evidence on whether shingles vaccination may reduce dementia risk and if this should influence JCVI advice for vaccinating individuals over 80.

Members agreed that this potential benefit was not currently quantifiable. The ongoing rollout of Shingrix vaccination in the UK could provide an opportunity to collect additional data and improve understanding of the potential link, and the UK Health Security Agency is actively exploring this.

Question reference: S6W-41832

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason individuals who were aged 68, 69 or 70 on 1 September 2025 are not currently eligible for the shingles vaccine.

Decision-making on Scotland’s vaccination programme is guided by the independent, expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The shingles vaccination programme was introduced in Scotland in 2013 for those aged 70 years old. Individuals aged 71 to 79 years of age have also been offered the vaccine in a phased roll out of the programme since 2013.

The JCVI recently recommended expanding the age cohorts for the shingles vaccination programme to offer protection earlier. These changes took effect on 1 September 2023 in a phased implementation over a 10-year period starting with those turning 65 and 70 years of age. Individuals aged 68 and 69 in the third year of the expanded roll-out will be invited for vaccination after turning 70, as per the previous schedule.

Question reference: S6W-41831

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the consistency with which eligibility criteria for the shingles vaccine are applied across NHS boards.

The Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) is a partnership between Public Health Scotland (PHS), Health Boards, and the Scottish Government. Its aim is to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of vaccination and immunisation services across Scotland.

Overall responsibility for SVIP is held by PHS who are responsible for operational oversight and programme support, including governance, service improvement, and communications for all vaccination programmes. The requested information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and falls within the remit of PHS to provide a response.

Question reference: S6O-05193

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any economic benefits of the growth of aquaculture in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05143

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the potential economic benefits of the reinstatement of an international ferry route from Rosyth.

Question reference: S6O-05118

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Director of Housing at Fife Council and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6O-05076

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's service delivery review, following the public consultation, which closed on 17 September 2025.

Question reference: S6W-40748

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on the NHS of the reported decision to exclude NHS frontline staff as a cohort from automatic eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine in winter 2025.

In 2024, the Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation (JCVI) made an assessment of the need to continue to vaccinate the frontline health and social care worker group for COVID-19. The outcome of that assessment at: JCVI statement on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for autumn 2024, 8 April 2024 - GOV.UK was that they no longer advised vaccination for that group.

In early 2025, in response to the 2024 advice from the JCVI, the Scottish Vaccination & Immunisation Programme (SVIP) convened a sub strategy and planning group of experts to review all available data related to COVID-19 vaccine uptake and literature on the benefits of staff vaccination, to assess if an occupational health offer of COVID-19 vaccination was required for the frontline HSCW group. Its recommendation was in line with the advice of the JCVI that an offer is not advised.

All four nations have conducted similar processes and come to the same conclusion and removed the frontline HSCW group from their COVID-19 programmes in winter 2025.

Over the last four years, population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since the virus first emerged.

The protection that the current COVID vaccines give against mild symptomatic infection is limited both in terms of peak protection and duration of protection. While there is an absence of robust scientific data on the added protection against transmission of infection from one person to another in the era of highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants, it is expected that any such protection would be extremely limited. COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent NHS staff from contracting COVID-19 and they have limited ability to stop them from passing it on to colleagues or patients, so therefore have limited impact on protecting the NHS and providing service resilience. All NHS staff remain eligible for flu vaccination.

The vaccines provide good protection against severe COVID-19 for a number of months and that is why the programme is now targeting those individuals where there is good evidence of a high risk of hospitalisation and/or mortality: residents in care homes for older adults, those aged 75 and over and those who are immunosuppressed.

Question reference: S6O-05026

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of its relations with the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.

Question reference: S6W-40749

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have exercised their discretion to return vaccination delivery responsibility to rural GPs.

Since 2022, Health Boards have been responsible for delivering Scotland’s vaccination programmes. The Scottish Government has always recognised that there may be circumstances (eg, in remote and rural places) were some vaccination services need to be delivered by General Practice. It is important that such flexibility exists to ensure that vaccination is as readily accessible to people as possible, regardless of local geography or other situations. However, it is not the case that Health Boards can do so on a discretionary basis.

Through an Options Appraisal process put in place by the Scottish Government, Health Boards must demonstrate a clear and evidenced need for particular vaccination services to be delivered by General Practice. Scottish Ministers must agree such proposals. A small number of discrete cases have been approved, including one practice within NHS Borders and several practices within Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). In each instance these have been approved in response to specific circumstances to support access to vaccination. Approval has also been given for Highland HSCP to establish a mixed model of vaccine delivery, that will include some GP practices in the area delivering some vaccination services. Highland HSCP are developing their mixed model, and the Scottish Government, along with Public Health Scotland (PHS), are working closely with them to ensure a safe and accessible service.