Questions and answers

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.

Question reference: S6W-40502

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will (a) reach and (b) announce its decision on the infrastructure investment plan refresh review for the years beyond 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-40503

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed a new medical centre for Lochgelly with NHS Fife; what the outcome was, and on what date it will next discuss the matter.

We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Fife.

Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.

As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.

Question reference: S6W-40504

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects to fulfil the commitment it made in 2011 to provide a new medical centre for Lochgelly.

We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Fife.

Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.

As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.

Question reference: S6W-40501

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSC) Capital Investment Group last discussed a new medical centre for Lochgelly; what the outcome was, and on what date it will next discuss the matter.

We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Fife.

Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.

As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.

Question reference: S6O-04967

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its current priorities are for international trading links.

Question reference: S6W-39841

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what cross-departmental discussions it has had regarding its strategy for providing a substantial response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s upcoming updated Code of Practice following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, and whether it can provide details of its proposed process for responding to the updated Code of Practice, including its proposed timeframes.

A working group, convened by the Permanent Secretary, has been working at pace since April to review relevant policies, guidance and legislation impacted by the Supreme Court judgment. This Working Group is an internal group, comprising senior civil servants from across the Scottish Government. We have engaged at both Ministerial and official level with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as they have consulted on updates to their Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations and submitted a response to their public consultation. The EHRC code of practice will provide important guidance to organisations considering the implications of the judgment. However, work is already underway across the Scottish Government to actively consider the implications of the judgment, considering the legal framework in each area.

An interim update on the practical implications of the judgment was published by the EHRC on April 25, 2025. The EHRC is expected to submit it revised code of practice to the UK Government in the Autumn and we will engage further with the UK Government at that stage.

Question reference: S6O-04892

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle the frequently reported overcrowding on Fife commuter trains.

Chamber and committees