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-41719

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6F-04008 by John Swinney on 24 April 2025 and S6O-04959 by Natalie Don on 18 September 2025 regarding the mothballing of rural nurseries and the ongoing review of the guidance given to local authorities on this, in light of local authorities being required by legislation to review their nursery provision and the minister's commitment that the Scottish Government would aim "to provide an update to Parliament [on the review] as soon as possible during the autumn term", whether it will confirm by what date the review will be published.

The review of the national guidance on the mothballing of schools and Council-run nurseries has required extensive engagement work with groups including councils and parents’ representatives. This work is nearing completion, and the Scottish Government will update Parliament as soon as possible.

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (section 50) requires local authorities to consult every two years with families in their area about how they should make ELC available and then publish a service delivery plan. This duty helps local authorities to ensure an appropriate mix of provision within their area that reflects local circumstances and allows for choice.

Question reference: S6W-41720

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what outcomes were reached regarding provision for children and young people with autism at the meetings between the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on 1 April and 30 October 2025.

Education provision for children and young people with autism was not discussed at these meetings. However, the Scottish Government continues to work closely with local government partners, including the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) to improve the education provision and outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs, including those with autism.

This includes partnership working, to deliver the Additional Support for Learning Action (ASL) Plan in response to the recommendations of the 2020 Morgan Review and ADES participation in our ASL Data Summit on 12 November, which marked the beginning of a phased approach to improving data at both national and local levels.

ADES is represented on the ASL Action Plan Project Board which has oversight of delivery of the ASL Action Plan, to ensure transparency in the delivery of our work and to ensure our accountability and that of our partners. We have committed to delivering the recommendations of the review by March 2026 and we are working with our local government partners to meet this commitment.

Question reference: S6F-04415

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the proposed scheme for the renovation of military homes in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-40760

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its recent discussions with key stakeholders regarding the phasing out of the use of farrowing crates, when it will fulfil the commitment in its 2021-22 Programme for Government to consult on this issue; what financial support will be offered to pig farmers to transition to free farrowing systems; whether it will work towards no routine crating for sows, and, if so, what the timeline is for this.

As per my reply to you in the chamber on 01 October, once a definitive direction as to what could replace traditional farrowing crates is determined, we will then consider the possible options which may be made available for producers transitioning away from traditional farrowing crates.

With regards to the Scottish Government’s 2021-22 Programme for Government commitment to consult on phasing out the use of farrowing crates. I would refer you to the answer to question S6W-36181 on. 22 April 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/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government remains committed to this work and the recent roundtable table discussion with industry, animal welfare organisations and academic representatives was the first steps in finding ways to ensure producer’s viability and improving sow welfare.

We will continue to listen and work with the industry and stakeholders to find ways for producers to transition towards implementing improved animal welfare methods and practices.

Question reference: S6O-05006

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions are in place to support people in hospitals and care settings who have serious spinal injuries resulting in paralysis from the neck down.

Question reference: S6W-39338

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 29 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S6O-04376 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2025, following the issuing of a joint letter to all education authorities on best practice for supporting children and young people, which local authorities have adopted such best practice, including "adopting the agreed Scottish working definition of dyslexia, the dyslexia identification pathway within the toolkit, the free professional learning modules that are available for teachers to enhance their knowledge and skills and the professional recognition programme on dyslexia and inclusive practice".

Delivery of ASN continues to be a joint endeavour with Local Authorities, who retain the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education and responsibility to identify, provide for and review the needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia.

I can confirm that the joint letter with COSLA, outlining key polices, best practice and available resources on support for dyslexia in Scottish schools is due to be issued shortly to all Education Authorities.

It will issue in the context of record investment in ASL - over £1bn was spent by local authorities in 2023-24. We have continued to invest £15m each year since 2020 to help schools respond to the individual needs of children and young people and the 2025-26 budget sets out a further £29m of additional investment for ASN.

Question reference: S6O-04975

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, 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 discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding different funding models that may be available to finance the building of social housing, in light of the approach adopted by Falkirk Council which awarded Hearthstone Investments £30 million through its Local Government Pension Scheme Fund to invest in social and affordable housing in 2015.

Question reference: S6O-04894

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the 10th anniversary of the Borders Railway, whether it will provide an update on the progress of the feasibility study to extend the line beyond Tweedbank to Carlisle, via Hawick.

Question reference: S6W-39658

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its timeline is for translating the guidance for the slaughter of farmed salmon into legislation, as recommended by the Animal Welfare Committee and the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

Question reference: S6W-38600

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress is being made to ensure that independent prescriber community pharmacists have appropriate read and write access to GP patient records in order to support safe and effective prescribing, and whether it will provide a timeline for when full access is expected to be in place.

The Scottish Government is committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when and where they need it.

As community pharmacists expand their clinical role, there is an increasing need for them to have read/write access to clinical records to ensure that they can safely assess and agree a clinical management plan for a person and any associated actions or treatments can be viewed by other healthcare professionals involved in a person’s care, without any unnecessary delay.

Community pharmacists currently have access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) which provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies and the Key Information Summary (KIS) where available, which provides information about a person’s health issues, a carer’s name and contact details, preferences on how a person would like to be cared for, the treatment they would like and where they would like to be cared for.

In addition, several health boards are providing community pharmacists access to their clinical portal which provides additional clinical information, although the level of access varies from Health Board to Health Board. Clinical portals support Health Boards to allow healthcare professionals to access information about an individual, including in some cases those from other Health Boards when required, with their permission.

There are several barriers that currently make full access to clinical records difficult including the interoperability of the different IT systems used across the NHS and providing assurances on data protection and information governance requirements.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is exploring how read/write access to clinical records can be delivered incrementally.