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: S7W-02982

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in the 2026-2031 Programme for Government to publish a National Orthopaedics Plan, when will the plan be published, how many additional appointments will be created as a result, and whether new funding, in addition to funds previously announced, will be allocated to support its implementation.

The National Orthopaedic Plan is currently being finalised and will be published following completion of the necessary governance and ministerial approval processes. An announcement on publication will be made in due course.

The primary purpose of the National Orthopaedic Plan is to support NHS Boards to work more collectively to improve access to orthopaedic services, reduce variation, and make best use of available capacity across Scotland. Detailed modelling of the impact on activity levels, including additional activity delivered through implementation of the Plan, is ongoing and will be set out as appropriate following publication.

Funding arrangements to support implementation of the National Orthopaedic Plan are currently being considered as part of ongoing planning work. Further details will be set out in due course.

Question reference: S7F-00042

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7W-03000

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33003 by Jenni Minto on 21 January 2025, what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care has taken, or plans to take, to ensure that NHS boards provide continuing professional training on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) to their staff, and what the timetable is for any such future action.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to ensure that staff are appropriately trained and developed in line with the Staff Governance Standard and relevant professional requirements.

To support this, we wrote to NHS Boards and General Practitioners in July 2022 to raise awareness of the NICE guideline on ME/CFS and highlight key changes in practice. The Scottish Government has also funded Action for ME and partners to develop and disseminate an online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module on ME/CFS for health and social care professionals and has supported activity to promote awareness and uptake of the resource.

Through our ongoing engagement with NHS Boards on specialist support services for long COVID, ME/CFS and related conditions, we continue to emphasise the importance of services being informed by relevant clinical guidance, including the NICE guideline on ME/CFS.

Responsibility for workforce training and professional development rests with NHS Boards as employers. While the Scottish Government continues to promote awareness of relevant clinical guidance and educational resources it does not mandate specific continuing professional training requirements for individual conditions.

Question reference: S7W-03001

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Scotland and NHS Fife regarding NHS Fife’s decision not to fill the vacancy created following the death in 2023 of Scotland’s only specialist nurse practitioner for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

Decisions regarding recruitment and workforce planning to meet population needs are the responsibility of individual NHS Boards.

Scottish Government officials have regular engagement with NHS Boards, including NHS Fife, regarding the development of specialist support services for people with long COVID, ME/CFS and related conditions through the recurring £4.5 million annual funding provided for these services. These discussions have focused on service development, workforce capacity and delivery arrangements rather than decisions relating to specific posts or vacancies.

The recurring funding provides Boards with flexibility to recruit staff and develop sustainable models of care that reflect local circumstances and workforce availability.

We remain committed to improving care and support for people living with ME/CFS across Scotland through the ongoing development of specialist services and collaborative approaches where appropriate.

Question reference: S7W-02983

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in the 2026-2031 Programme for Government to provide an extra £175 million to enable adult social care workers providing direct care in commissioned services to earn at least the Real Living Wage, whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-02819

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026 – 2031, (a) how much it will cost to implement, (b) whether any new money has been attached to it, (c) whether it will publish data on incidents of corridor care, (d) when it expects every NHS board will meet the four-hour A&E standard, (e) whether it remains committed to eradicating delayed discharge, (f) when e-triage navigation routes will be introduced and (g) when patients will be able to use the MyCare.scot app to allow them to “book and reschedule appointments, review [their] records and access self-management and remote monitoring tools”.

We continue to make significant financial investment in health and social care services. The 2026-27 Budget invests £22.5 billion in health and social care, including £17.6 billion in NHS Boards, £2.3 billion for social care and £2.4 billion in primary care. The Health and Social Care Improving Flow Plan is about ensuring that investment delivers maximum benefit by improving how services work together and shifting care towards prevention, community services and home-based care where appropriate. Delivery will build on that existing investment, while detailed implementation planning will continue alongside normal financial planning processes.

Improving A&E performance is a key priority of this Plan. We recognise that A&E performance is influenced by pressures across the whole pathway, including delayed discharge, hospital occupancy, ambulance handovers and community capacity. For that reason, the Plan focuses on improving flow across the entire health and care system, to support sustainable improvement in A&E performance.

In line with the commitment to tackle corridor care, we will work with Health Boards and Public Health Scotland to ensure we are taking the necessary steps to deliver improvements. This will include considering collecting data on patients who are being cared for in non-standard areas, such as hospital corridors. This consideration will be based on clinical advice.

Delayed discharge remains a key priority and the plan sets out the action we are taking to support this including strengthening the adoption of Discharge Without Delay, Home First and Discharge to Assess approaches.

To support our aim of a more connected system, with simpler routes to care, we are introducing digital appointment functionality through MyCare.scot. The first phase, planned for 2027-28, will allow patients to view secondary care appointment information and related communications online. Over time, the service will expand to include appointment management, self-management, two-way communication to support services such as e-triage, and remote monitoring. The Digital Health and Care Record will also support secure access to a more complete health and care record across organisations, while MyCare.scot will provide the public-facing route for people to access their information and services.

Question reference: S7W-02823

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the establishment of Integrated Navigation Centres and Co-ordination Hubs, as outlined in its Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026 – 2031, (a) how many will be opened over the next year, (b) how many new staff will be recruited, broken down by role and (c) whether it will provide a breakdown of the set-up and operation costs.

The establishment of Integrated Navigation Centres and Co-ordination Hubs forms part of our wider programme of reform, as set out in our Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026-2031, to improve patient flow and access to care across the health and social care system.

Detailed planning is underway with system partners. Decisions on the number of centres and hubs, workforce requirements and associated costs will be considered within that planning. As this work progresses, we will continue to assess local and national needs to ensure these arrangements deliver the greatest benefit for patients and services.

Question reference: S7W-02818

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, when a digital health and care record will be developed.

I am pleased to report that as of September 2026, Public Service Delivery Scotland and Local Government Digital Office have accepted a formal commissioned to develop a programme around the Digital Health and Care Record. £3.6m will be invested this year to begin the necessary initial technology testing and business case work needed to set out the path to delivery and estimated delivery cost.

Given the scale and complexity of the health and social care landscape, it is expected that full delivery of a future record will be major multi-year programme that will be delivered in phases.

While the Digital Health and Care Record is being developed, individuals in Scotland can already access elements of their personal medical information, taken from their existing Emergency Care Summary, through MyCare.scot.

Question reference: S7W-03017

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards it will put in place during any transition from 14 regional NHS boards to two strategic boards to ensure that all evidence relating to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and ongoing investigations into Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus is preserved and remains accessible to the relevant investigatory and legal bodies.

Question reference: S7W-03016

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of proposals to reduce the number of NHS boards on the ongoing corporate homicide investigation into NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and what measures it is taking to ensure accountability for past failures at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus.