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-35353

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what the potential impact on hospital audiology and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services waiting lists would be, if all eligible adults with age-related hearing loss were treated in primary care audiology instead

Audiology is considered as a clinical priority area and the Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland.

Whilst our response to the Independent Review of Audiology in Scotland is implemented, we will continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector and private providers to identify and cost an appropriate model of community care for any future service reform and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience inform this work.

Scottish Government officials and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery national planned care team meet monthly with Chief Operating Officer and / or Acute Directors from all Health Boards to review performance and delivery across all Planned Care specialities, including ENT.

Question reference: S6W-34463

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of interim placement care home beds in January 2023, how many placement care home beds were purchased, and what the cost was per bed.

Question reference: S6O-04422

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on NHS pay negotiations for 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-34973

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle marine litter in (a) Scotland and (b) Loch Long, Arrochar.

The Scottish Government is tackling marine litter with actions detailed in our Marine Litter Strategy, which aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. Our Strategy and action plan was refreshed in September 2022 and focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets. The Strategy drives forward our work and co-ordinates the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.

At a Scotland-wide level, our many actions to prevent litter include: improving the management of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear to reduce litter and improve recycling rates, contributing to our circular economy; working across the four nations to ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic; and developing international solutions to prevent spills of plastic pellets, which can be found on beaches and risk the health of marine wildlife. Litter removal actions include: funding the KIMO Fishing for Litter scheme, to assist the correct disposal of litter caught in fishing nets; and funding the Keep Scotland Beautiful Upstream Battle project, removing litter along rivers.

At a regional level such as Loch Long, we continue to work with key partners relating to the River Clyde catchment and west coast locations including Arrochar. The Upstream Battle project enables communities, businesses, and schools on the River Clyde to develop local solutions to reduce littering, and also support its clean-up. Litter is reduced and intercepted before it reaches the sea, and citizen science outputs will inform further riverine litter policy. We are engaging with Glasgow City Council to consider more options to increase litter removal from the River Clyde which we know is a major source of litter at Loch Long.

Question reference: S6W-34974

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to tackle marine litter in each of the last five years, and what funding is planned in the draft Budget 2025-26.

Since 2021 the Scottish Government has made funding available to projects relevant to the issue of marine litter through Marine Fund Scotland Marine and fisheries grants - gov.scot Information on the funding provided each year for such projects is publicly available via Marine Fund Scotland: grants awarded - gov.scot.

Funding to be available in the 2025-26 financial year through the fund has not yet been announced.

Question reference: S6W-34975

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make marine litter that is collected by communities cleaning up shorelines exempt from Scottish Landfill Tax.

The Scottish Landfill Tax is a cornerstone of Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan, encouraging the prevention, reuse and recycling of waste and helping keep valuable resources circulating in the Scottish economy. Exemptions are available in several circumstances including when clearing up illegally or improperly deposited material.

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Exemption Certificates) Order 2015 states that exemption certificates are available to the following bodies/persons:

waste regulators, in the case of Scotland this is SEPA;
waste collection authorities, such as a local government council or local authority; or
any other body or person, insofar as the body or person exercises waste removal powers under any other enactment.

Community groups can work with any of these eligible bodies to apply for an exemption certificate for collected marine litter provided they:

exhaust all avenues to identify and retrieve costs from the responsible person who made the original unauthorised disposal; and
are satisfied that there are no practical alternatives to landfill for the material.

The details of the application can be provided by the community group, as per the requirements detailed on the Revenue Scotland website, and emailed to Revenue Scotland by a partnered eligible body.

Question reference: S6W-34910

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will report on the impact of the Respiratory Care Action Plan at the end of the strategy’s life span.

Question reference: S6W-34911

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place for a new Respiratory Care Action Plan when the current plan comes to an end in 2026.

The Respiratory Care Action Plan has another year left in its current lifespan. We will continue to implement the commitments in the Plan over the coming year, alongside our work to explore a new long term conditions strategy to ensure equitable and sustainable access to the services that all people with long term conditions need, while still allowing for targeted action on condition-specific care and support where appropriate. We will take the progress of this work into account as we consider the best way to continue work to improve care and support for people with respiratory conditions in the future.

Question reference: S6W-34909

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures success of the implementation of the Respiratory Care Action Plan, and what impact has been achieved by the plan.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services and assessing the impact of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

We work with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the current programmes for improving respiratory care remain relevant and make an impact. We will continue to monitor progress through various groups, including via our third sector partners, to determine next steps for implementing the Plan.

Question reference: S6W-34916

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards its commitment in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to work in partnership with key stakeholders including the third sector and the Digital Health and Care Institute (DHI) to ensure that people with respiratory conditions have access to tools, resources and information that support them to manage their own condition.

We continue to support a digital first, but not digital only approach across many of our respiratory programmes. Recommendations within the pulmonary rehab work have suggested widening access to online self-management tools and this is something we are actively considering.

NHS Inform provides information about respiratory conditions and other long-term conditions. The service offers information, advice and self-management tools on how to live well with their condition as well as including links to additional support and information provided by third sector partners.

Our updated Quality Prescribing Guide for Improvement keeps the person with respiratory conditions at the centre of their treatment and disease management and offers practical advice and options for tailoring care to the needs and preferences of individuals. A core component of this has been to create user friendly digital tools for both people living with lung conditions and healthcare professionals.