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-39660

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that NICE-compliant specialist services for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are introduced by NHS boards, and that these services comply with the principles contained in the delivery plan for ME/CFS to ensure that people in Scotland with the condition do not receive inadequate care compared with those in England.

There are no devolved elements of the UK Government’s delivery plan on ME/CFS. It covers the population of England only.

We are unable to formally endorse the Plan due to differing healthcare systems and statutory structures.

However, the 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes an additional £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME/CFS and other similar conditions. We want this money to have maximum impact and we are working closely and carefully with health boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.

The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of NHS health boards. In commissioning boards’ plans for this funding we have stressed the importance of ensuring that services are informed by current clinical best practice, such as National Institute for Excellence in Healthcare (NICE) guidelines NG:206 and NG:188– which are available to clinicians across the UK - and that care is delivered in line with the relevant recommendations, wherever applicable.

Question reference: S6W-39659

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will implement and fund the devolved elements of the delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

There are no devolved elements of the UK Government’s delivery plan on ME/CFS. It covers the population of England only.

We are unable to formally endorse the Plan due to differing healthcare systems and statutory structures.

However, the UK Government shared anonymised responses to its public consultation on the draft Plan from stakeholders living in Scotland with the Scottish Government. We are taking these views into account as we progress our ongoing work on ME/CFS.

The 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes an additional £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME/CFS and other similar conditions. We want this money to have maximum impact and we are working closely and carefully with health boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.

Question reference: S6W-39778

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has awarded to credit unions in each of the last five financial years.

The Scottish Government does not hold a central record of all financial support provided to credit unions. Where funding has been provided, it has generally been through broader third sector or financial inclusion programmes such as those delivered by Social Investment Scotland, rather than as ongoing, dedicated support to credit unions. For example, in total SIS has awarded:

Financial Year	19-20	20-21	21-22	22-23	23-24	24-25
Total Loans to Credit Unions	-	1,637,500	160,000	500,000	2,000,000	1,465,000
Grants Awarded	-	13,500,000	-	-	-	-
Total	-	15,137,500	160,000	500,000	2,000,000	1,465,000

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21901 on 24 October 2023. 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.

Question reference: S6W-39779

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the (a) Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) and (b) Scottish League of Credit Unions, and what issues were discussed.

Scottish Government officials met with the Association of British Credit Unions Limited in December 2024 (and are due to meet them again in August) and with the Scottish League of Credit Unions in February 2025. Officials and Ministers have also met with individual credit unions over that time and representatives of the credit union sector attended the June meeting of the Financial Services Growth and Development Board (FISGAD). Discussions covered the current operating environment for the sector, opportunities to strengthen resilience and sustainability, and ways in which the Scottish Government and industry can work together to improve access to financial services. Topics also included ongoing engagement on policy developments, the promotion of ethical and affordable financial products, and the role of the sector in supporting financial inclusion across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-39780

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage young people to save money using schemes run by credit unions.

The Scottish Government is supporting work to encourage young people to develop good financial habits and increase engagement with credit unions. This includes collaboration with partners on initiatives aimed at improving financial education in schools and helping young people access suitable financial products.

Current work focuses on piloting approaches in selected areas to test how best to increase account ownership among school leavers and reduce financial exclusion, with progress being monitored to inform future policy and potential wider rollout.

Question reference: S6W-39590

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in each of the last five years have been unable to receive mechanical thrombectomy within the clinically recommended time window due to the lack of 24/7 provision.

Question reference: S6W-39589

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in each of the last five years were assessed as eligible for mechanical thrombectomy within the recommended six-hour treatment window but did not receive the procedure due to the unavailability of local thrombectomy services.

Question reference: S6W-39586

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many interventional neuroradiologists are currently employed by NHS Scotland, and how many are required to deliver a 24/7 thrombectomy service.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the strategic policy direction for NHS Scotland and its workforce, including interventional neuroradiologists.

Operational matters, including the staffing of individual services, are the responsibility of each NHS Scotland Health Board. At a local level, the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 places duties on Health Boards to ensure that suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, the provision of high-quality care and the wellbeing of staff.

It should be noted that the North of Scotland thrombectomy service utilises Interventional Radiologists, whereas the West and East of Scotland services utilise Interventional Neuroradiologists.

Workforce statistics across NHS Scotland, can be found at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

Question reference: S6W-39592

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data on stroke patients who were clinically eligible for thrombectomy or thrombolysis but did not receive treatment due to the lack of 24/7 service availability, and if so, whether it will publish this data.

Question reference: S6W-39588

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted a workforce assessment to identify the staff that would be required to deliver thrombectomy services on a 24/7 basis.

The Scottish Government has not conducted a national workforce assessment for the staffing requirements of a 24/7 thrombectomy service, although regional planning groups have previously assessed the staff in various roles required to deliver a 24/7 thrombectomy service.

Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for thrombectomy service expansion, and this will include assessment of workforce requirements.

Work is also progressing with a review of how the stroke specialist decision-making workforce works nationally, using telemedicine and cross board working, to improve resilience in rotas and increase capacity to be able to support hyperacute stroke care, such as thrombectomy, out of hours.