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-42617

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42078 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 December 2025, what monitoring of NHS boards is being undertaken to ensure compliance with the law following the Supreme Court judgement.

Question reference: S6W-42618

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, following the Supreme Court judgment that sex, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, is biological, whether it considers that a woman needs to complain to her employer before action is taken to follow the law.

Question reference: S6W-42616

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42078 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 December 2025, by what date the review of facilities across its estate will be completed.

Question reference: S6W-42208

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the theme of Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week 2025, "How it feels", and how it plans to better incorporate lived experience in the formulation of government policy on invisible illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease.

The Scottish Government welcomes the theme of Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week 2025, How it feels, and values the work of charities like Crohn’s and Colitis UK in highlighting the challenges of managing often invisible symptoms.

We are committed to a person-centred approach across all health and care services, including those supporting people with inflammatory bowel disease. Our policy focuses on understanding individual needs and enabling outcomes that matter to people, helping them live well on their terms. We are currently developing a new Long Term Conditions Framework, shaped by lived experience engagement.

Question reference: S6W-42213

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to any impacts of the changes to the UK Drug Tariff Part IX's medical device listing process in England and Wales on patients and NHS services across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not envisage that there will be any discernible impact on patients resulting from changes to Part IX of the UK Drug Tariff. The Scottish Government uses the UK Drug Tariff to populate medical device listings and pricing, which are then organised into different parts of the Scottish Drug Tariff. There will be no change to availability of existing medical devices available to be prescribed to patients in NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-42207

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any psychosocial impact of living with long-term fluctuating conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, including any impact on mental health and quality of life.

While we have not specifically assessed the psychosocial impact of living with fluctuating conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring people with long-term conditions receive safe, effective, person-centred care, including appropriate psychosocial support. NHS Boards are expected to follow best practice in delivering this care.

We are currently developing a Long Term Conditions Framework to inform future approaches to prevention, diagnosis and care, including mental health and wellbeing support.

We are also considering the message of Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week 2025 and will reflect this in future planning.

Question reference: S6W-42211

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve value-based standards that consider whole life costs in health and social care procurement services in integration authorities, local authorities and NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to strengthen value-based standards in health and social care procurement, with a particular emphasis on whole-life costs across integration authorities, local authorities and NHS Scotland.

Central to this work is the NHS Scotland Value Based Health and Care Action Plan, which sets out the national approach to embedding value-based principles, including the use of realistic medicine to ensure treatments and services deliver the best outcomes relative to cost. The plan outlines the strategic aims, governance structures and improvement processes required to support the transition to value-based care as part of Scotland’s 2030 vision.

In parallel, the Delivering Value Based Health Care: A Vision for Scotland document highlights the contribution procurement can make in achieving these aims. It includes a case study on National Procurement’s role in the Care Home Continence Improvement Project, demonstrating how whole-life cost analysis and value-based decision-making can improve outcomes while delivering better long-term value.

To underpin this, the NHS Scotland Procurement Strategy requires all regulated procurements to consider total cost of ownership - covering acquisition, use, maintenance and end-of-life disposal - while aligning with national priorities such as net-zero, circular economy principles, ethical sourcing and community benefit requirements. The strategy promotes collaborative frameworks, digital tools for transparency, and strengthened governance to support consistent, value-driven procurement practice across the system.

Through these policies, guidance frameworks and practical programmes, the Scottish Government is ensuring that procurement decisions across health and social care increasingly focus on whole-life value, improved outcomes and long-term sustainability.

Question reference: S6W-42083

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether any of its ministers have been involved in any discussions or decisions regarding the case brought forward by For Women Scotland in relation to its policy on the housing of biological male prisoners in female prisons, and, if so, which ministers have been involved, and when any such discussions or decisions took place.

Question reference: S6W-42082

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out a value-for-money assessment of defending the case brought by For Women Scotland in relation to its policy on the housing of biological male prisoners in female prisons.

Question reference: S6W-42079

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the First Minister has agreed to meet For Women Scotland; if so, when he agreed to the meeting, and whether the meeting has taken place.

The First Minister was approached by members of For Women Scotland while attending an International Women’s Day event on Saturday 8 March 2025. In conversation, it was proposed by a representative of For Women Scotland that a meeting take place with the First Minister after the UK Supreme Court had reached a decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers. The Supreme Court published its judgment on 16 April and I, as the Cabinet Secretary with portfolio responsibility for equality, and the Minister for Equalities, met For Women Scotland on 22 May 2025.

No meeting has taken place between the First Minister and For Women Scotland since then, and we would not consider a meeting to be appropriate due to the live legal proceedings between For Women Scotland and the Scottish Ministers.