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-01724

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will reconsider the downgrading of specialist neonatal units at Wishaw and Dundee.

Question reference: S7W-01723

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out the work programme and timetable for the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce.

Question reference: S7W-01117

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants have died whilst waiting for their application to the Redress Scheme to be processed.

It was recognised when Scotland’s Redress Scheme was designed that some survivor applicants may be advancing in age or suffering ill health. Therefore, priority is given to applicants with a terminal illness and those over 68 years of age.

The Scheme enables applicants, should they wish, to nominate a beneficiary to receive the full amount of redress payment in the event that the applicant dies before payment is made. A nominated beneficiary is only permitted to take over the application in specific circumstances.

Alternatively, a £10,000 next of kin payment may be possible where a survivor, who met the eligibility criteria for the Scheme, dies before a payment was made to them, their estate or a nominated beneficiary.

The Scottish Government released relevant information in response to an FOI request in December 2025. The link to the response can be found here - Number of applicants who passed away whilst awaiting a decision on redress: FOI release - gov.scot.

Question reference: S7W-01124

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much is being spent on (a) administering the Redress Scheme and (b) awards from the scheme, broken down by each financial year since the scheme’s inception.

Administration costs and awards paid under the Scheme broken down by financial year since the Scheme’s inception are set out in the following table:

Financial Year	Administration (£m)	Awards (£m)
2021-22	£5.7	£0.6
2022-23	£10.2	£21.2
2023-24	£9.3	£45.1
2024-25	£10.6	£58.6
2025-26	£12.8	£76.8

Administration figures include funding provided via grant in aid to Redress Scotland and the Redress Support Service.

Awards figures represent payments made to applicants only and do not include legal fees or applicant expenses.

Figures are presented on a financial year basis and may be subject to revision as part of normal financial reporting processes.

Question reference: S7W-01121

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether applicants to the Redress Scheme are prioritised if they are at the end of life.

Applicants are asked if they are terminally ill on the application form and, if confirmed, these applications are considered priority 1 applications and are prioritised at all stages of the redress process.

Redress Scotland make a determination on a priority 1 application within six weeks of receipt. Prioritisation of applications to be determined is a matter for the Chair of Redress Scotland, as set out in the Redress for Survivors (Historical Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021).

Question reference: S7W-01114

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to increase the number of caseworkers employed to work on the Redress Scheme, and, if so, how many additional staff will be employed and by what date.

Question reference: S7W-01118

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Redress Scheme have been completed and awards made in each year since the inception of the scheme.

Question reference: S7W-01123

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review payments to solicitors from the Redress Scheme.

The Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to pay legal fees reasonably incurred by applicants to the redress scheme. Fees for legal work undertaken are prescribed in the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Payment of Legal Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Where unexpected or exceptional circumstances arise, and it is reasonable for a solicitor to carry out additional legal work in making a redress application, the solicitor may seek an additional sum.

Question reference: S7W-01120

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason family groups cared for at the same institutions are not dealt with collectively when processed by the Redress Scheme.

Question reference: S7W-01115

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a backlog of applications to the Redress Scheme (a) how many applications are currently waiting to be assigned to a caseworker, (b) what this figure is as a percentage of the overall number of applications, and (c) how long it anticipates it will take to process those applications.

The official statistics, available at Scotland's Redress Scheme Statistics December 2021 - June 2025, provide information on applications, outcomes and payments made in the first 42 months of Scotland's Redress Scheme.

While these do not include information specifically about the allocation of applications to case workers, we recognise that many applicants are waiting too long for their applications to be progressed and an outcome to be determined.

Each application for Redress is unique. Applications progress at differing rates depending on how complete they are when submitted, the availability of information, evidence and records, and the extent of verification checks required. It is not possible to provide a timescale from receipt of an application through to receipt of payment and apology, given the unique nature of applications.

The Scottish Government is committed to minimising wait times for applicants as much as possible. Case worker recruitment is under way and I am meeting with the Scottish Government case work team and the Chair of Redress Scotland to discuss further options for the operation of the scheme.