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-01654

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will take to mitigate the frequency and impact of the discharge of combined sewage overflows, such as those experienced in Portobello, Edinburgh.

Question reference: S7W-02039

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ensure care payments can be backdated when new applications experience delays due to processing backlogs?

Question reference: S7W-01653

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported difficulties being experienced by people accessing the Motability Scheme in England as a result of recent changes to that scheme, what safeguards it has put in place to mitigate any adverse impact on disabled people accessing the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme, resulting from any changes to that scheme currently under consideration.

Question reference: S7W-01655

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it has learned from coastal locations where combined sewage overflows have been successfully reduced, and the extent to which these could be applied to other areas experiencing negative impacts from such overflows, such as Portobello, Edinburgh.

Question reference: S7W-01755

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make teplizumab available through NHS Scotland and, if so, what is the anticipated timescale for its introduction.

Question reference: S7W-01097

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decentralisation of funding for diabetes technologies in April 2026, whether it will legislate to ensure that the SIGN guideline 170, Optimising glycaemic control in people with type 1 diabetes, is adhered to.

Clinical guidelines are intended to support and inform professional clinical judgement, not to replace it. Decisions regarding any specific clinical procedure or treatment must always be made on the basis of the individual patient’s clinical condition, personal circumstances, and expressed preferences, alongside the professional judgement of the responsible healthcare team.

In recognition of this principle, the Scottish Government has no plans to legislate for the mandatory use of SIGN guideline 170. Rather, the clear expectation is that GPs and other clinicians consider all relevant and applicable clinical guidelines when assessing an individual’s suitability for diabetes technologies. Access to such technologies should therefore be determined on a case-by-case basis, informed by the patient’s individual clinical needs, rather than through rigid or automatic application of any single guideline.

Question reference: S7W-01636

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the forthcoming Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill will include a requirement for public buildings to connect to heat networks where these are available, and what assessment it has made of the potential impact of such a requirement.

Question reference: S7W-01635

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce the revised Buildings (Heating and Energy Performance) and Heat Networks (Scotland) Bill, and what its key provisions will be compared to the version of the Bill that was previously considered.

Question reference: S7W-01634

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been allocated to Scotland's Heat Network Fund for the current financial year, and whether it will commit to maintaining this fund across the full current parliamentary session, with flexible timelines to account for rising delivery costs.

Question reference: S7W-01637

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution that heat networks can make to tackling fuel poverty in Scotland, and how this is reflected in its current and planned policy and funding commitments.