- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 31 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the 2025-26 Budget deal secured with the Scottish Liberal Democrats of £4.5 million for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and long COVID services.
Answer
The Scottish Government is providing £4.5 million annually to NHS boards supporting the development and delivery of specialist services for people with long COVID, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and related conditions. The funding, provided on a recurring basis, is distributed using the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula, which takes account of factors associated with variations in healthcare need across populations.
The Scottish Government will work with NHS boards to monitor progress.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 21 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether scans from MRIs and X-Rays are ever sent to other parts of the UK to be analysed due to a lack of capacity within NHS Scotland and NHS boards and, if so, how many times this has happened in the last five years.
Answer
NHS Scotland Health Boards may make use of external teleradiology providers or commercial imaging companies based elsewhere in the UK to deliver remote diagnostic imaging interpretation.
The use of the alternative providers to deliver additional capacity is not a new development. As is the case across the UK, in certain circumstances limited use of external providers may be required in response to capacity constraints.
This approach supports diagnostic waiting times performance and enables the continuation of vital diagnostic services while longer-term initiatives to increase NHS capacity are implemented.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the frequency of which Health Boards make use of alternative providers.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 21 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase the support it provides to local authorities and Police Scotland to help address increased reports of antisocial behaviour and better support local communities, in light of the duty under section 1 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, which requires local authorities and the chief constable to maintain a strategy for dealing with antisocial behaviour in their area.
Answer
The 2026 – 27 Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in funding for both the Local Government Settlement and Police Scotland.
The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently and the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets, and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities. This includes decisions on how they and police resource the antisocial behaviour strategies which they are required, by law, to have for their respective areas.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider increasing the level of reimbursement that jurors are entitled to claim.
Answer
Jurors in Scotland may be eligible to claim compensation for a range of expenses:
- Travel
- Subsistence
- Loss of earnings or benefits
- Extra expenses of employing a childminder or a carer for a dependent adult
- Other expenses approved by the court,
The maximum sums that can be claimed are set by the Scottish Ministers, and are detailed in full on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website. The rates of the allowances are kept under regular review, and there are no current plans to make changes to them.
It is worth noting that, for trials that last up to five days, the loss of earnings allowance that jurors can claim in Scotland is aligned with the allowance in the rest of the United Kingdom. However, in trials that last more than five days the Scottish allowance for loss of earnings is more generous than allowances elsewhere in the UK, recognising the greater financial impact that these longer trials can have on jurors.
Length of jury service | Daily loss of earnings allowance |
First 5 days | £64.95 |
Day 6 to day 100 | £129.91 |
After day 100 | £230.00 |
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Alison Thewliss on 13 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what the final amount spent on the proposed National Care Service is, broken down by category of expenditure.
Answer
The budgets including NCS costs covering the period 2021-2026 are available on the Scottish Government’s website.
Within the budget for year 2026-27 £50,000 is provisioned for the spend on the on-going running of the National Care Service Advisory Board. This includes the costs of supporting the Advisory Board Who continue to play an active role in shaping the Scottish Government’s delivery of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 13 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns raised by the Care Inspectorate regarding the prescribing of antipsychotics and sedatives for dementia patients.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to improving outcomes for people living with dementia, their families and care partners, through delivery of Scotland’s Dementia Strategy. The Scottish Government has provided funding to the Care Inspectorate to support the development of a new toolkit for frontline staff, designed to reduce stress and distress among people receiving care. The toolkit, launched earlier this year, includes practical guidance to help staff identify and implement small changes to an individual's care approach that can prevent distress from escalating. Where appropriate, these interventions may also contribute to a reduction in the use of antipsychotics and sedatives for dementia patients.
The Scottish Government has also published updated ‘Polypharmacy Guidance: Appropriate Prescribing - Making medicines safe, effective and sustainable’. Written by a Short Life Working Group (SLWG) consisting of experts from NHS Scotland, the Care Inspectorate and experts by experience, the guidance updates the previous 2018 edition and aims to ensure appropriate prescribing of medicines to optimise treatment outcomes and achieve the best care, whilst applying the principles of value-based healthcare and realistic medicine. The updated guidance also incorporates the Care Inspectorate's work on reducing the use of antipsychotic medication.
The updated polypharmacy guidance continues to place the individual at the centre with greater emphasis on shared decision-making to actively engage them in safe and effective care.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 1 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the prevalence of patients receiving care outwith appropriate clinical settings, so-called corridor care, and what plans it has to collect and publish data regarding the numbers experiencing this.
Answer
We are actively considering the feasibility of a national data collection including considering the most meaningful and reliable metrics. Accurately capturing this information consistently at a national level presents complex technical and operational challenges impacted both by definitional variation as well as variation across systems in terms of physical layout, operational practice and existing recording mechanisms.
We are aware from engagement with stakeholders that the prevalence of patients receiving care in non-standard areas is too high. This is clearly not acceptable which is why our key priority remains addressing the underlying causes of high acute hospital occupancy which results in bed blocking and can lead to the provision of care in non-standard areas. We are focusing on improving patient flow so people are admitted, treated, and discharged safely and on time. As part of our first 100 days commitments, we will deliver a plan on Improving Flow in Hospitals which will set out improvement in end-to-end patient flow, ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 24 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its priorities are for teacher workforce planning.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 24 June 2026
- Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 June 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access to after-school care and holiday clubs for children with autism.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 June 2026
