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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 39 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-04706

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 November 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide, for each financial year since the introduction of the Young Patients Family Fund to date, the (a) allocated budget, (b) actual outturn expenditure, (c) number of families of babies receiving neonatal care that received support from the fund and (d) total expenditure relating to families of babies receiving neonatal care.

Question reference: S7W-04583

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the Whizz Kidz Youth Board's report entitled, Mobility Matters: A Youth Perspective on NHS Wheelchair Services, published on 26 June 2026, what assessment it has made of the merits of commissioning a paediatric wheelchair service.

Question reference: S7W-03871

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 15 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00472 by Angela Constance on 8 June 2026, and in light of technical design work now being underway for the replacement of the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh, what update it can provide on the current timetable for completion of the project, and what changes, if any, have been made to that timetable since June 2026.

The 2026-27 Budget and infrastructure delivery pipeline confirmed the Princess Alexandra Eye pavilion replacement as a ministerial priority project. The project is currently at Outline Business Case stage with current planning assumptions estimating that the full planning application will be submitted in late 2027/early 2028. There will be greater clarity on timeline once the business case process is complete.

Question reference: S7W-03634

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will begin work on a Paediatric Long Term Conditions Framework.

Our Programme for Government 2026 – 2031 sets out our commitment to strengthen support for children with long-term conditions. Clinical advice from the Chief Medical Officer and the Scottish Government’s Senior Medical Advisory for Paediatrics is clear that paediatrics requires its own approach, tailored to the needs of children and young people. It is vital that we take the time needed to understand those needs at the outset and we will set out how we will take forward this work in due course.

This work will link with delivery of our wider NHS Reform ambitions and our Long Term Conditions Strategy for Adults, which we expect to publish in March 2027. Transitions from paediatric to adult services will be one of the initial areas of focus within this Strategy, as these are managed by adult services.

Question reference: S7W-03633

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will engage with specialist charities and clinicians in the development of a Paediatric Long Term Conditions Framework.

Question reference: S7W-03406

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce premature male mortality in the Edinburgh and Lothians East region.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

The latest published National Records of Scotland data on life expectancy at birth in Scotland (by council area) for the 5 year period covering 2020-2024, shows that life expectancy at birth for males was 77.9 years in City of Edinburgh, 78.7 in East Lothian and 77.6 in Midlothian, compared to 76.7 in Scotland as a whole.

Last year, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework, which sets out a cross-government, cross-sector approach to improving

life expectancy while reducing the gap in life expectancy between the 20% most deprived areas and the national average, by 2035. The Framework sets out the actions the Scottish Government and its partners are taking forward within the first two years by: supporting healthy environments; good early years and education; good work and income; and equitable health and care.

In addition, Scottish Government’s Programme for Government places a strong emphasis on the need to shift towards prevention and early intervention. This includes action to address alcohol and drug-related harm and to encourage healthier lifestyles among men, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and poor mental wellbeing.

Embedding prevention across public services is fundamental to improving population health outcomes for individuals and securing the long-term sustainability of Scotland’s health and care system.

Question reference: S7W-03407

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to commission mental health service models that are proven to reach and retain men in the Edinburgh and Lothians East region.

The planning, commissioning and delivery of mental health services is the responsibility of local territorial Health Boards and Integration Joint Boards (IJBs), working through Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs). We expect local partners to assess the needs of their communities and ensure that appropriate mental health services are available, including services that effectively engage and support men.

While the Scottish Government does not directly commission specific local mental health service models, we continue to invest in and support approaches that have been shown to engage men effectively. This includes funding peer support initiatives through Creating Hope Together, Scotland's suicide prevention strategy, and continued investment in programmes such as SAMH's The Changing Room: Extra Time, which uses football-based engagement to support men's mental health.

We have also invested £99 million in the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults since 2021. Delivered through local Third Sector Interfaces, the Fund supports community-based mental health initiatives, including projects and groups that engage men, based on locally identified needs and priorities. One example of this is Dads Rock, which received £8,755 in Year 4 of the Fund to support the mental health and wellbeing of new fathers.

Question reference: S7O-00369

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with partners, relevant groups and communities regarding the rollout of bleed kits to community settings, including the timeline for that rollout.

Question reference: S7W-02976

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to ending corridor care in NHS Scotland, and, if so, whether it will set clear milestones, timelines and accountability mechanisms to ensure that people are no longer treated in corridors and other non-clinical spaces.

On 31 August 2026 we published the Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026-2031. It sets out the Scottish Government’s position that corridor care is unacceptable, and should be eradicated. The plan includes a clear commitment to tackle overcrowding and corridor care, creating safer and more dignified environments for patients and staff.

Ministers will have direct oversight of this improvement activity through our Collaborative Response and Assurance Group. More detailed work is now underway with Health Boards to establish monitoring of delivery of the Improving Flow Plan, to ensure progress is made. Delivery plans are being developed which will set out actions, milestones and accountability mechanisms.

Question reference: S7W-02977

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's recommendation that hospital bed occupancy should not exceed 85% in order to support safe patient flow and provide surge capacity, whether it will adopt 85% hospital bed occupancy as a national performance metric and, if so, what action it will take to support NHS boards to maintain that level of occupancy.

Angela Constance: The Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026-2031recognises that hospitals often operate at high occupancy levels, which can contribute to delays in patient flow and longer waits for care. To address this, the Plan sets out a range of actions to improve the flow of patients into, through and out of hospital, supporting timely access to care and reducing unnecessary delays.

Reducing delayed discharge is a key priority within the Plan, as it plays an important role in improving patient flow and reducing hospital occupancy. The Plan will support the wider adoption of Discharge Without Delay, Home First and Discharge to Assess approaches, alongside enhanced system co-ordination and increased Hospital at Home capacity. Through these measures, we will continue to support NHS boards to reduce avoidable hospital occupancy, improve capacity and resilience, and ensure patients receive care in the most appropriate setting.

We will keep our approach to performance measurement under review as the Plan is implemented and as evidence emerges on the most effective ways to monitor and improve patient flow across the system.