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-04854

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 November 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct NHS Lothian, in consultation with health trade unions and the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC), to establish a formal job evaluation review process for Band 6 nurses in Critical Care, Emergency Departments and other high-acuity specialist care units, with a view to determining whether eligible posts should be regraded to Band 7.

Question reference: S7O-00503

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to remove barriers to the timely discharge from hospital for patients with dementia.

Question reference: S7W-03742

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a single unique identifier for children and young people to allow for data sharing between health, social care and education services.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a specific single unique identifier for children and young people to support data sharing between health, social care and education services.

The Community Health Index (CHI) number already provides a common identifier across Scotland's health system and is used to support the consistent identification of individuals including children and young people across NHS Scotland services.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of improving data linkage and information sharing across health, social care and the wider public sector to provide better integrated services for people. The Scottish Government continues to work with partners across local government, health and social care through the CHI in Local Government programme to explore how CHI can be used as a common identifier across social work and social care services. This will be fundamental to supporting identity verification, data matching and more effective information sharing across health and social care services, reducing duplication and supporting more integrated care.

This work is currently focused on adult services; however, learning from the programme may inform future consideration of how a common identifier could support information sharing and service integration with education services.

Question reference: S7W-03599

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce closure order powers to enable enforcement authorities to close retail premises that have breached the law relating to (a) underage sales of tobacco and vaping products and (b) the sale of tobacco and vaping products that do not comply with relevant regulations.

The Scottish Government is currently working with local government and Police Scotland to assess the closure powers regime under Part 4 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 and identify any changes that may be required. This includes considering comparable regimes elsewhere in the UK and recommendations from bodies such as the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. We are also considering whether the current banning order regime could be strengthened as part of the development of the next Tobacco and Vaping Framework Implementation Plan, which is due to be published later this year.

Question reference: S7W-03575

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to provide to trading standards services in Scotland to enforce the Tobacco and Vapes Act from January 2027.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Trading Standards and COSLA during the development of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (2026 Act) and will continue to do so during its implementation.

On 30 July 2026, the Scottish Government published statutory guidance for retailers of tobacco, vaping, nicotine or herbal smoking products on creating an age verification policy for their store, found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/selling-tobacco-products-vaping-products-nicotine-products-cigarette-papers-herbal-smoking-products-age-verification-guidance-age-verification-policies-retailers/ .

In addition, on 11 August the UK Government published UK-wide guidance on implementation of the 2026 Act which covers the following topics:

Selling tobacco, herbal smoking and cigarette papers: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-tobacco-herbal-smoking-products-and-cigarette-papers
Selling vaping and nicotine products: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-vaping-and-nicotine-products
Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products: fixed penalty notices: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-vaping-and-nicotine-products-fixed-penalty-notices#nations-in-scope
Tobacco and vaping product vending machine ban: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-and-vaping-product-vending-machine-ban .

Question reference: S7W-03555

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an evaluation of the impact of changes to health and work services that were committed to in its 2024-25 Programme for Government.

Scotland has limited detailed data on the relationship between health and economic inactivity. In its 2025-26 Programme for Government, Scottish Government committed to evaluate the impact of changes to health and work services, following improvement to access in 2024-25.

Working Health Services Scotland (WHSS), which provides occupational health support to self-employed and people working in small-to-medium sized businesses, saw an expansion to its opening hours to 8am-8pm from January 2025.

WHSS holds a unique dataset on clients seeking support, some of whom are at risk of long-term ill health and extended time away from work. Analysts within the Scottish Government are taking forward work to explore the WHSS dataset for the years 2019-2025, to better understand client characteristics, health conditions, support received, and employment outcomes.

Particular focus will be given to individuals who remain out of work or unemployed following intervention, to improve understanding of factors associated with labour market disengagement. Findings will contribute to the evidence base underpinning Scottish Government policy on reducing economic inactivity and help identify opportunities for targeted support.

The project will also support WHSS in improving understanding of its clients and enhancing service delivery. A report will be published on these findings in early 2027.

Question reference: S7W-03598

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, following the decision to discontinue the Health and Wellbeing Census, what data it collects on young people’s health, wellbeing and lifestyle, including smoking, alcohol and drug use.

The Scottish Government collects health information from children annually via:

The Scottish Health survey. This collects health information including diet, weight, respiratory conditions, sport and physical activity participation, mental health and more on children age 0 to 15 years (from 2003). Those aged 16 and 17 are included in the adult sample and are asked additionally about smoking, alcohol consumption and drug use.

A Scotland sample boost in the ASH Smokefree GB Youth survey. This collects data from 11 to 17 year olds in Scotland on use of vapes, cigarettes and other nicotine products; awareness, main source, and type of products used; and experiences and views of users, including reasons for vaping and perceptions of harm. The survey has included a small number of questions on other substance use and health behaviours see Supporting documents - Vaping and smoking among Scottish adolescents: ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey 2025 results - gov.scot which reports on alcohol.

Question reference: S7W-03556

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking with Public Health Scotland to encourage employers to deliver healthy workplaces.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving economic activity, and to making workplaces healthier and fairer.

Public Health Scotland is a key delivery partner of the Population Health Framework, co-published with COSLA, setting out whole-system preventative approaches to improve the key building blocks of health, including good work and income.

The organisation hosts and maintains Healthy Working Lives, a well-established online resource for employers, employees and professionals. Within this site, the Mentally Healthy Workplaces portal provides specific advice, and people within small to medium-size businesses can self-refer to occupational health support at Working Health Services Scotland.

PHS work in partnership with Scottish Government and See Me also includes the ‘Supporting a Mentally Healthy Workplace: National learning network for employers’ which has over 800 members and brings together employers on a quarterly basis to share learning and experiences of supporting mental health and wellbeing at work.

Public Health Scotland’s engagement with employers has included extensive work across sectors including roundtables, surveys and group sessions. 2025 and 2026 has been focused on recommendations to improve health and work support.

Complementing this activity, PHS facilitates Scottish Government involvement in the UK Government’s Keep Britain Working review on workplace health provision, ensuring the needs of Scottish employers and services are represented.

Question reference: S7W-02847

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 11 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to supporting the provision of shore power at major ports, including the Port of Leith, to reduce the environmental impact of ships and cruise liners that rely on onboard engines when berthed.

The Scottish Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector in a sustainable way to deliver a just transition. Many ports across Scotland have already published plans committing to decarbonising their operations. Port of Leith owners Forth Ports has outlined its commitment and the actions it is taking to achieve a Net Zero carbon operation by 2042. The Company has also outlined an interim target of achieving carbon neutral emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2032.

Shore power will play an important role in reducing vessel emissions at berth, but given the infrequent but high peak loads that larger vessels such as cruise ships require, shore power may not always be optimal for every port. We will work with the ports sector to ensure that low emission solutions are pursued whilst proportionate to the scale of operations of an individual port.

Question reference: S7O-00235

Asked by: Irshad Ahmed, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what model of financial support it is considering as part of its Programme for Government commitment to provide additional support with energy costs for people with a terminal illness, including its plans and timings for delivering this work.