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-03781

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a dedicated national action plan for arthritis and wider musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

There are no plans to publish a national action plan for arthritis and wider musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. We will publish our Long Term Conditions Strategy for Adults in March 2027, which will include both arthritis and wider MSK conditions. This will allow us to take a more strategic approach to long term conditions, recognising the impact of multimorbidity and the fact that an increasing number of people in Scotland are living with one or more long term conditions.

As part of this, an advisory group on chronic musculoskeletal, pain and digestive conditions, one of six expert advisory groups, was set up to provide recommendations that will help inform the Strategy.

Question reference: S7W-04131

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 21 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the support provided to young carers.

Question reference: S7W-03996

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland systems record or verify the professional capacity and purpose for which a clinician accesses patient information, particularly where a clinician undertakes both NHS and private practice.

Electronic systems across NHS Scotland use individual credentials and role-based permissions, supported by audit and monitoring solutions, including user activity analytics, to detect and investigate potentially inappropriate access or activity.

Where a clinician also undertakes private practice, any access to patient information using NHS systems is recorded and subject to audit and monitoring.

NHS policies, professional codes of conduct, the Health and Social Care Records Management Code of Practice and confidentiality guidance are clear that accessing patient information for purposes unrelated to an individual's NHS duties would be inappropriate. Health professionals are expected to comply with these requirements at all times.

NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring that patient information is accessed only by individuals with an appropriate role and a legitimate NHS purpose.

Question reference: S7W-03995

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what controls NHS Scotland has in place to prevent clinicians from using otherwise legitimate NHS credentials to inappropriately access patient information.

NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that access to patient information is restricted to staff with a legitimate need. Controls include individual user accounts, role-based access, audit trails and privacy breach detection software that can identify potentially inappropriate access for investigation. These arrangements are supported by NHS Scotland information governance and security policies, the Records Management Code of Practice (https://www.gov.scot/publications/records-management-code-practice-health-social-care/) and the legal and professional duties applying to clinicians. Boards are also subject to wider information security assurance and audit arrangements, including under the Network and Information Systems Regulations.

Question reference: S7W-03994

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS England’s July 2026 guidance on preventing unlawful access to patient records, whether it has reviewed, or plans to review, NHS Scotland’s arrangements for preventing, monitoring and independently detecting the inappropriate use of patient information.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland maintain a commitment to continuous improvement. Relevant guidance and developments from across the UK, including NHS England, are routinely considered to assess whether enhancements to existing guidance, standards, assurance arrangements or supporting controls should be adopted.

NHS Scotland Boards are responsible for ensuring that access to patient information is appropriate and monitored in accordance with data protection legislation, professional obligations, and established information governance and security policies. Existing safeguards include role-based access controls, system audit trails and user activity monitoring solutions that support the detection and investigation of potentially inappropriate access.

Question reference: S7W-03879

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the prevalence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) among patients registered with GP practices, broken down by NHS board and by (a) sex, (b) five-year age group and (c) deprivation decile, showing (i) number of patients and (ii) rate per 100 population, for the year 1 April 2025 to 1 April 2026.

Question reference: S7W-03780

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many occasions medical records have been inappropriately accessed in each year since 2016, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) the setting where records were accessed, for example, hospitals or GP practices.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Individual NHS boards are responsible for recording personal data breaches and notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) where required. The ICO publishes information on reported data security incidents (https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/complaints-and-concerns-data-sets/self-reported-personal-data-breach-cases/) and, in August 2023, published the findings from its programme of data protection audits across Scotland’s NHS boards (https://cy.ico.org.uk/media2/l2jmsi3g/nhs-scotland-health-boards-outcomes-report-v1_1.pdf).

Question reference: S7W-04132

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many phlebotomists have been trained in GP surgeries in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S7W-04137

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that mental health is given parity of esteem with physical health, and is placed at the centre of decision-making, governance, service planning and resource allocation as part of its programme of NHS reform.

Question reference: S7W-04136

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that access to hybrid closed loop technology is (a) protected and (b) standardised during its proposed transition from 14 territorial to two strategic NHS boards.