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: S6W-38018

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 5 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been reported to the Scottish Children's Reporter in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-37510

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many "school hubs", for pupils to be in school but not in a classroom setting, have been in operation in each local authority in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-37514

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which commissions funded by it have been assigned to the social research agency, The Lines Between, in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

(a) The following 14 contracts were awarded to ‘The Lines Between’ by the Scottish Government in Fiscal Year 2024-25:

Research on Fishers Behaviour towards Compliance & Enforcement.
Adult Disability Payment Review.
Options Study for Developing a Mental Health Patient Experience Survey for Scotland.
Consultation Analysis: UEFA Euro 2028 – Commercial Rights Protection.
Analysis of Responses to Crofting Consultation 2024.
Analysis for Annual Procurement Reports.
Analysis of responses to a consultation on proposed changes to energy and environmental standards of the Scottish Building Regulations.
'Moving On' Consultation Analysis Evaluation.
Single-use cups charge consultation analysis.
Review of Charity Regulation – Consultation Analysis.
Universal Definition of 'Care Experience' Consultation Evaluation Analysis.
Analysis of Consultation Responses to the Scottish Government Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy.
Future of Foster Care Consultation Analysis.
Carer Benefits Evaluation: Case Transfer and Carer Support Payment.

Further information on the contracts can be found on Public Contracts Scotland https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/

(b) 'The Lines Between' have not yet received any funded commissions for FY 2025-26. However, they were successful in bidding for the Social Research and Analysis Framework contract and were added on 1 May 2025.

Question reference: S6W-37699

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of utilising home dialysis for patients with chronic kidney disease on (a) alleviating pressure on the NHS, (b) improving economic productivity and (c) delivering better patient outcomes.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long term conditions including Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Cabinet Secretary set out in the NHS Scotland operational improvement plan published on 31 March of this year that we will work to ensure people receive the right care in the right place. There are many benefits that home dialysis can offer to both NHS Boards and patients as to whether home dialysis is appropriate for the patient. However it is a matter for NHS Boards to determine the situations when home dialysis is the best option.

Question reference: S6W-37513

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid the social research agency, The Lines Between, in each year since 2021-22, broken down by project.

Question reference: S6W-37511

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many High Speed Trains are operating on the ScotRail network.

Question reference: S6W-37698

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data is collected on the number of patients that receive home dialysis in each NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-37509

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) children, (b) children with disabilities and (c) children with additional support needs have received out-of-school support during the school holidays in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities make their own decisions about how to prioritise the provision of holiday clubs based on local need.

Although there is currently no statutory duty to provide school age childcare to all families during the school holidays, we have committed to building a system of school age childcare in Scotland to provide support around the school day and during the holidays, and we want that future system to be accessible to all.

We have been investing in a range of early delivery projects within targeted communities across Scotland which are better informing us about the change needed to deliver a more accessible and affordable system in the future. This includes our Early Adopter Communities in 6 Local Authority areas, our ‘Extra Time’ Programme in partnership with the Scottish Football Association, and our Access to Childcare projects.

In the 2025 Programme for Government, we have also committed an additional £1m to support the provision of holiday playschemes for disabled children across all local authority areas.

Question reference: S6W-37515

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to establish a working group to investigate and consider any health impact on women due to exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

The Scottish Government has the utmost sympathy to the women who were prescribed diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the impact it had on them and their families.

However, Scottish Ministers have no plans to establish a working group on this issue as the regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Question reference: S6W-37694

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools have been provided with prescription drugs by teachers during school hours in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.

Fiscal Year	Spend
2021-22	£121,086.90
2022-23	£399,965.36
2023-24	£477,423.47
2024-25	£549,284.31