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-38031

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which tests, and for what types of cancer, are not included in the Scottish Genomic Test Directory for Cancer that are available under the National Genomic Test Directory in England.

Question reference: S6W-38025

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported reductions to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism services, and whether it plans to implement a national approach to providing appropriate pathways and support for neurodevelopmental conditions.

I recognise that there has been a significant increase in adults seeking ADHD and autism assessments across Scotland. I recognise how important assessment and support through local services can be and I expect NHS Boards to deliver appropriate local services to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

The Scottish Government is working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to develop national Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, building on the pilots we funded in four NHS Board areas and the subsequent learnings and recommendations. We are engaging with a wide range of interests in this work and we have also met with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to discuss their recent proposals.

We are continuing to work with NHS Health Boards and local authorities to improve services and support for children and young people, including supporting them to implement the Neurodevelopmental Service Specification for Children and Young People, underpinned by GIRFEC and encouraging multi-agency working. To support this, in addition to investment through Health Boards, we have provided over £1 million to fund five Neurodevelopmental tests of change. We have also provided further funding, totalling almost £250,000, in financial year 2024-25 to fund a range of individual projects to improve neurodevelopmental assessment and support for children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-38028

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported pause in the work of the Scottish Genomics Test Advisory Group, what process is being followed to ensure that appropriate companion diagnostic genomic tests are available to cancer clinicians when making decisions about treatments for patients.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring equitable access to genomic tests associated with Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved medicines.

While the work of the Scottish Genomics Test Advisory Group (SG-TAG) is currently paused, processes remain in place to support test development and implementation.

Requests for new genomic testing can still be submitted via an interim process in place since October 2024. New submissions are regularly reviewed by the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) horizon scanning group for consideration of next steps.

The Scottish Government continues to invest in Scotland’s genomic capabilities, and we are working in conjunction with NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) on a transformation programme to ensure we can commission and implement additional testing.

Question reference: S6W-38030

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how often the Scottish Genomic Test Directory for Cancer is updated, and when the next update will be.

Question reference: S6W-38026

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that the reported increasing need for neurodevelopmental condition assessment, diagnosis and support has had on service capacity within secondary care mental health services.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that the increase in children, young people and adults seeking neurodevelopmental support and assessment across Scotland is creating challenges for services.

Scottish Government officials are engaging with Health Boards across Scotland to understand the challenges that they are facing in providing assessment and support services for neurodivergent adults, and to discuss potential solutions.

We fund the National Autism Implementation Team to support NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign local neurodevelopmental services for adults.

While the Scottish Government has overall policy responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, decisions on how to deliver services to best meet the needs of the local population are the responsibility of NHS Boards and their partners.

The 2025-26 Budget which has been approved by Parliament will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health & Social Care next year. This includes £16.2 billion for health boards - a 3% cash uplift and real terms increase on their baseline funding. It will also deliver record funding of over £15 billion for Local Authorities, a further 4.7 per cent real terms increase.

We have allocated £123.5 million to Health Boards this year on a recurring basis through the Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework which plays a part in improving the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services for children, young people and adults.

Question reference: S6W-38032

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many global clinical trials for new cancer treatments have not been initiated in Scotland due to the relevant genomic test not being available in NHS Scotland, in each year since 1999.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The selection of countries and sites for global clinical trials for new cancer treatments is dependent on a complex range of factors, including the wider regulatory environment.

The Scottish Government and the Chief Scientist Office work closely with NHS Research Scotland and with the UK National Institute for Health and Social Care Research to ensure that Scotland continues to offer the best environment for clinical research and cancer clinical trials.

Question reference: S6W-38256

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent any misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) by public bodies and ensure that creative talent is protected.

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-38196

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to developing a dedicated Skills Action Plan for the construction sector, similar to that proposed for the offshore wind sector in the 2025-26 Programme for Government, in recognition of the sector’s reported significant skills gap, and in light of the Chartered Institute of Building's survey, which reportedly found that 74% of young people in Scotland view construction careers positively, yet 43% reported not receiving relevant information about the industry through school careers advice.

Question reference: S6W-38197

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the rights of people to access collective advocacy.