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 3537 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-26459

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any review of criminal liability in relation to unregulated non-healthcare professionals that perform invasive cosmetic procedures, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this.

Question reference: S6W-26455

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of injury or negligence by unregulated non-healthcare professionals performing invasive cosmetic procedures have been reported to Police Scotland in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-26460

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what public liability insurance requirements currently apply to unregulated non-healthcare professionals that perform invasive cosmetic procedures.

Question reference: S6W-26454

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many invasive cosmetic procedures it estimates have been performed by unregulated non-healthcare professionals in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-26348

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of childcare voucher schemes on any policies that it has in place to support parents and carers to return to work.

Childcare voucher schemes were part of UK-wide tax legislation on employer supported childcare. They were closed to new entrants in 2018 and as such, parents and carers who are taking up new employment are not able to access them. While some Scottish families may still be using them, they have largely been replaced by Tax Free Childcare. As the Scottish Government is not involved in the administration or regulation of childcare voucher schemes, we have not conducted an assessment of them.

We are aware of the wealth of evidence that shows that access to affordable and flexible childcare can improve standards of living and address child poverty through reducing pressures on family income and enabling parents and carers, particularly women, to participate in work, education or training. There is more information on this evidence base in ‘Best Start - strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022 to 2026: https://www.gov.scot/publications/best-start-strategic-early-learning-school-age-childcare-plan-scotland-2022-26/pages/10/

In the Plan, we have also set out our commitment to continue to engage with and seek to influence the UK Government to deliver better outcomes for children and families through childcare policy.

Question reference: S6W-26360

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to end the practice of placing children and young people in adult mental health facilities.

We expect children and young people who need inpatient mental health care to be looked after in age-appropriate facilities. Following recommendations from the Mental Welfare Commission, the Scottish Government commissioned a national review of existing provision for young people under 18 years who had needs and risks that required intensive psychiatric care. This review published its findings in June 2021 and recommended purpose-built regional units adjacent to existing inpatient services.

Since then, the Scottish Government has provided funding to NHS Boards to support the development of regional Intensive Psychiatric Care Units for young people. Work is currently ongoing to support NHS Boards to establish these facilities, including engagement with regional planning and recruitment to develop this work.

In addition, in June 2020, the Scottish Government published a protocol for admissions of young people to adult wards, in response to action 19 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27. This protocol is a best practice guidance to aid implementation of Section 23 of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 which places a duty on health boards to provide sufficient services and accommodation to meet the needs of young people under 18 when they are admitted to hospital for treatment of a mental disorder.

Question reference: S6W-26351

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the investment that will need to be made in GP services in each of the next five years, broken down by NHS board.

To support general practice services, we have significantly expanded the primary care multi-disciplinary team workforce, with over 4,700 staff working in services including physiotherapy, pharmacy and phlebotomy at March 2023.

We are supporting development of these teams through an annual investment of £190 million in the Primary Care Improvement Fund which is distributed on an NRAC basis.

While we have made significant progress, we know that implementation gaps remain. That is why we have introduced the Phased Investment Programme, working with a small number of areas to demonstrate what a model multidisciplinary team can look like in practice. This programme will strengthen the evidence base on the national context for the implementation of multidisciplinary teams and inform future long term Scottish Government investment.

In addition, we have submitted our annual evidence to the DDRB for its recommendations on a pay uplift for GPs and will consider them carefully.

Question reference: S6W-26356

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its aim to greatly reduce the placement of young people with learning disabilities in out-of-area residential placements and inappropriate hospital settings by March 2024, how many young people with learning disabilities and complex care needs are currently placed in such inappropriate hospital settings for assessment or treatment.

Children and young people are only admitted to an inpatient unit for assessment and treatment when there is a clear clinical need and rationale. This would not be inappropriate within the context of current practice, and only becomes inappropriate at the point of becoming a delayed discharge.

Data on the number of delayed discharges for children and young people with learning disabilities is not held centrally. The current work referred to is directed at people aged 18 and above.

Our Autism, Learning Disabilities and Neurodivergence Bill is currently out for consultation within which are proposals on legislative options for Dynamic Support Registers.

Question reference: S6W-26507

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the plans for an online postal self-sampling service outlined in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-2026 will include testing for hepatitis C.

Public Health Scotland is currently leading the national roll-out of online postal self-sampling to test for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with funding from Scottish Government. The service will initially offer testing for the most common STIs which are chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV. The scope of the service will be kept under review, with potential to add further tests if evidence suggests this would be an effective and cost-effective approach.

Testing for hepatitis C is currently available through a range of routes, with a particular focus on settings which are most likely to be accessed by people at highest risk of infection, such as drugs services and prison healthcare. The Scottish Government has also funded research and pilot projects – including opt-out testing in three Emergency Departments – to help identify optimal approaches to testing for hepatitis C and other blood borne viruses in order to achieve our elimination goals.

Question reference: S6W-26821

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 May 2024

To ask to the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards reviewing the operational arrangements of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), as committed to in its consultation on reforms to EPCs.