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-02164

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what recent review it has carried out into the provision of sexual health clinics in rural areas.

Question reference: S7W-02169

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce demand for hip and knee replacements over the next five years through preventative approaches, including what additional and targeted investment is being made in musculoskeletal services, such as physiotherapy, and how it will assess the effectiveness of this.

Question reference: S7W-01695

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 29 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with dementia in each year since 2021.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of people diagnosed annually with dementia, but Public Health Scotland (PHS) does publish information on the number of people in different health settings with a diagnosis of dementia. This doesn’t necessarily reflect when a person would have been first diagnosed with dementia.

In March 2026 PHS released their first Dementia Index publication, which covers the time period 2020-21 to 2024-25. The number of people aged 18 and over living with dementia identified across health and social care services was 60,176 as of 31 March 2024-25. This corresponds to a prevalence estimate of 1,286 per 100,000 population. It includes people with both new and pre-existing diagnoses of dementia.

It is important to note that the index contains details of every individual aged 18 and over identified with a dementia diagnosis within the data collections available and is therefore an estimate.

Question reference: S7W-01694

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many missed GP appointments there have been in each year since 2021, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many missed GP appointments there have been in each year since 2021, broken down by NHS board.

PHS publishes information relevant to this question using GP encounters data as part of the General Practice in-hours activity visualisation publication. Encounters are not the same as appointments as not all encounters will be recorded on an appointment booking system. Further information on the limitations of this data can be found on the publication website.

Question reference: S7W-01404

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25 broken down by NHS board, and what percentage this represented of the (a) total budget for mental health and (b) total health budget for each of these boards.

Question reference: S7W-01403

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25, and what percentage this represented of the total budget for (a) mental health and (b) NHS Scotland.

Data on child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland (PHS) in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24 and includes a breakdown by NHS Board. It shows estimated total expenditure on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) increased by £19.4 million in 2023-24 to £134.2 million, 9.03% of total mental health expenditure and 0.82% of total net expenditure in NHSScotland (an increase on 8.78% and 0.75% respectively in 2022-23).

Publication of Costs Book data for 2024-25 has been delayed due to the local NHS board implementation of a new costing system (PLICS) over the last year but PHS expects to publish available data for mental health on 11 August 2026.

Question reference: S7W-01405

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it achieved its targets over the previous parliamentary session for NHS boards to spend (a) 10% of their budget on mental health and (b) 1% of their budget on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Data on mental health expenditure and child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24. Data for 2025-26 which will determine whether the targets have been met is expected to be published in 2027.

Question reference: S7W-01697

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 21 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many adult day care facilities and services have operated in each local authority area in each year since 2021.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect comprehensive information on the number of adult day care facilities and services operating in each local authority area.

However, between 2022 and 2024, the Scottish Government carried out four surveys of adult day care services at a national level. The surveys were initially undertaken to establish the extent to which services had returned to pre-pandemic operating levels.

Two collections were undertaken in 2022 to capture service provision before and after the removal of social distancing measures. The figures provided for 2022 reflect the later of these two collections. Further surveys undertaken in 2023 and 2024 continued to monitor the extent to which services had returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Adult day care services are typically commissioned through Health and Social Care Partnerships, and the information is reported on that basis.

The figures presented include only those services identified through survey returns as being open or open with reduced capacity. A figure of zero should not be interpreted as indicating that no adult day care facilities or services were operating in that area. In some cases, a zero may reflect a nil return, an incomplete return, or differences in local reporting rather than an absence of services.

HSCP	2022	2023	2024
Aberdeen City	0	2	2
Aberdeenshire	7	7	9
Angus	9	11	10
Argyll and Bute	13	13	10
Clacks and Stirling	2	2	13
Dumfries and Galloway	10	10	9
Dundee	6	0	7
East Ayrshire	2	5	3
East Dunbartonshire	7	7	7
East Lothian	0	0	20
East Renfrewshire	2	2	0
Edinburgh	34	38	33
Falkirk	1	1	8
Fife	19	20	18
Glasgow	27	28	31
Highland	0	13	0
Inverclyde	0	5	6
Midlothian	9	8	8
Moray	11	7	0
North Ayrshire	3	6	8
North Lanarkshire	12	13	7
Orkney	4	4	4
Perth and Kinross	10	10	11
Renfrewshire	8	9	10
Scottish Borders	6	0	0
Shetland	2	9	2
South Ayrshire	0	2	5
South Lanarkshire	15	25	16
West Dunbartonshire	3	3	1
West Lothian	11	11	11
Western Isles	6	7	6

Question reference: S7W-01088

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding so-called corridor care, where patients receive care outwith appropriate clinical settings, what (a) data it collects and (b) advice it (i) provides to and (ii) work it carries out with NHS boards to support them in eradicating the issue.

Currently there is no requirement for NHS Boards to record and submit data on care in non-standard areas, such as hospital corridors, to Public Health Scotland or the Scottish Government; therefore, the Scottish Government does not hold this data.

The Scottish Government accepts that caring for patients in non-standard patient areas is sub-optimal and we are clear that patients should not routinely be treated in corridors or other non-standard areas.

Where this practice is unavoidable, robust measures must be in place to mitigate risks, including appropriate monitoring of patients and minimising time spent in these areas. Health boards must also take all necessary steps to maintain patient safety, dignity and quality of care.

We are taking decisive action in partnership with Health Boards to address the underlying causes of high acute hospital occupancy which can lead to bed blocking and use of non-standard areas. Our focus is firmly on improving patient flow so that people are admitted, treated, and discharged safely and on time.

As part of our first 100 days commitments, we will deliver a comprehensive plan on Improving Flow in Hospitals which will set out improvement in end-to-end patient flow, ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Question reference: S7W-00972

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the Allied Health Professions workforce review.