- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider wider reform of property taxation, including a review of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, with a view to enhancing the benefits of the First Homes Fund.
Answer
The progressive rates and bands for residential Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and the first time buyer relief that increases the nil rate band to £175,000 are intended to support first-time buyers in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has no current plans to review LBTT for the purpose of enhancing the benefits available through the First Homes Fund. However the Scottish Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the annual Budget process and wider tax policy development.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards currently provide access to thrombectomy services, and for each board, what the opening days and hours are.
Answer
Thrombectomy services are delivered on a regional basis through three hub centres serving the North, East and West of Scotland.
The East of Scotland hub provides thrombectomy services for patients from NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Lothian. The service operates from Monday to Sunday 8am to 8pm for patients presenting directly at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday for patients presenting at East of Scotland spoke hospitals.
The West of Scotland hub provides thrombectomy services for patients from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Western Isles and NHS Highland for patients presenting at Belford and Lorne & Isle Hospitals. The service operates from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday for patients presenting directly to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, for patients presenting at West of Scotland spoke hospitals.
The North of Scotland hub provides thrombectomy services for patients from NHS Tayside, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. The service operates from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland are in the final stages of being on boarded to refer patients for thrombectomy procedures.
It should be noted that these are the operating hours of the angiography suites. The latest time patients can be referred is earlier and varies between NHS Boards.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what definition it is using to define a “24/7 thrombectomy service”, and whether this definition means that a patient requiring thrombectomy will have access to the procedure at any time of day, seven days a week, subject to clinical eligibility.
Answer
The Scottish Government's commitment is to deliver a 24/7 thrombectomy service that, subject to clinical eligibility, enables patients to receive a thrombectomy procedure regardless of the time at which they are referred to a thrombectomy hub.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding it has allocated in 2026-27 to support the expansion of thrombectomy services to 24/7 national coverage, and what further funding it estimates will be required to achieve that commitment.
Answer
£17 million was allocated in the 2026-27 Scottish Budget to support the development of thrombectomy services.
Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) are currently working to obtain the necessary clinical, planning, financial and workforce information from NHS Boards. This work will help determine the additional funding required to make 24/7 thrombectomy available across Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ministers are having with SEPA regarding the reported discharge of waste directly into the sea impacting on communities across East Lothian.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2026
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 15 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what review it has undertaken of the availability of police cells in East Lothian.
Answer
The availability and operation of police custody facilities are an operational matter for Police Scotland. Police Scotland keeps custody facilities under regular review and are overseen in this by the Scottish Police Authority as part of its responsibility for delivering effective, safe and sustainable custody services across Scotland.
Police Scotland’s Estates Masterplan sets out their ambition to modernise the policing estate, including the aim to develop a custody estate that meets modern standards and better meet the needs of the future. This will be supported through its revised estate strategy which I expect to be published later in September 2026.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 15 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to add cats to the list of animals that must be reported to the police when involved in a collision with a vehicle.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the distress caused when cats are involved in road traffic collisions.
The requirement to report collisions involving animals is set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988, which is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government has no current plans to add cats to the list of animals that must be reported to the police following a road traffic collision. We remain willing to consider opportunities to work with the other GB administrations on measures that improve the welfare of animals in Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 15 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to commission data on the use of (a) alcohol, (b) cigarettes and (c) vapes by under 18s, in light of no such data having been published since 2018.
Answer
Maree Todd: The Scottish Government published data on alcohol, tobacco and vape use among young people under the age of 18 in 2023 through the Health and Wellbeing Census 2021-22 and this can be found at:https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-and-wellbeing-census-scotland-2021-22/.
Since 2024, the Scottish Government has also funded an annual boost to the Scottish sample in the ASH Smokefree GB Youth Survey to support understanding of young people’s behaviours and attitudes towards smoking, vaping and other nicotine products. The latest report was published in August 2026 and can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/vaping-smoking-scottish-adolescents-results-ash-smokefree-gb-youth-survey-2026/pages/3/. The next wave of data collection is expected to take place in March 2027.
Separately Public Health Scotland commissions the 4-yearly Health Behaviours in School Age Children (HBSC) survey. The survey covers alcohol, tobacco and vape use among 11, 13 and 15-year-olds in Scotland. The latest published report, from 2022, can be found at:https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/healthwellbeing/research/mentalhealth/projects/healthbehaviourinschool-agedchildrenhbscscotlandstudy/. The next report, based on 2026 data, is expected to be published in 2027. The study has also produced a dedicated report on trends in young people’s substance use in Scotland, which can be found at:https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_1070957_smxx.pdf.
Every effort is made to ensure that young people and staff in schools are not over-burdened by research. This is achieved through a combination of national level surveys and locally driven data collection. There are no current plans to commission any additional data collection on these topics.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 7 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many IVF treatment cycles have been provided in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 7 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of extending eligibility for the Young Patients Family Fund to those children and young people with cancer who receive day-patient treatment.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of the cost of extending eligibility for the Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF) to children and young people with cancer who receive day-patient treatment. YPFF continues to be offered to families of in-patients only, regardless of diagnosis.
In addition to support available under the YPFF, financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available through the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts can reclaim reasonable travel costs associated with attending a hospital appointment, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements.
