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-02241

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measurable increases in the take-up of benefits by older people have been recorded each year since 2019, broken down by benefit where such information is available.

The Scottish Government does not currently produce a breakdown of annual take-up rates by age group. Where breakdowns are published for specific groups, this is led by user demand and requires the ability to robustly estimate the number eligible for a benefit in each group.

The Scottish Government publishes annual estimates of take-up for devolved benefits where a robust methodology is available. The most recent publication did not include benefits specifically targeted at older people. We do not currently publish take-up estimates for disability benefits, including Pension Age Disability Payment, but continue to explore how these could be developed.

For reserved benefits, we are reliant on DWP data. Analysis published in October 2025 shows that Scotland had the highest Pension Credit take-up rate in Britain in 2023-24, but this does not allow changes over time to be measured.

Question reference: S7W-02584

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met its commitment to support 2,000 households through the First Homes Fund within the first 100 days of the current parliamentary session and, if so, how many households have been supported at the 100-day point.

Question reference: S7W-02585

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its commitment to support 2,000 households through the First Homes Fund within the first 100 days of the current parliamentary session, how many households had, as of the 100-day point, (a) made an enquiry, (b) submitted an application, (c) received approval in principle, (d) received an offer of support, (e) entered into a shared-equity agreement and (f) completed the purchase of a property using support from the scheme.

Question reference: S7W-02583

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what costs may be incurred by applicants to the First Homes Fund, including any application, administration, legal, valuation or other fees, and at what stage in the process any such costs become payable.

Question reference: S7W-02176

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the introduction of shorter target times for the diagnosis and treatment of rapidly progressing cancers.

Question reference: S7W-02175

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of current cancer waiting time standards, specifically for patients with aggressive cancers.

The Scottish Government commitment to ‘carrying out a clinically led review of latest data and evidence to determine whether there is merit in specific additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment’ is underway.

A project steering group is being established which will support the review, determining if any amendments to the standards would enhance patient experience and meet the needs of the NHS for the future.

Evidence review commissions were shared with key partners in April with the full clinical consensus review expected to conclude with recommendations within 18- 24 months.

Question reference: S7W-02177

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake a review of whether existing cancer waiting time standards adequately reflect clinical urgency for rapidly progressing cancers.

Question reference: S7W-02187

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 18 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been completed on sites supported through the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme, and what proportion of these was delivered on sites that had previously been recorded as derelict for more than 25 years.

Question reference: S7W-02173

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that current cancer waiting time standards adequately protect patients with rapidly progressing cancers.

In NHS Scotland we have two cancer waiting times standards. These are:

A 31-day standard from decision to treat until first treatment regardless of the route of referral.
A 62-day standard from urgent referral with suspicion of cancer, including referrals from national cancer screening programmes, until first treatment.

For people with cancer, focussing on the cancer waiting times standards of 62 days from urgent referral to first treatment and 31 days from decision-to-treat to first treatment is supporting NHS Boards to consider how they best speed up the diagnostic pathway and reduce the period of uncertainty that can exist whilst trying to establish a diagnosis. The first treatment standards also provide assurance that any appropriate immediate measures are being started as soon as possible.

Our Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 includes a commitment to carry out a clinically led review of cancer waiting times. This will determine whether there is merit in additional or alternative standards.

This review, being led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, has been initiated with evidence reviews being commissioned through key partners such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and Cancer Research UK.

Question reference: S7W-02172

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a nationally agreed definition of a rapidly progressing or aggressive cancer.

There is no single nationally agreed Scottish definition of ‘rapidly progressing cancer’ or ‘aggressive cancer’. Whilst clinicians may use terms such as these on occasion to support patients understand their diagnosis, they are not recognised as clinical descriptors.

Public Health Scotland reports cancer stage using standard stage groups one to four, with Stage One and Two typically classified as early-stage disease and Stage Three and Four as late-stage disease. Cases where stage cannot be assigned are reported as unknown stage.