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-42777

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on (a) recovery times and (b) long-term function of thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery not being offered to patients and fusion surgery being undertaken instead.

The Scottish Government does not undertake direct clinical outcome assessments.

Health Boards are expected to consider these factors when determining the most appropriate surgical option for individual patients, in line with current clinical guidelines and best practice. Such as the guidance shared in response to S6W-42776 on 7 January 2026.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-42776

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance exists to ensure consistency in surgical treatment options for patients with thumb arthritis across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that patients across Scotland receive consistent, evidence-based care for thumb arthritis.

We expect clinicians and NHS Boards to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice including from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including (NICE Guidelines NG226 on osteoarthritis care and NICE Interventional Procedure Guidance IPG111) and specialty groups including The British Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Question reference: S6W-42779

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place to enable patients in NHS Lanarkshire to be referred to other NHS boards for thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery, and how many such referrals there have been in each of the last five years.

Referral arrangements exist within NHS Scotland to allow patients to access specialist procedures not available locally. Where thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery is clinically indicated and not provided within NHS Lanarkshire, patients may be referred to another Board offering the procedure if that is appropriate.

Data on the number of referrals over the past five years is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This information may be obtained from NHS Lanarkshire and other relevant Boards.

Question reference: S6W-42778

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the potential economic impact on patients who may face a prolonged recovery and loss of function due to limited surgical options in NHS Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6W-42774

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards offer thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery.

Question reference: S6W-42303

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its definition of rewilding for public bodies, which was published in 2023, what work it has undertaken to develop, apply or review it.

The definition of ‘rewilding’ in the report ‘Defining Rewilding for Scotland's Public Sector’ prepared for the Scottish Government by the James Hutton Institute, has never been adopted by the Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government does not use the term rewilding, it recognises that the term includes many interventions which the Scottish Government and NatureScot actively support. For example, our £65 million Nature Restoration Fund has committed over £65 million since 2021 to unlock the full potential that nature restoration projects can bring to communities.

In addition, our Biodiversity Delivery Plan sets out over 100 actions that need to be taken to ensure a nature-positive Scotland by 2030. A key action in the first Delivery Plan is the creation of Nature Networks in each local authority area in Scotland. These create habitat corridors and stepping stones, which help species to migrate in response to our changing climate.

Question reference: S6W-42302

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held at a ministerial level to consider the definition of rewilding for public bodies, on what dates any such meetings took place, and what the outcomes were.

The Scottish Government does not use the term rewilding, which encompasses a wide range of activities and can be interpreted in different ways.

The Scottish Government commissioned research by the James Hutton Institute in 2023 which considered the definition of ‘rewilding’ for public bodies in Scotland. Ministers accepted and published the report in 2023 but concluded that the term ‘rewilding’ remains contested and does not, therefore, provide useful clarity for policy purposes.

Question reference: S6W-42304

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how its rewilding definition aligns with international rewilding principles, including those recently published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Question reference: S6F-04540

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent EIS findings that young people with additional support needs are being let down, and teachers are experiencing stress due to inadequate resourcing, in light of the reported reduction of nearly 20% in specialist ASN staff since 2010, despite a rise of over 710% in the number of pupils requiring such support since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-42245

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing routine childhood type 1 diabetes screening.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of early diagnosis of diabetes in the avoidance of its complications. The UK National Screening Committee advises on how testing and screening is used across the four UK nations. Based on their most up to date recommendation, there is currently no UK-wide screening programme for Type 1 diabetes in children because there is insufficient evidence that population screening would improve health outcomes compared to current practice.

While current clinical advice does not support mandatory screening for Type 1 diabetes, Scotland - through NHS Research Scotland - supported the UK’s largest screening trial for children with Type 1 diabetes, the ELSA study. The study aimed to screen 20,000 children aged 3 to 13 for early markers of Type 1 diabetes and identify those at high risk of developing the condition. The findings will play a key role in guiding future policy decisions.

Current NICE clinical guidelines recommend that any child displaying symptoms of Type 1 diabetes should be referred immediately to paediatric diabetes services for diagnosis and care. The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards and healthcare professionals including GPs to consider all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing children who are presenting with symptoms of diabetes.

We encourage parents and carers to urgently contact their GP if their child is displaying symptoms of diabetes. They will be best placed to provide specific advice and support based on their child’s individual circumstances.