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-24900

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) companies and (b) non-governmental organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception that it hosted during COP28 in Dubai.

The following list of companies and organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception during COP28 in December 2023:

Abu Dhabi Aviation	CPI media	Islamic Finance Guru	Radisson
AD Ports Group	DAHC	JM Foods	Retail Is Detail LLC of Alabbar Enterprises
ADIO	D-CAT	Joulon	ReVentas
ADNOC	DHA	Karpowership	Ritz Carlton DIFC
ADQ	Dhabi Hold Co	Kent	Robertson Group
Aforza	Doosan Babcock	KEZAD	Roslin Technologies
AGR Petroleum Services	Drax	Kibsons	Safco
Al Rostamani Tavel	Dubai Academic Health Authority	Kitopi	Scotmas
AL TAYEB MEAT SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP LLC	Dubai Chamber	Krucial	Seafood Scotland
Al Tayer Holidays	Dulsco LLC	Lactalis GCC	SEHA
Al Yaseah	Edinburgh Science	Lactalis Group	Seven Media
Al Yusr Industrial Contracting	Elevation Sustainable Solutions	Lactalis UAE	Shell
Amity Fish	Emirates	LRQA	Siccar
Aquatera Group	Energy Industries Council	LULU	Siemens Energy
Arbikie	Equiom Group Middle East	MAF Hypermarkets LLc	Sirocco
Areej International	Euro Mechanical	Masdar	SolarisKit
Astro Agency	EY	Max Foods Inc	SOV
Atlantis	Fawaz Alhokair Group	Mazrui International	Spinney
Australian Embassy	FCDO	MEED	Sunamp Ltd
Automech Engineering	finefarefood	Midgard Oilfield Services	SUNMEET GENERAL TRADING LLC
AzurX	Fluitron	MMI	TAQA
Baker Hughes	Fonterra	Mocean Energy	The Corporate Group
Bee'ah	Foodsource International	Motive Offshore Group Ltd	Truebell
Bidfood Middle East	FreshExpress	NAMA Development Enterprises	Tyde Digital
Bidfood UAE	Gateway Group of Companies UAE	NKMS	UAE Space Agency
Blake Evans & Co	Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute	Norco Group Ltd	Valeo Snackfoods Ltd
BP	Green Bioactives	North Oil Company	VS
Bristow Aviation Holdings Limited	Gulf Business Consulting	Nova Innovation	Waterfalls
British Chamber of Commerce Abu Dhabi	HFI Consulting International	NPCC	Watson Farley & Williams
Bureau Veritas	HSBC	OiLSERV	WetFish
Carrefour	Hunter Food	Orbital Marine Power	Wishfoods
Casinetto	Hydrogen Vehicle Systems Ltd	Park N Shop	Wood
CBRE ME	IAS International Oil & Gas Consultants	PDF Beveage LLC	Xergy
Chef Middle East LLC	IGS	PETRASCO Middle East LLC	Y International UK Ltd
Choithram & Sons LLC	INVest NI	Proserv	Zumo Money
Christof Globabl	IRBcreative	PWC
Core (A Zahid Group Company)	Isla Seafood	Quality Meat Scotland

Question reference: S6W-24755

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24720 by Jenni Minto on 22 January 2024, whether it can provide information on (a) the names of (i) organisations that and (ii) individuals who are members of the Expert Group on eliminating cervical cancer, (b) whether the Expert Group's membership will comprise of any patients with lived experience, (c) when the group will meet and how often and (d) whether HPV home testing will be part of the group's remit.

As announced on 22 January, an Expert Group will be established to lead on scoping work to consider and provide recommendations on how Scotland will work towards reaching the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate Cervical Cancer.

We are in the process of writing to individuals and organisations to invite them to become members of the Expert Group. Membership is expected to come from Scottish Government policy officials, clinicians, Public Health Scotland (PHS), National Services Division Screening team and Third Sector organisations such as Jo’s Trust. We are also seeking membership from individuals with lived experience.

The Scottish Government continues to explore all possible avenues, including HPV self-sampling, which may improve uptake of cervical screening towards the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 70%. However, introduction of self-sampling is dependent on a recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), the expert advisory group that advises all four UK nations on screening.

Question reference: S6W-24721

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can detail what its policies are in relation to designing clinical models for independent hospices.

Question reference: S6F-02810

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Who Cares? Scotland research report, Is Scotland Keeping the Promise?, which reportedly indicates that, on the fourth anniversary of the publication of The Promise, key pledges made to care experienced people are not being fulfilled.

Question reference: S6W-24722

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to increase capacity in hospices.

It is for Integration Joint Boards to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, including independent hospice care, using the integrated budget under their control.

The Scottish Government is not taking action to increase capacity in hospices. We are gathering data on current and projected needs for palliative care over the next two decades, to inform the development of the new national strategy for palliative care in Scotland. The strategy will address a range of models to meet those needs and provide palliative care and care around death in a range of settings, including specialist inpatient and outpatient units, hospices, hospitals, community hospitals, care homes and peoples’ own homes.

Question reference: S6W-24886

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of how NHS 24 ensures that calls regarding mental health are properly triaged.

NHS 24 ensures that mental health calls are correctly triaged through training, support for frontline staff and ongoing oversight and review of calls and processes.

All new staff undertake a robust four-week induction training programme, and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners and Mental Health Nurse Practitioners are trained to conduct specialised mental health assessments to ensure that patients are triaged appropriately.

All frontline staff undertake monthly clinical and line management supervision with Senior Charge Nurses, and are continuously supported to improve their knowledge and adhere to organisational processes and clinical governance guidelines. Clinical outcomes are reviewed monthly to identify any changes in referral patterns, and any significant variations are investigated and reviewed by NHS 24.

Question reference: S6W-24758

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the uptake of reusable nappy vouchers through the QR code on the Baby Box.

We commenced the issuing of reusable nappy kit vouchers via a QR code at the start of September 2023, giving parents the option to register for the reusable nappy kits by QR code or by post.

Data from our Baby Box Managing Agent covering the period September 2023 to January 2024 shows that they have received 1,332 applications by post and 101 applications via the QR code. The following table provides a breakdown by month.

Period	Application by post	Application by QR Code
September	357	8
October	384	11
November	252	17
December	215	28
January	124	37

Question reference: S6W-24757

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Scottish National Investment Bank's advisory group will be established, and how often it will meet.

Under Section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, the Scottish Ministers must establish and maintain an advisory group to provide Ministers with advice on the Bank’s objects, conduct and performance.

Now that the Bank is fully established, and has a growing portfolio of investments, work is underway to advise ministers on the establishment of the advisory group.

Details such as membership, appointment processes and meeting frequency remain under consideration. We hope to provide an update on this work in the coming months.

Question reference: S6W-24313

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of its 2024-25 Budget on local community and voluntary organisations.

The 2024-25 Scottish Budget is a budget built on our values - setting out, in tough times, to protect people, sustain services, and take pragmatic steps to addressing the climate emergency. All budget decisions are subject to robust assessment in line with the Fairer Scotland Duty Act of 2018, which requires Scottish Ministers, when making strategic decisions, to reduce the inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage.

We a re keenly aware of the pressures facing them as a result of the current financial climate. The funding in the budget for the Third Sector will continue to prioritise investment in key infrastructure organisations and programmes that provide critical support to help the wider sector navigate the challenging financial climate.

Question reference: S6W-24638

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 30 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that local authorities have lost in-house expertise on trees, green infrastructure, biodiversity and nature conservation, and what action it will take to address any workforce and skills pressures in these areas.

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities. It is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes, including the allocation of staff resources and the level of services that are provided.

Addressing the biodiversity crisis needs action across the whole of government and wider society. Through the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan we are working with local authorities to ensure they have the right tools and guidance for nature restoration, and to empower the development of partnerships that include the right skills and knowledge to deliver local nature restoration projects.

Since 2021-22, we have directly allocated £17 million to Local Authorities through the Nature Restoration Fund for them to deliver such projects in partnership with other organisations. In 2023-24, we allocated an additional £5 million to support initial work to develop local nature networks.