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-43242

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05166 by Kevin Stewart on 24 January 2022, whether it will provide an update on the number of people with learning difficulties and autism who have died in inpatient units in Scotland since 2015.

Following the parliamentary question asked on 24 January 2022, Public Health Scotland (PHS) published a statistical report in May 2022 on inpatient deaths for patients with learning disabilities and autism at the request of the Scottish Government. The full report can be found on the PHS website:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/psychiatric-care-inpatient-deaths-for-patients-with-learning-disabilities-and-autism.

Question reference: S6O-05464

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to recognise rurality in local government finance settlements.

Question reference: S6O-05445

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment of teachers in rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-42517

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) develop a dedicated men’s health strategy, similar to that published by the UK Government for men in England, and (b) address any health inequalities affecting men and boys.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving life expectancy and tackling health inequalities across the whole population.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published a Population Health Framework, which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade.

There are no current plans for the Scottish Government to develop a specific strategy focused on men’s health; however, the Framework contains 30 initial actions, including in those areas that disproportionately affect men. For instance, the Scottish Government's commitment to develop a Healthcare Inequalities Action Plan to improve healthcare access and equity, as well as development of an Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan - building on the progress of the National Mission - which will be published in the new year.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government will shortly be publishing a new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, for 2026 – 2029. In view of the persistent trend of male suicide, the Scottish Government is determined to address and continue to test new, and creative, ways to reach and support men.

Question reference: S6O-05319

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprise housebuilders.

Question reference: S6W-41696

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how much each NHS board will receive from the £25.5 million of additional funds for the NHS that it announced on 3 November 2025.

As announced by the First Minister of 3 November 2025, Health Boards have been allocated an additional £25.5 million this year to allow them to deliver more planned activity for the longest waiting patients.

This funding is focused on Health Boards in the most populated areas and targeted at specialties where it can most effectively reduce the longest waiting times, ensuring the greatest benefit for patients.

This brings total additional funding to £135.5 million for Planned Care in 2025-26.

The following table set out the allocation of the £25.5 million funding by Health Board.

Table 1

Health Board	Total Cost 25-26 £000
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	589
NHS Fife	1,333
NHS Grampian	2,034
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	10,250
NHS Highland	495
NHS Lanarkshire	133
NHS Lothian	10,458
NHS Shetland	85
NHS Tayside	106
Total	25,482,000

I have also provided a breakdown of this funding by Planned Care speciality.

Table 2

Speciality	Total Cost 25-26 £000
Cardiology	554
Dermatology	5,930
Diabetes & Endocrinology	502
ENT	476
Gastroenterology	696
General Surgery	2,621
Gynaecology	1,692
Maxillofacial Surgery	58
Neurology	593
Neurosurgery	1,079
OMFS	324
Ophthalmology	331
Orthopaedics	7,587
Paediatric Cardiology	33
Paediatric Surgery	238
Paediatrics	27
Pain Service	140
Plastic Surgery	889
Rheumatology	115
Waiting List Initiatives (various specialities)	725
Waiting List Validation (various specialities)	250
Miscellaneous	622
Total	25,482

Question reference: S6W-41355

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 17 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on piloting a community-only deer management leasing scheme that prioritises residents with appropriate qualifications.

Forestry and Land Scotland is currently developing a community stalking, deer management national agreement which could be applied to pilot sites on Scotland’s National Forests and Land (SNFL). This is consequent to recent discussions between FLS and NatureScot to review the results of the NS community stalking project at Creag Meagaidh

FLS is also in the process of identifying suitable locations for potential pilot sites on SNFL.

The pilot sites will provide suitably qualified and motivated local individuals with opportunity to support FLS in the culling of deer to help protect tree crops, restore nature and to enhance biodiversity and climate resilience across the chosen locations.

Question reference: S6W-41028

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether all school staff receive training in recognising anaphylaxis and administering adrenaline auto-injectors.

Schools must arrange specialist anaphylaxis training for staff where a pupil within the school has been diagnosed as being at risk of anaphylaxis. Where this happens, schools should ensure there are a reasonable number of designated members of staff available to provide sufficient coverage, including times when staff are on leave.

Any member of a school’s staff can volunteer to take on responsibilities for administering adrenaline to children or young people, although they cannot be compelled to do so. Where school staff do volunteer to administer epilepsy rescue medication to children and young people, they must be appropriately trained and they should have their epilepsy training refreshed at least every two years.

Information about treating anaphylaxis, and the use of adrenaline auto-injectors, in schools set out in our guidance on supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools. This information is available through the following web link: Supporting children and young people with healthcare needs in schools: guidance - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-41354

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to protect private water supplies when determining applications for energy infrastructure developments under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Applications are determined in line with the relevant legislation, including the Electricity Works (EIA)(Scotland) Regulations 2017, together with advice from consultees. These processes ensure that potential impacts on the environment, including on private water supplies, are fully considered. Scottish Ministers also impose conditions on the consent which are designed to control the development and ensure it is consistent with the application and the proposed mitigation measures outlined in the application and recommended by consultees.

Question reference: S6W-41353

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update planning or consenting guidance to ensure that the impact on private water supplies are classed as a material consideration in planning applications under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

The Scottish Government processes section 36 and 37 applications in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks. Our Good Practice Guidance for developers, which is available to view on Scottish Government webpages, sets out procedures and advice for projects requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). As part of the EIA process, developers are required to identify and assess any private water supplies in the vicinity of the proposed development that could potentially be affected by the works.