- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 24 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to organisations, such as the South Grampian Wildfire Group, which aim to improve resilience and collaboration between estates and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Answer
While the Scottish Government does not directly fund Fire Groups such as the South Grampian Wildfire Group (SGWG), it recognises the valuable work which such mutual aid organisations offer to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire suppression efforts.
The Scottish Government is working with SFRS to support full implementation of its wildfire strategy, which will see the continued roll-out this year of new equipment, vehicles and Personal Protective Equipment. The Service’s planned spend is circa £1.6 million over the course of the 3 year roll-out of its strategy and it will continue to invest in the training and upskilling of staff in the years ahead.
Scottish Ministers are holding a wildfires summit on 14 October to discuss improving our wildfire preparedness, prevention and response in the future.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 23 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40215 by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025, how many of the newly qualified paramedics that have joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in the North Region since 2023 are (a) still employed and (b) have been signed off work due to stress.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. You should request this directly from the Scottish Ambulance Service.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the uptake of Free Personal and Nursing Care has been in each local authority area, and what action it is taking to (a) address any regional disparities and (b) increase the overall uptake.
Answer
The most recent Data (2023-24) for those who received Free Personal and Nursing Care is contained in the Scottish Government website:
Introduction - Free Personal and Nursing Care, Scotland, 2023-24 - gov.scot
Data is captured at a specific moment rather than cumulatively.
Regional disparities are not as easy to identify due to diverse demographics, geography etc which make direct comparison difficult. This is compounded by the mixed returns from Local Authorities.
Free Personal and Nursing Care is a core part of the Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care strategy the funding of which is at a record level. Our 2025-26 budget is investing £21.7bn. including almost £2.2 billion investment for social care and integration, delivering on our commitment to increase social care spending by 25% over this Parliament, two years ahead of schedule.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the potential impact of the funding allocated in its Budget 2025-26 on Aberdeenshire Council’s ability to invest in local infrastructure and support economic development.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2025
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that it meets the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and disability equality commitments in relation to long
COVID services.
Answer
NHS boards exercise responsibilities in relation to planning, commissioning and delivering healthcare services, and take overall responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the populations they serve. NHS boards are discrete legal entities and legally accountable and responsible for how they carry out their functions, services, duties and responsibilities.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the guidance given to GPs and patients regarding long COVID, and any plans for public updates or campaigns.
Answer
The clinical guideline NG188 on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 in all healthcare settings has been developed jointly by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). SIGN is editorially independent from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and the Scottish Government. The decision to create, update or replace any SIGN guideline is not made by Scottish Government, it is made independently by the Evidence Directorate Work Programme Committee in Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS).
Scotland’s national health information service NHS inform contains information on common signs and symptoms associated with long COVID, when to seek further advice from a healthcare professional and testimony from people affected by long COVID about the impact it has had on their daily lives. The information was updated in November 2023 following user research with people living with long COVID. The information will be kept under review to ensure alignment with any future changes to clinical guidelines.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what oversight it has of the Strategic Network for the
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 and what assessment it has been made of the
delivery of services.
Answer
The Scottish Government is represented on the Strategic Oversight and Programme Board of the National Strategic Network for the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19. The Strategic Oversight and Programme Board provides oversight of the workplan and programme outcomes of the Strategic Network.
On 23 December 2024 the Network published an evaluation the University of Leeds was commissioned to undertake of patient outcomes in those accessing NHS long COVID clinical services in Scotland. Analysis showed patients reported that they got somewhat better in symptoms and abilities over the first six months. Despite improvements, many reported that they still had major health issues compared to before having COVID.
The report notes that long COVID can be a fluctuating condition, meaning there is not necessarily a linear trend of improvement or deterioration in the symptom burden, functional disability, and overall health of patients. Therefore, care needs to be taken in drawing any conclusions from changes in patient reported outcome measure scores, particularly when over a short space of time. The full report is accessible at https://www.nn.nhs.scot/longcovid/2024/12/23/elaros-data-report/
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many newly qualified paramedics have joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in the North Region since 2023.
Answer
The number of Newly Qualified Paramedics (NQPs) who have joined the Scottish Ambulance Service in the North Region since 2023 are as follows:
2023-24 - 35
2024-25 - 48
2025-26 to date - 36
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 183 police stations need repairs, 177 contain asbestos and four contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2025
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to (a) GPs and (b) other medical professionals to gather a greater understanding of pulmonary fibrosis, and to equip them with the training necessary to support people living with the condition.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland (RCAP) sets out our vision for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of respiratory conditions including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease. We continue to work with many types of clinical advisors on delivering improvements to respiratory care and much of this is related to workforce and training of medical professionals.
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has a key role in coordinating recruitment to, and overseeing, the quality of postgraduate medical training for both GPs and hospital specialists. The training curricula are written by Medical Royal Colleges and approved by the General Medical Council (GMC), who consider advice from a wide range of stakeholders, including NES. These are subject to regular review and updating, and the training is delivered by territorial NHS Boards.
Scottish Government remains committed to delivering the National Workforce Strategy (Health and social care: national workforce strategy - gov.scot) and achieving the overall vision for “A sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices and fair work where all are respected and valued for the work they do”. Whilst no formal update has yet been published, significant progress has been made in a number of areas and we remain committed to providing a fuller update to the strategy at an appropriate time. Whilst the Strategy does not set out operational workforce planning requirements, it states how we are directing policy to support the achievement of our workforce.
