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: S6O-03332

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist the Scottish Prison Service in the recruitment of new officers, in light of reported concerns regarding an ageing prison officer workforce.

Question reference: S6O-03293

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to reiterate the harms caused to both livestock and farmers by livestock worrying.

Question reference: S6W-26657

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported announcement from DADDS dental practice in Dumfries that it is to close, which will reportedly lead to the deregistration of 4,000 NHS patients, whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to support access to dental care for people residing within the Dumfries and Galloway Council area.

Question reference: S6O-03188

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with the health secretary regarding implementing the commitments contained within the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022.

Question reference: S6W-25486

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure early and consistent diagnosis of severe asthma across the NHS.

The Scottish Government’s Respiratory care - action plan: 2021 to 2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) sets out our priorities and commitments for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions such as severe asthma.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is also developing a person-centred, once for Scotland severe asthma pathway which will streamline access to advanced therapies and specialist care. This will identify people with severe asthma in the community who are struggling to manage their condition and at high risk of a poor outcome; provide a clear referral pathway through to severe asthma specialists; and provide an evidence-based framework to aid specialists in their decision-making.

Question reference: S6W-25835

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its further consultation paper on restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt.

Improving diet and levels of healthy weight remains a public health priority for this Government. As part of a range of action to improve diet, and help create a food environment which better supports healthier choices, we remain committed to restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) at the point of purchase - this is when people make their decisions about what and how much to buy and to consume, for themselves as well as for their families.

I can confirm that, on 27 February 2024, the consultation paper on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt was published on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781835219058 and on the Citizen Space portal at

https://consult.gov.scot/population-health/restriction-promotion-of-food-and-drink-proposed .

The consultation builds on previous public consultations and Ministerial engagement with business and health stakeholders, and is supported with a partial Business Regulatory Impact Assessment which has also been published today: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781835219867 .

The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing on 21 May 2024.

Question reference: S6F-02874

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the latest reported figures highlighting the impact of livestock worrying in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-25612

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 February 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Maree Todd on 19 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress regarding its plans for delivering on its new Dementia Strategy for Scotland.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint initial 2-year Delivery Plan , which sets out the key deliverables we’ll prioritise to help achieve the ambitions set out in our new Dementia Strategy for Scotland, published in May 2023.

’m very proud that both the Strategy and the Delivery Plan have been informed by the voice of people with lived experience of dementia, alongside wider partners, and this engagement will continue throughout the lifetime of the strategy to ensure we hold each other to account.

The Plan outlines the priorities for delivery in the coming 2 years, including a focus on:

building our communities’ resilience and participation in supporting people living with dementia and their care partners, through the creation of a cross-sector Programme Board to direct investment to community resources, and a national anti-stigma campaign to make people less afraid of talking about dementia, and;
Ensuring our world-renowned policy of a year’s post diagnostic support for people diagnosed with dementia delivers for everyone, including their care partners, with an independent evaluation to guide our efforts to improve people’s access to support; and
Enhancing the innovations we are seeing in brain health, through evaluating a new Scottish Government-supported Brain Health Service in Aberdeen (the first of its kind in the UK), and establishing a cross-sector steering group on future novel treatments for dementia, and their impact on services and supports.

The Delivery Plan makes clear that the agreed key deliverables signed off by all partners will be prioritised for funding.

Each of the deliverables will be funded and delivered, with accountability to our Strategy Delivery Group, made up of our Lived Experience Panel and key delivery partners.

I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues across the chamber as we move this ambitious new dementia strategy for Scotland into delivery, to achieve our ambition to keep people living with dementia well for longer, in a setting of their choice.

Question reference: S6W-25463

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to continue direct payments in the new rural support framework.

The Scottish Government has committed to no cliff edges in support between existing schemes and the introduction of the new four tier framework. We remain committed to supporting active farming and sustainable food production with direct payments, while also delivering on our nature and climate commitments.

We have previously set out that there will be a four-tiered approach to funding and there is ongoing engagement with key stakeholder organisations to determine what goes where in each of those tiers. I want to thank everyone who is contributing their expertise and ideas to that process.

Clearly, part of that depends on how much funding is available in each tier. I can advise Parliament that the funding for Tiers 1 and 2 will constitute at least 70% of the overall funding envelope to support farming, crofting and land management from 2027.

These are the tiers that will reflect most closely the direct payment regime, albeit with conditions built in from the start.

I can also advise that once we have determined what and how to replace the current Less Favoured Area Support Scheme – LFASS – with additional support for where the greatest need is and where people are farming and crofting in the most marginal and challenging of circumstances, that funding will also be made available through Tier 2.

This approach is the right one for 2027 – it delivers on our promise not to create cliff edges but to support farmers and crofters to transition to the new support framework.

Question reference: S6O-03057

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with South of Scotland Enterprise regarding any preliminary analysis of the outcome of its recently implemented four-day working week pilot.