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-43946

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the existing CT and MRI scanner stock across NHS boards, what conversations it has had with NHS boards and what assessment it has made of whether it is sufficient to meet present and future demand.

Question reference: S6W-43944

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the most recent Public Health Scotland data, what assessment it has made of the likelihood of meeting the March 2026 diagnostic waiting times target for radiology.

Question reference: S6W-43945

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has undertaken of any impact of radiographer and clinical radiologist staffing levels on timely access to CT and MRI scans.

Question reference: S6W-43943

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve timely access to CT and MRI scans, and how the impact of initiatives, including seven-day services and mobile scanning units, is being evaluated.

Question reference: S6W-43810

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of efforts to reduce child poverty, whether it will consider widening the eligibility criteria of the Young Patients Family Fund to make it more accessible to the families who are most in need of financial support by (a) taking a "cash first" approach and (b) extending it to outpatients attending regular appointments.

The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) is designed to support the families of all babies, children and young people from birth to age 18 who require inpatient care in Scotland. The fund helps with travel, subsistence and accommodation costs to ensure families can remain close to their child during a hospital stay.

The Scottish Government keeps the operation and eligibility of the YPFF under regular review, alongside the wider financial support available to patients and families through the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Any decisions on potential changes to the YPFF will be considered in that context, recognising that accessibility is an important factor.

Question reference: S6W-43914

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Ayrshire and Arran's escalation to stage 4 of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework, what discussions it has had with the board regarding whether it is seeking to sell the Carrick Glen National Treatment Centre, and whether the board has formally made such a request, including whether the board asked that the sale takes place after 7 May 2026, following the Scottish Parliament election.

Question reference: S6W-43911

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS boards regarding reports of their continuing (a) purchase and (b) regular use of pagers; how much each board has spent on the acquisition and servicing of these devices in each of the last three years; what its position is on whether such expenditure represents good value for the public purse; what plans each NHS board has to end such use, and by what date they will do so.

Question reference: S6W-43912

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS boards regarding reports of their continuing (a) purchase and (b) regular use of fax machines; how much each board has spent on the acquisition and servicing of these devices in each of the last three years; what its position is on whether such expenditure represents good value for the public purse; what plans each NHS board has to end such use, and by what date they will do so.

Question reference: S6W-43910

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent tooth decay in children, and what recent discussions it has had with the British Dental Association regarding this.

Question reference: S6W-43916

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Ayrshire and Arran's escalation to stage 4 of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework, what discussions it has had with the board regarding the (a) operating cost so far and (b) date of the opening of the National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service for Scotland (Foxgrove); what its response is to the recent information released under Freedom of Information that £5,243,606 has been spent on salaries for staff at the site since 2021, despite it not yet formally being opened, what its position is on whether this represents good value for the public purse, and whether it expects Foxgrove to open prior to 7 May 2026, before the Scottish Parliament election.