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-40983

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app aligns with its ambition to establish a single digital platform for the NHS, and when that technology will be available in Scotland.

Scotland’s National Digital Platform (NDP) brings together cloud-based digital components and services. The technology available on the platform will improve consistency of access to core digital tools in the health and care system. MyCare.scot will make extensive use of the reuseable digital components and data services offered by NDP. The NDP is currently operational, and the member can read more about it at: https://www.nationaldigitalplatform.scot/about/.

Question reference: S6W-40982

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app aligns with its ambition to establish a single shared electronic patent record, and when that technology will be available in Scotland.

The introduction of the MyCare.scotapp marks a significant milestone in the long-standing ambition of the Scottish Government to introduce a digital health and care record.

The initial launch of the app in December 2025 will enable individuals in Lanarkshire to access and manage aspects of their personal health and care data, prior to a national roll-out in April 2026. This makes use of the reusable digital components and data services offered by the National Digital Platform which will also mean staff have better access to health and care data to deliver better care. Both these elements should be considered essential in laying the foundations for wider development of the digital health and care record.

Question reference: S6W-41037

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of the launch of MyCare.scot, Scotland’s new health and social care online app, when it anticipates that NHS patients will be able to re-order prescriptions via the app.

I can confirm that enabling people to re-order prescriptions are a core part of the plans for future functionality of MyCare.scot. Scotland’s Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme (DPDP) is a critical dependency for this functionality. The full business case for this programme is currently progressing through the appropriate national governance and will establish timescales that will allow for this functionality.

The member can find out more information on DPDP on NSS’ website; https://www.nss.nhs.scot/national-programmes/digital-prescribing-and-dispensing-pathways/about-the-digital-prescribing-and-dispensing-pathways-programme/.

Question reference: S6W-40977

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement and collaboration it has had with the social work sector in the development of the MyCare.scot app.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40976 on 14 October 2025. NHS Education Scotland (NES) who have been commissioned by Scottish Government as a lead partner for MyCare.scot, are engaging with a range of stakeholders. I can confirm this also includes NES’ ongoing facilitation of collaborative workshops with key attendees including the social work sector.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-40976

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement and collaboration it has had with (a) integration joint boards and (b) health and social care partnerships in the development of the MyCare.scot app.

Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) as a lead partner for the delivery of the Digital Front Door (DFD) Programme, including MyCare.scot, and NES are engaging with a range of stakeholders in the development of MyCare.scot and DFD. That engagement includes working in partnership with COSLA to support national implementation. Ongoing and future work will include NES and Scottish Government engaging with integration joint boards, health and social care partnerships and Local Authorities.

A high-level Rollout Summary, published on 26 September, for MyCare.scot is available at:https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2025/09/health-social-care-app-mycare-scot-national-rollout-high-level-summary/documents/health-social-care-app-mycare-scot/health-social-care-app-mycare-scot/govscot%3Adocument/health-social-care-app-mycare-scot.pdf.

COSLA and the Scottish Government are working together to deliver MyCare.scot.

Question reference: S6W-40979

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what functionality and specific services the MyCare.scot app will have and provide in April 2026.

Question reference: S6W-40828

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data on which dental practices currently provide preventative treatment for children, and, if so, whether all dental practices currently offer such treatment.

NHS dental preventive care delivery is recorded at population level. Public Health Scotland stats for the quarter to June 2025 NHS dental data monitoring report - Quarter ending June 2025 - NHS dental data monitoring report - Publications - Public Health Scotland show that over half a million enhanced preventive care (including Childsmile) was delivered to NHS dental patients. All patients, including Children may receive preventive advice from the dentist based on the clinical need for such guidance to be provided when visiting the practice.

Question reference: S6W-40827

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on which commitments made in the Oral Health Improvement Plan (a) have been delivered to date and (b) remain outstanding.

The Oral Health Improvement Plan (OHIP) remains a relevant and important cornerstone of NHS dental services policy in Scotland. Significant progress has been made on the commitments from the OHIP since its publication, including through the introduction of payment reform in November 2023.

Our recently published Operational Improvement Plan sets out this Government’s current ambitions to further improve NHS dental services both now and into the future, supported by new funding in 2025-26. The Plan can be viewed at

https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-operational-improvement-plan/.

Question reference: S6W-40829

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children under the age of 16 have been admitted to an NHS hospital for a tooth extraction as a result of tooth decay in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-40830

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many accredited general dental practitioners have provided routine preventative care in care homes in each of the past five years, and how many unique patients have received such care in each year.

The Scottish Government does not hold a central list of accredited general dental practitioners providing preventive advice in care homes. All such advice is included within the overall Public Health statistics, as noted in S6W-40828 on 7 October 2025. The introduction of payment reform in November 2023 precludes comparable figures for each of the last five years; information may be available in previously published Public Health Scotland releases. Public Health Statistics published to end quarter March 2025 provide NHS dental data monitoring report - Quarter ending March 2025 - NHS dental data monitoring report - Publications - Public Health Scotland an overview of the post reform performance across the 2024-25 financial year which indicate that around 12,000 Domiciliary and Recalled Attendance visits were undertaken by dentists in that year.