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-37715

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the longest recorded waiting time has been for a cataract operation in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) uses the national waiting times datamart to collect electronic patient records covering the waits that patients experience waiting for treatment as an inpatient or day-case under the Treatment Time Guarantee.

This data source can be used routinely to identify the specialty of treatment. However, although the records are designed to collect coded information on the procedure that is planned for the patient, this information is often either incomplete, lacking in essential detail and/or its accuracy cannot be assured. In addition, the procedure(s) that was planned may not always reflect the procedure actually performed after the patient was admitted for treatment. The latter is not captured through the national datamart. Consequently, PHS is not currently able to report accurately on waiting times to this level of detail.

Question reference: S6W-37714

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any national strategies or funding initiatives aimed at increasing the number of cataract surgeries performed.

In January 2022, the Scottish Government commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery to establish the Scottish National Cataract Short Life Working Group to address current challenges in cataract surgery in Scotland.

This work has led to the publication of 'Improving the Delivery of Cataract Surgery in Scotland: a Blueprint for Success' which will support Boards to deliver high quality, high volume, specialist care.

This Blueprint builds on existing work that has already been done by the National Eyecare Workstream to:

Embed recommendations from Health Board Ophthalmology Peer Reviews.
Align with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists guidelines for training lists and high volume service lists.
Acknowledge different models of service delivery from various sites across NHS Scotland.

Cataract Surgery Standards were published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in December 2023. Cataract surgery standards – Healthcare Improvement Scotland

In 2025/26 we have announced over £200 million to reduce waiting lists and help support reduction of delayed discharge. This will contribute to additional ophthalmology procedures, alongside our National Treatment Centre programme which is delivering cataract surgery in NTC Highland and NHS Golden Jubilee University National Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-37731

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide figures for the vacancy rate within the social care workforce, including average time to fill posts, in each NHS board since 2018.

Responsibility for publishing data and intelligence on the social service sector in Scotland was delegated to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in 2001 by Scottish Ministers under the Regulation of Care Scotland Act 2001.

Reports on sector vacancy rates, including breakdowns by local authority and ‘hard to fill posts’, between 2018 and 2023 can be found on SSSC’s website here:

Vacancies reports | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data

Please note SSSC is working to provide more current data to workforce planners and now publishes data on social worker-filled posts and vacancies every six months which can be found here:

Social worker filled posts and vacancies six-monthly survey at June 2024 | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data

Question reference: S6O-04721

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has introduced in the last year to improve road safety across the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6O-04683

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost to local authorities has been since May 2021 of dealing with planning applications and appeals relating to new energy infrastructure, such as wind farms, pylons and battery storage facilities.

Question reference: S6O-04631

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the transport provision for communities across the Highlands and Islands has improved or worsened since 2007.

Since 2007 we have completed ten major trunk road upgrades, including on the A830, A82, A9, and A96, improving the safety and reliability of these routes for roads users across the Highlands, Islands and beyond.

We opened new stations at Conon Bridge and Inverness Airport, and our investment in Scotland’s Railway has allowed for improved frequency and journey times on the Highland Mainline and between Inverness and Aberdeen.

Orkney and Shetland residents receive a 30% discount on ferry fares, while Road Equivalent Tariff saves passengers around £25 million per year in total.

Over 57,000 young people across the Highlands and Islands have benefited from free bus travel, with more than 9.2 million journeys made since the Under 22’s scheme launched.

Transport provision has improved, and will continue to improve, as we introduce new vessels to our ferry networks, and deliver further upgrades to key trunk roads and public transport infrastructure.

Question reference: S6W-36948

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has carried out with local authorities in the Highlands and Islands in the last year regarding wildfire preparedness.

The Scottish Wildfire Forum brings together a range of practitioners to tackle issues concerning wildfire preparedness. The Scottish Government is itself a member of the Forum, but membership includes NatureScot, Scottish Forestry, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Highland Council.

When Scotland is at a high threat of wildfires, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) work in partnership with the Scottish Wildfire Forum, to alert the public and partners to the threat of wildfires by issuing “Wildfire Danger Assessments”.

SFRS issue alerts through their social media channels, their website and local media outlets, and request assistance from Local Authorities across Scotland to share safety messaging to seek engagement with as many members of the public as possible.

Question reference: S6W-36949

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on public safety awareness campaigns on preventing wildfires in each of the last 10 years.

Scotland’s wildfire strategy is led by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to help keep communities safe and to limit the effects of wildfires on the environment.

SFRS carry out community engagement as well as work to increase awareness through news releases and social media. The expenditure on public safety awareness therefore includes staff hours, delivering school talks, engaging with landowners and the cost of the materials themselves. The Scottish Government does not, therefore, hold data on SFRS’ expenditure.

Question reference: S6W-36960

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was of dealing with each wildfire incident in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-36952

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to employers in the Highlands and Islands to enable staff to carry out retained firefighter duties during working hours.

Recruitment and retention of Wholetime and On Call firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Chief Fire Officer and Board.

Many on call firefighters have primary jobs and have a primary employer. SFRS has an Employers Recognition Scheme whereby employers are recognised for their efforts in supporting their employees to become on call firefighters. SFRS also has an On Call Guide for Employers. This enables employers to learn more about what is involved, how they can support their employees to become On Call firefighters. Also outlined are the benefits to their organisation and the valuable contribution to their local communities.