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-42625

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 9 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the uptake of the £225 per week care experienced bursary for young people, including whether it is acting as an incentive to leave school early.

I am proud that we continue to provide Care Experienced students with unparalleled support through the Care Experienced Bursary (CEB).

The Scottish Government gather data on the uptake of the CEB in both Further and Higher Education each Academic Year. The £225 per week rate is for Further Education students. The most recent data we hold is from Academic Year 2023-24 and shows that a total of 3,050 Further Education students accessed the bursary.

The age breakdown of those students highlighted that around a third of the total number were under the age of 18. Based on the information we hold, we cannot confirm if those of school age were incentivised by the CEB to leave school early.

Colleges provide education and training for a wide group of learners with different backgrounds, experience and levels of prior attainment; giving them the opportunity to achieve their potential and obtain recognised qualifications required for a skilled workforce.

It is important to the Scottish Government that those Care Experienced students looking to enter or remain in Further Education have access to consistent levels of support irrespective of their age. This ensures parity in the support available and works to remove any barriers, evidenced by the Commission on Widening Access report, that Care Experienced students may face when progressing in their education.

Question reference: S6W-42567

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that some Edinburgh Western constituents are yet to receive their Winter Heating Payments and have been told that they may need to wait until February to get them in their accounts, what the reasons are for some payments not having been allocated.

Winter Heating Payment is an automatic payment made during the winter months to help eligible people with heating costs.

It replaced the UK Government’s Cold Weather Payment for people in Scotland and is paid regardless of temperature – unlike the payment it replaced, which only applied if temperatures stayed at or below freezing for a week.

Social Security Scotland contacts clients before payment is issued. Most people will receive their payment by the end of December 2025, although payments will continue to be made until the end of February 2026.

As of 14 December 2025, more than 225,000 Winter Heating Payments had already been made. Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Benefits management information release to 14 December 2025.

Question reference: S6F-04558

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-42499

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a timetable for the independent review of maternity services in Caithness, including key milestones, community engagement sessions and the anticipated publication date for the final report.

The Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will look at the scope of a national review of maternity services based on the emerging themes and outcomes of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Inspections of Maternity Units across Scotland, and any other area that the Taskforce might identify. As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care made clear during the Maternity Service debate in the Scottish Parliament on 5 November 2025, the Taskforce will be asked to review specifically the issues in Caithness and other rural communities, including Stranraer.

A full workplan will be agreed by the Taskforce once it has been established, and Parliament will be updated in due course.

Question reference: S6W-42498

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent review of maternity services in Caithness will be conducted separately from the new Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, and whether the review will be chaired by an individual who is fully independent of both NHS Highland and the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-42497

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure meaningful and consistent involvement of (a) Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT), (b) local midwives and (c) families in each stage of the independent review of maternity services in Caithness.

Question reference: S6W-41992

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what the average number of calls made by a patient has been before securing access to medical care in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold information about how many calls are made on average by a patient before securing access to medical care. The telephony systems currently used by most GP practices do not provide such data.

As part of our recent agreement with the BMA, the Scottish Government will invest in a national programme to ensure every GP practice has modern cloud-based telephony. By January 2027, every practice will need to have moved to cloud-based systems, in line with the national Public Switched Telephone Network switch-off. Work will begin with a full baseline assessment and agreed national standards, supported by training and change management. The main implementation phase for practices adopting digital cloud based telephony will take place in 2026-27, and we will be able to begin collecting data from practices once this work is complete.

Practices will be expected to use a core set of features such as automated call back, call flow, and real-time monitoring. These features are designed to reduce queues, improve safety, and provide the data needed for service planning. We will seek to establish a national programme to oversee this work.

Question reference: S6W-42540

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the confirmation process for executors to get authority to manage and distribute a deceased person's estate.

The Scottish Law Commission recently started a review of Scots executry law, which includes the need to seek confirmation. The project may review, amongst others, whether confirmation should continue to be a judicial process and whether some or all of the executry process could be simplified through the use of online or simpler processes. The Commission is always keen to engage with stakeholders who might be affected by the subject matter of any project, and who wish to contribute. Further information can be sought at [email protected]. The Scottish Government will consider any recommendations for reform the Commission may make.

Question reference: S6W-42542

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 17 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to work with other UK nations to develop a consistent approach to the confirmation process in Scotland, equivalent to probate in England, for executors to get authority to manage and distribute a deceased person's estate, in light of reported concerns from residents in the Edinburgh Western constituency that there are differences in the process in Scotland and England.

The Scots law of succession and executry differs from the law elsewhere in the UK and this is reflected in the judicial process of obtaining a grant of confirmation. The Scottish Government has no current plans to work with other UK nations to reform the confirmation process. However, the Scottish Law Commission has started a review of Scots executry law and the Scottish Government will consider any recommendations for reform made as a result.

Question reference: S6W-42305

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing publicly accessible bleed control kits in high-footfall locations, as is done with defibrillators, to help save the lives of victims of knife crime or other traumatic injuries.

We do not currently have a plan to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland but we encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the public, including young people themselves, to learn the basic first aid skills which could be vital in saving a life.

Whilst our approach to tackling knife crime is to prevent young people from picking up a knife in the first instance, it is important that bystanders are given the best advice on how to provide direct pressure to a bleeding wound using readily available items such as dry towels or clothing. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handlers are well trained to provide first aid advice to bystanders before an ambulance arrives.

SAS is following the position of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which is supported by a number of UK organisations such as the London Ambulance Service and the NHS England London Violence Reduction Programme, in promoting bystander first aid but not the general role out of commercially available bleed kits. The SAS major trauma team regularly reviews how best to treat patients experiencing significant bleeding, which includes reviewing and taking part in guidance and research.