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-41733

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Healthcare Improvement Scotland has received about maternity care provided by maternity units in each year since 2020-21, broken down by maternity unit.

Question reference: S6W-41734

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it took to support NHS Lothian following the NHS board’s whistleblowing investigation into maternity care at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in December 2024.

Question reference: S6W-41731

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many inspections Healthcare Improvement Scotland has made of maternity units in each year since 2020-21, broken down by (a) maternity unit and (b) whether these were announced or unannounced visits.

Question reference: S6W-41453

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to hold to account corporations that reportedly use specific branding to justify a so-called pink tax, which targets women to pay higher prices for basic goods.

The Scottish Government has no powers to hold corporations to account for the use of specific branding to target women to pay higher prices for basic goods. Consumer protection, including provisions to protect consumers from unfair trading practices, is wholly reserved to the UK Government and regulated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

However, we believe that this practice is unacceptable and have raised the issue with the CMA.

Question reference: S6W-41080

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are to increase funding for hospices in line with inflation, in light of reports that hospices in Edinburgh are reducing services due to a lack of funding increases.

Through the 2025-26 Scottish Budget the Scottish Government has provided £5 million for independent hospices. This is to help independent hospices achieve pay parity for staff supporting clinical care with NHS levels for 2025-26.

However, it is important to reflect that it remains the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to commission palliative care services, including independent hospices, to meet the needs of their local populations. As such, we expect Scottish hospices and IJBs to continue to engage on any matters that may impact on the delivery of local palliative care services.

Scottish Government officials continue to work with the chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group and Hospice UK to take forward work to help provide financial stability to independent hospices. This includes developing a new framework to support discussion between IJBs and independent hospices related to the commissioning of services.

Question reference: S6W-41407

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many companies have been excluded from participating in tender processes for public services contracts under public procurement regulations, and for what reasons each of those companies has been excluded.

Public procurement legislation provides that bidders may be excluded from a tender exercise in some circumstances.

Any decision to exclude a bidder must be evidenced-based and proportionate. It must also consider any evidence which the bidder provides of “self-cleansing” measures it has taken, such as co-operation with investigating authorities, payment of compensation, or appropriate organisational and personnel changes intended to prevent further misconduct.

Decisions about whether to exclude a bidder from any given procurement process must be made on a case-by-case basis, and are for the contracting authority carrying out that process.

The Scottish Government does not hold a record of companies which have been excluded.

Question reference: S6W-40929

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 30 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns by some social care organisations that a shortage of care home places might lead to an increase in the risk of suicide.

There is no direct evidence of a link between available care home places and suicide rates or risks, though we are seeking to understand the suicide risks for older adults. Suicide Prevention Scotland is undertaking work to build this understanding and the effective interventions to address these risks.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing a sustainable health and social care system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, in the right place. Although we have overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning, providing appropriate social care capacity and charging for services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and integrated health and social care partnerships.

This year we have made available over £14 billion to local authorities, a real terms increase of 4.3 per cent, with a record £15 billion for 2025-26 set out in the Scottish Budget, a further real terms increase of 4.7 per cent. But it would be for these local authorities to assess local population needs and where investment needs to be targeted to improve the social care infrastructure within their relevant area.

Suicide prevention is a key priority for the Scottish Government and we published an ambitious 10-year Suicide Prevention Strategy: Creating Hope Together: Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032 Creating Hope Together and Action Plan:creating-hope-together-scotlands-suicide-prevention-action-plan-2022-2025.pdf with COSLA in September 2022. This strategy recognises the complex factors affecting suicide, and our action plan sets out the wide programme of work we are taking forward with partners - across the public, private, third sector and communities - to ensure everyone affected by suicide can access compassionate, appropriate and timely support.

Scottish Government has met the Programme for Government commitment to double suicide prevention annual funding to £2.8m in the current parliamentary term, which is helping us to drive forward our ambitious strategy and action plan.

Question reference: S6W-41029

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39505 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 August 2025, what plans it has to encourage local authorities to adopt the EV cable channel initiative developed by Transport Scotland.

The Scottish Government continues to encourage innovative solutions to support equitable access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across Scotland.

Cross-pavement charging solutions represent a practical approach to EV users who do not have access to off-street parking to access home charging, enabling them to access cheaper tariffs. We recognise the potential of this initiative to support our broader ambitions for a just transition to net zero and to reduce barriers to EV adoption.

That is why in August this year in East Lothian I officially launched the Scottish Government launched the Cross-Pavement Charging Grant, which offers up to £3,500 to support the installation of cross-pavement charging solutions. So far, three Local Authorities – East Lothian, Perth and Kinross, and Renfrewshire – are participating in this pilot.

We would welcome more local authorities participating. My officials and Energy Saving Trust (EST) are currently in discussion with a number of local authorities about taking part in the scheme.

To further encourage uptake of cross-pavement charging, the Scottish Government is actively engaging with local authorities through the SCOTS (Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland) network. This engagement includes the sharing of technical guidance, case studies from pilot areas, and support to assess local feasibility.

In addition, the Scottish Government is working to ensure that any deployment of cross-pavement charging solutions do not compromise pedestrian safety or the integrity of public footpaths.

We remain committed to supporting local authorities in identifying consistent and safe approaches to cross-pavement charging solutions, and we will continue to work collaboratively to ensure that innovative solutions such as EV cable channels can be deployed effectively and equitably across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-40936

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's speech on 27January 2025 regarding improving public services and NHS renewal, what impact the introduction of specialist frailty teams is having on (a) A&E waiting times and (b) outcomes for older people; what progress it made toward delivering such teams in every A&E department by the target of summer 2025; what funding and staffing resources were allocated towards this; what steps have been taken to address any recruitment or training challenges faced; what criteria is used to assess whether an A&E department now has a fully functioning team, and how many teams are now in place, compared with summer 2025 target.

The Scottish Government is investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. This includes £85 million in 2025–26 to support unscheduled care improvements, such as expanding frailty services, Discharge without Delay, and Hospital at Home. Funding has been allocated based on boards’ needs and priorities, including frailty provision and performance.

All NHS boards now have access to frailty services, with tailored models being developed to meet local needs. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) are providing practical improvement support to local systems to increase capacity and improve front door frailty pathways - an update on progress will be provided in the autumn. While not every board has a dedicated frailty unit in place, work is ongoing to develop or enhance these where appropriate, tailored to local needs and infrastructure.

While current A&E performance is below the levels we all wish to see, we are working closely with boards to manage pressures. These measures are already delivering early results—improving outcomes, reducing delays, and helping shift care from hospital to home.

Question reference: S6W-41454

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the mechanisms and data that the rent control system in the Scottish (Housing) Bill will be based on.