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: S5W-33672

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of the telemedicine abortion service has had on costs of abortion provision.

Question reference: S5W-33665

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of complications or mental health concerns following an abortion were reported in 2019 where a woman took (a) only the second pill at home and (b) both pills at a clinic or hospital.

Question reference: S5W-33670

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many women have accessed abortion services provided by (a) the NHS and (b) independent providers since the changes to procedures on 31 March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-33666

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) call-outs by emergency services and (b) emergency presentations and/or admissions to emergency departments, hospitals, obstetrics/gynaecology units, paediatric units and early pregnancy awareness units in relation to legal abortions there have been since the changes to abortion procedures on 31 March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-33669

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have received a "Pills by Post" abortion kit from British Pregnancy Advisory Service providers since the changes to abortion procedures on 31 March 2020.

Question reference: S5W-33664

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of complications or mental health concerns following an abortion have been reported since the changes to procedures on 31 March 2020 where a woman (a) had an abortion via a fully remote service, (b) took only the second pill at home and (c) took both pills at a clinic or hospital, and at what gestation the complications occurred.

Fewer than ten significant complications or mental health concerns, which would or might have been avoided if the woman had had an in person appointment, have been reported where women had no in person appointment. Similarly, fewer than ten complications have been reported where women took only the second pill (misoprostol) at home, although the Scottish Government does not have information on all complications which may have occurred for this group. Given the very small numbers involved, the Scottish Government is not able to disclose further details, such as gestation, due to the risk of identifying individuals.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information on complications following abortions where women took both pills at a clinic or hospital.

Question reference: S5W-33674

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that the voices of women who may have experienced coercion either to continue or to terminate a pregnancy are being represented in its current consultation, Early medical abortion at home.

The Scottish Government is consulting on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home to allow abortion providers and other health professionals, the general public and in particular women who have experience of abortion services the opportunity to comment and submit evidence. Scottish Government officials have asked NHS Boards to make women receiving abortion treatment aware of the consultation where appropriate so that they can respond to it if they wish.

Question reference: S5F-04653

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2020

To ask the First Minister how many staff are employed to answer calls to book COVID-19 tests in Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-04829

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has met its climate change targets that were set during session 3 of the Parliament.

Question reference: S5F-04620

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 December 2020

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to mitigate the impact of any reduction in services due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and mental wellbeing of disabled people.