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: S6F-03047

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on NHS Scotland's ability to treat patients, in light of the reported scarcity of life-saving medicines in the UK due to Brexit.

Question reference: S6F-03037

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-26411

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to create a working group with relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the NICE guidance on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

The Scottish Government fully supports the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on diagnosing and managing ME/CFS. We wrote to all Scottish health boards following its publication to raise awareness of the guidance and encourage its implementation.

We are committed to improving care for people with ME/CFS and want to facilitate constructive communication between patients and clinicians so that all parties are engaged in finding a way forward.

We are currently reviewing options to foster consensus around the applicability and implementation of the NICE guideline on ME/CFS, and how this relates to other existing clinical guidance in Scotland. Input from people with lived experience of ME/CFS will be integral to any agreed option.

Question reference: S6W-26479

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the size is of any backlog of cases that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has, and what the SPSO is doing to reduce any such backlog.

As of 18 April 2024, the SPSO had a backlog of 286 non-priority cases awaiting allocation and 0 priority cases awaiting allocation. Over the past two years, the timescales for cases requiring further investigation being allocated has reduced from 11 months to 4 months. This is despite a 33% increase in the number of complaints being received in 2023-24 when compared to 2022-23. The SPSO have received funding from the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to recruit more staff to assist with continuing to reduce timescales. In addition, the SPSO continues to monitor resources and service delivery to make best use of their resources.

Question reference: S6W-26729

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much money would have been allocated to GPs through the GP Premises Sustainability Fund over the current financial year that will now not be allocated.

The Scottish Government did not allocate money to GP practices through the GP Premises Sustainability fund.

GP practices could apply for GP Sustainability Loans to their Health Boards. These were funded by the Scottish Government as and when loans were completed.

The GP Sustainability Loans scheme is currently paused while the Scottish Government reimburses Health Boards for loans that were completed in 2023-24. This is due to a greater than anticipated number of loans having completed last year.

Question reference: S6W-26740

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many community children’s nurses are employed by NHS Scotland, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-26735

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local authorities to ensure that there is sufficient staff to invest in a significant scaling up of the prevention of homelessness activity.

The Scottish Government wants to see a renewed focus on the prevention of homelessness and this is underlined by the inclusion of the homelessness prevention provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 March 2024.

Alongside this, we published a Financial Memorandum which set out estimated costs for the provisions included within the Bill. This was informed by a survey of local authorities on the potential resource implications of the changes.

We will work with local authorities to develop the supporting guidance and training necessary to make the duties successful and to discuss the most appropriate timing of implementation against the background of a challenging environment.

Question reference: S6W-26742

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support the development of a Specialist Practitioner Qualification, at Masters level, for community children’s nursing in Scotland.

Access to continuing professional development and education for community children’s nursing staff in Scotland is vital as it enables children to receive specialist care within a setting that is familiar and comforting to them. However, it is the responsibility of higher education institutions to develop and deliver education at Masters level. It is the Scottish Government’s understanding that Robert Gordon University have developed a contemporary Specialist Practitioner Qualification in community children's nursing, at Masters level, which will be presented for approval by the Nursing and Midwifery Council at the end of May this year. If approved, the programme will move forward with a provisional starting date of September 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26739

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that inflationary costs for hospices and recent Agenda for Change pay awards have resulted in current funding levels being insufficient for hospices to operate sustainably.

The Scottish Government fully understands the pressures that hospices are currently facing. The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health engages regularly with this sector, and has visited a number of hospices and met with hospice leaders over the last few months.

Integration Joint Boards are responsible for the planning, and commissioning of adult palliative care services, including hospices, using the integrated budget under their control. We have invested over £2 billion in the 2024-25 budget for social care and integration, delivering on our Programme for Government commitment to increase social care spending by 25% over this Parliament. Despite this significant investment the financial climate remains extremely challenging and we are working with partners to understand and address the challenges, within the context of a finite budget.

Question reference: S6W-26730

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported decision to suspend the GP Premises Sustainability Fund, how many applications for such loans to GPs have been processed since the scheme was introduced in 2018, and how many applications remain outstanding.