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-43937

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent assaults in hospitals, and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of any action it has already taken to date.

The Scottish Government have been clear that abuse or assault in any form is unacceptable, and everyone has the right to access care or their workplace without fear.

Health Boards are required to meet their legal duties to protect staff, patients and visitors. All incidents must be recorded through existing systems, fully investigated, and escalated to Police Scotland where appropriate.

The national Violence and Aggression Policy for staff advocates that managers should identify risks and ensure appropriate preventative measures are in place. This has recently been refreshed under the NHS Scotland ‘Once for Scotland’ Workforce Policies Programme and is scheduled to be published week commencing 9 March 2026.

Scottish Government officials continue to work closely with NHS Violence and Aggression Leads and the newly established NHS Sexual Harassment Network to gather information, share best practice, and provide ongoing assurance on the actions being taken across the system.

The NHS Scotland Charter for Patient Rights and Responsibilities also makes clear that individuals may face legal action if they are abusive, violent, or aggressive towards NHS staff, other patients, their carers or visitors while using NHS services.

Emergency workers are also further protected under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005. This Government has strengthened those protections by extending the Act, which originally covered ambulance workers, doctors, nurses and midwives in hospital settings or during emergency responses, to also include GPs and other doctors, nurses and midwives when delivering care in the community.

Question reference: S6W-43894

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support is offered to ovarian cancer patients who have to travel to England for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery.

Scottish Government wants people diagnosed with cancer to be treated as close to home as clinically possible.

As treatments for cancer become more complex and specialist, such as hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery, it is not possible to deliver them in every location. We know that the best outcomes are often associated with specialist centres and patients should be fully supported in accessing these.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to work collaboratively with HIPEC centres of excellence in England and transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way.

Question reference: S6W-43872

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the active travel budget being underspent over the last two years of budget decisions, for what reason it was reduced in the Autumn revision of the Budget.

The active travel budget was adjusted in the Autumn Budget Revision. The original 2025-26 active travel budget was £164.8 million, comprising £12.4 million resource and £152.4 million capital. In addition, a further £23.9 million for Cycling, Walking & Safer Routes was allocated within the ‘central government grants’ budget line, bringing the total original allocation for 2025-26 to £188.7 million.

The comparator figures for 2025-26 are lower following agreed transfers at the Autumn Budget Revision. Funding was moved from the Active Travel budget to Local Authorities and to the Road Safety Directorate of Transport Scotland so that these delivery partners could take forward active travel projects directly. A further £0.5 million was transferred into the Active Travel budget to support Bikeability.

Following these adjustments, the revised total of £135.9 million, consisting of £13.1 million resource and £122.8 million capital, reflects these transfers and ensures that the budget is aligned with where delivery responsibility sits for the remainder of the year.

This revision is a technical adjustment to support delivery and does not represent any reduction in the Scottish Government’s commitment to active travel investment.

Question reference: S6W-43887

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake an urgent assessment of the five contracted partners in SSEN Distribution’s £950 million framework for improving subsea grid connections for Scotland’s island communities, in relation to upholding the aims of the Fair Work Convention, which was renewed on 19 February 2026.

SSEN’s £950 million framework does not include any public funding, and the Scottish Government does not have the levers to enforce Fair Work conditions on private investments.
Employment law is reserved to the UK Government.
The Scottish Government strongly encourages all employers in Scotland to follow Fair Work principles as part of its wider Fair Work agenda, and is using all the levers available to us to make Fair Work the norm by promoting and embedding Fair Work within every Ministerial portfolio and across the economy, including through our Fair Work First conditionality policy.

Question reference: S6W-43803

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, what its position is on whether it is appropriate for the Lord Advocate to provide information on a live criminal case to ministers that is not in the public domain.

In dealing with recent Urgent Questions in Parliament (18 February and 25 February 2026), the Lord Advocate has advised the practice of providing updates to Scottish and UK governments pre-dates devolution in 1999. The Lord Advocate explained and provided examples of occasions on which this has been done, which involved prosecutors properly sharing information with the government which is not in the public domain at the time it is shared or will not be made public.

Question reference: S6W-43893

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being done to make hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery for ovarian cancer available in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to make hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery for ovarian cancer available in Scotland.

Although the value of HIPEC could be recognised for a limited number of patients, any future service establishment would need to be considered in line with patient need and improved patient outcomes. HIPEC is not a standard treatment for Ovarian Cancer and is not considered routinely. It is typically used as a specialised add-on therapy.

Question reference: S6W-43892

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how ovarian cancer patients in Scotland can access hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery.

Question reference: S6W-43802

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, what its position is on whether it has been involved in any political interference in the criminal case against Peter Murrell.

Question reference: S6W-44061

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the minimum 40% office attendance requirement on staff living in rural, island and remote communities.

Question reference: S6W-43883

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to the security of employment of the workers at Wave Energy Scotland as part of its decision to not allocate the organisation funding in its draft Budget 2026-27.