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-38114

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what specific (a) trauma-informed safeguards and (b) survivor protections are in place to prevent re-traumatisation where staff have institutional links to bodies under direct investigation by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

Information on the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry’s (SCAI) trauma informed approach to taking evidence is available on its’s website - Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry | Investigating the abuse of children in care in Scotland. SCAI have adopted a Trauma-Informed Approach, guided by specialist input and the NHS Education for Scotland's Trauma-Informed Justice and Skills Framework for working with victims and witnesses.

Question reference: S6W-38096

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs there are projected to be in 2060 under the (a) Base and (b) Growth Case scenario outlined in Project Willow.

Question reference: S6W-37829

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of daily water production is lost due to leakage, and how this compares with the rest of the UK.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Annual leakage levels are published in Scottish Water’s annual report and accounts which are routinely laid before Parliament and available online at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports. Data for England and Wales is published by Ofwat at https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publication/leakage-dataset-june-2025/

The leakage figure reported by Scottish Water currently equates to circa 24.7% of water supplied. Leakage is a function of an ageing asset base, and rates are affected by the increase in extreme weather conditions.

If seeking to compare leakage in Scotland with other parts of the UK, it should be noted that Scottish Water’s network is different to many others due to the remote nature of many rural and island communities, as well as the topography and length of pipework used. Direct comparison is difficult due to the very localised nature of how leakage is calculated. When all the various factors are considered, Scotland’s leakage rate appears marginally higher than the average for the UK, however it is still comparable.

Overall, Scottish Water has made great progress and since 2007 has reduced leakage by some 58%.

Question reference: S6W-37656

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is addressing any gap in information provision for people with gynaecological cancers, in light of reported findings that they are less likely to receive the information required to care for themselves at home.

Scottish Government continues to work with ‘NHS inform’ to review and update their cancer information provision to best meet patient needs. Their website contains specific gynaecological cancer information, including cervical, ovarian, vaginal, vulval and womb.

Scottish Government is also committed to ensuring that people impacted by a cancer diagnosis, including those with gynaecological cancers, receive person-centred and holistic care.

We are working in partnership with Macmillan to improve the service we offer patients with cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This joint partnership with Macmillan is worth £27 million and is the first of its kind in the UK, providing specialist key support workers who offer emotional, financial and practical support to people with cancer.

We are also supporting the roll out of the Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ) model to every Health and Social Care Partnership, ensuring 100% of adults diagnosed with cancer (within agreed criteria) will be invited or referred to an ICJ service to speak to a link officer who will complete a Holistic Needs Assessment and generate a care plan to meet their needs.

Question reference: S6W-37948

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what policies and procedures are in place regarding the storage, use, and disposal of tissue samples from non-suspicious deaths, and what safeguards exist to ensure that the consent and rights of the next of kin are respected.

Part 2 of the Human Tissue Act (Scotland) 2006 makes provision for post-mortem examinations for non-suspicious deaths including the requirement that any hospital-arranged post-mortem may only be carried out if authorisation is obtained from the nearest relative of the deceased or the deceased themselves in advance of death.

Failure to comply with the 2006 Act is an offence. Any authorisation given under the 2006 Act may also include such conditions as the party authorising the matter specifies, such as agreement to retain tissue samples as part of the medical record. It is the duty of those carrying out any authorised activity to do so, in so far as reasonably practicable, in accordance with the specified conditions.

The consent of the nearest relative is not required for a Procurator Fiscal-instructed post-mortem, however the views of the family will be taken into account when making a decision on whether or not to instruct a post-mortem.

Question reference: S6T-02570

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the removal of dangerous building cladding, in light of the recent publications by Scotland’s Cladding Remediation Programme.

Question reference: S6T-02583

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of claims by a whistleblower at Police Scotland that officers are being “coerced” into logging individuals in line with their gender identity, even in serious sexual assault cases.

Question reference: S6T-02586

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the connectivity of local communities in the west of Scotland, in light of reports that over 400 Stagecoach drivers in Ayr, Arran, Ardrossan and Kilmarnock have begun industrial action until 21 July.

Question reference: S6F-04173

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2025

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is working to ensure that patients are accurately informed of waiting times for NHS treatments following referrals to a specialist.

Question reference: S6F-04167

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 June 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether the home leave for prisoners system is operating appropriately and as intended.