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: S7W-02056

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S7W-01589

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding each local authority in Scotland has been provided to fund their community police force.

Question reference: S7W-01588

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what further funding can be devolved to local authorities to enable an increase in the provision of funding towards the community policing fund.

Question reference: S7W-01404

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25 broken down by NHS board, and what percentage this represented of the (a) total budget for mental health and (b) total health budget for each of these boards.

Question reference: S7W-01457

Asked by: Helen McDade, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request NHS Education for Scotland to publish information on the number of children's and young people's nursing graduates compared with the number of available children's and young people's nursing posts, broken down by NHS board, in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S7W-01405

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it achieved its targets over the previous parliamentary session for NHS boards to spend (a) 10% of their budget on mental health and (b) 1% of their budget on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Data on mental health expenditure and child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24. Data for 2025-26 which will determine whether the targets have been met is expected to be published in 2027.

Question reference: S7W-01539

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to increasing investment in Scotland through Local Government Pension Scheme funds, which are reported to hold assets of around £75 billion, and savings held by individuals in Scotland, including around £30 billion in Cash ISAs and £30 billion in Stocks and Shares ISAs.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing private capital investment to Scotland to grow the Scottish economy and support a just transition.

We are promoting Scotland as a place to invest and exploring new ways to mobilise capital from a range of sources, including working with the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme (SLGPS) to increase investment into projects and businesses in Scotland. We will continue working with the SLGPS funds and other partners to support opportunities for increased investment in Scotland within fiduciary and statutory parameters, as part of a wider programme to attract the scale of investment required to support our policy aims.

Question reference: S7W-01403

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2024-25, and what percentage this represented of the total budget for (a) mental health and (b) NHS Scotland.

Data on child and adolescent mental health services expenditure is published annually in arrears by Public Health Scotland (PHS) in the Scottish Health Service Costs Book (https://publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/system-monitoring-accountability-and-quality-of-care/finance-within-the-nhs/costs-book/costs-book-publication).

The latest available data is for 2023-24 and includes a breakdown by NHS Board. It shows estimated total expenditure on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) increased by £19.4 million in 2023-24 to £134.2 million, 9.03% of total mental health expenditure and 0.82% of total net expenditure in NHSScotland (an increase on 8.78% and 0.75% respectively in 2022-23).

Publication of Costs Book data for 2024-25 has been delayed due to the local NHS board implementation of a new costing system (PLICS) over the last year but PHS expects to publish available data for mental health on 11 August 2026.

Question reference: S7W-01587

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding is available to local authorities to enable them to increase their budget for community police officers.

The Local Government Settlement provided record funding of £15.7 billion for 2026-27, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant and full flexibility on council tax. The vast majority of that funding is provided by means of a block grant and it is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on community policing, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Community policing also remains a priority for Police Scotland, and police officers will continue to be embedded in communities across the country. Scotland’s national police service allows local divisions across the country to access specialist expertise and resources at regional and national level depending on demand. Police Scotland’s executive team and Scottish Police Authority board members engage directly with individual local authority members as part of the COSLA Police Scrutiny Convenors Forum.

The Scottish Government has a long history of working with our partners across the public sector to address any challenges and to ensure that communities feel safe and continue to receive the high quality public services that they expect and deserve.

Question reference: S7W-01541

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to establishing a partnership between it, local government pension scheme funds, the Scottish National Investment Bank, local authorities, COSLA, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Scotland's economic development agencies to (a) deliver a public investment programme, (b) increase community ownership and (c) provide venture and growth capital for businesses in Scotland, with a view to reducing reliance on foreign investment.

To create a world-leading investment ecosystem, Scotland needs a continuum of capital able to meet the needs of companies and projects across all sectors and stages. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of strengthening domestic sources of investment and ownership alongside attracting high-quality inward investment.

The Scottish Government also recognises the value of collaboration between public sector investors, local government, economic development agencies and community organisations (including development trusts) and is continuing to consider how existing partnerships and investment mechanisms can best support these objectives. We continue to engage with the Scottish National Investment Bank, Scotland's economic development agencies, local authorities and the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme to explore opportunities to increase investment in businesses, infrastructure and communities in Scotland.

Decisions on investment by Local Government Pension Scheme funds remain matters for the administering authorities, which must act in accordance with their fiduciary duties and the relevant statutory framework.

The Government remains committed to developing Scotland's investment ecosystem, including support for community ownership, patient capital and business growth finance.