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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 40990 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-15720

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in advance of publishing its refreshed tobacco control action plan in 2023, whether Public Health Scotland plans to update any analysis on the estimated effects of reduced smoking prevalence on the three outcomes of smoking-attributable deaths, smoking attributable hospital admissions and smoking-attributable NHS costs.

Question reference: S6W-15683

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates NHS Scotland Assure will spend in total on Deposit Return Scheme trials.

Question reference: S6W-15587

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) volunteers and (b) paid staff currently work at Citizens Advice Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15390

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out, or plans to carry out, a full Gateway Review for the Deposit Return Scheme in February 2023, or close to that date, as recommended in the Gateway Review: Assurance of Action Plan report, which was published in December 2022, and, if so, whether it will commit to publishing the full Gateway Review as a matter of critical urgency to enable sufficient scope and time for any recommendations to be scrutinised and implemented.

The Scottish Government plans to carry out a further Gateway Review during week commencing 13 March 2023, in line with the last Assurance of Action Plan report’s recommendations for a review to take place in February 2023, or close to that date. The Scottish Government will consider carefully the recommendations from this review, and will share these and its response with the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee in due course.

Question reference: S6W-15835

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address the recommendation of the UK Commission on Bereavement in its 2022 report, Bereavement is everyone’s business, that governments in each UK nation must invest 79p annually per person in the population for transforming bereavement services over the next five years, with a particular focus on better supporting minority groups.

The Scottish Government welcomes The UK Commission on Bereavement’s report and the focus it brings to improving the experience of people affected by grief. Bereavement affects many aspects of our lives and we recognise that getting the right care and support following a bereavement is crucial for our health and wellbeing.

We are already taking forward a broad programme of work to improve the practical support, care and advice that is available for people who have been bereaved. That includes: prioritising bereavement support within our £15 million Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund; investing directly in bereavement support services - including for families and workplaces affected by suicide; providing wellbeing advice on the Mind 2 Mind website; widening eligibility for the Funeral Support Payment; and, uprating the Funeral Support Payment annually.

We are also exploring ways to further improve bereavement support through our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the new Palliative and End of Life Strategy, and through the creation of the National Care Service. This will include a focus on meeting the needs of minority groups.

Finally, we will continue to engage and listen to bereavement sector partners as we take forward our bereavement work, and will draw on the UK Commission’s findings.

Question reference: S6W-15689

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to build resilience in Scotland's internationally important seabird populations, in light of the impact that the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak had on seabird colonies in summer 2022, and whether it will provide an update on the development of the Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy.

Scotland’s seabird populations are an important part of our natural heritage and their protection is a high priority for the Scottish Government.

We recognise that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has had a substantial impact on wild birds and comes at a time when seabird populations in Scotland and globally are facing increasing challenges from a range of anthropogenic and natural pressures. The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI on wild birds. This includes development of the HPAI in wild birds response plan which sets out the approach that the Scottish Government and its agencies will take to respond to an outbreak of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, further action is required to build resilience in our seabird populations. Through the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative we will take action to reduce and where possible eliminate bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, in UK fisheries. Research is being undertaken into the impacts of seabird bycatch in Scottish longlines and we are working with the sector on implementing mitigation and continue to gather data through onboard observers.

The developing Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy will play an important role in identifying further actions to help optimise the conservation prospects of seabirds in Scotland from existing and emerging threats, including disease threats, such as avian influenza. We aim to consult on the strategy in due course.

Question reference: S6W-15620

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the General Dental Service, what action it is taking to reverse the decline in the number of registered (a) adults and (b) children participating in the service.

An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.

Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-15621

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the percentage of children participating in the General Dental Service fell from 97% in September 2007 to 63.9% in September 2021.

Due to the onset of the pandemic in Scotland all routine dental services ceased from 23 March 2020, with emergency and urgent dental care being provided by dedicated urgent dental care centres from NHS Boards.

The majority of dental services require the use of an aerosol which carries a higher risk of viral transmission. Dental services operated under specific infection, prevention and control measures for two years to April 2022.

Question reference: S6W-15684

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost NHS Scotland Assure to fund the Deposit Return Scheme trial that NHS Grampian is currently taking part in.

Question reference: S6W-15588

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average response time was to phone calls to the Citizens Advice Scotland Helpline, and how many calls were (a) received and (b) discontinued in each year since 2019.