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 46716 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6F-02014

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on what recent engagement the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the proposed development of the Rosebank oil and gas field, in light of the Scottish Government's draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.

Question reference: S6F-02011

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

To ask the First Minister what immediate action the Scottish Government will take to improve the situation regarding ferry services across the Highlands and Islands, in light of recent reports of unprecedented disruption.

Question reference: S6F-02002

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government's plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas, following the end of its public consultation.

Question reference: S6F-01998

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01997

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 April 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-16518

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to NHS boards to address colposcopy waiting times.

To support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan which is backed by a £70m investment. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development; Infrastructure; and Innovation and Redesign.

In recognition of the pressures on Colposcopy services specifically, we have provided over £660,000 additional funding to NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Highland, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside to support capacity.

This funding was used to enhance capacity through recruitment and additional clinics, including at weekends, to allow increased activity and reduce demand on consultant time.

Question reference: S6W-16481

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards increasing NHS activity to 10% above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Our £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan is taking forward our aim of increasing NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as is possible in order to address the backlog of care and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country. The Scottish Government publishes progress against the plan on an annual basis.

Last year there were over 1.2 million patients seen for an outpatient appointment, an increase of 8% compared to 2021, when over 1.1 million outpatients were seen.

Question reference: S6W-16408

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the mental health impact has been on pupils as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

We know that children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing will have been affected during lockdown, and schools have a key role to play in supporting children’s and young people’s mental health. The Health and Wellbeing Census reported that across most of the measures, positive perceptions of life satisfaction, confidence and loneliness decrease up to S4, but the analysis shows small improvements (or no further decreases) for those in S5 and S6.

We continue to prioritise support for mental health and wellbeing in schools. We support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services support delivery of the commitment. We also published a Whole School Approach Framework and a professional learning resource to assist school staff in supporting children and young people’s mental health in schools.

Question reference: S6W-16452

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent work it has undertaken to increase the number of English and Mathematics teachers.

We are committed to supporting the recruitment of more teachers and my predecessor recently set out measures to Parliament making it clear that we will provide £145.5 million in next year's budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff.

In addition, in 2022-23 we offered 150 bursaries of £20,000 for career changers wishing to undertake a one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in STEM subjects - Physics, Maths, Technical Education, Computing Science, Home Economics and Chemistry. These are the secondary school subjects with the greatest demand for teachers. Our STEM bursary scheme will continue in this financial year.

With these interventions, STEM teacher numbers are at their highest level since 2011. We are also continuing to work with universities and local authorities to look at innovative and creative ways to encourage more teachers into STEM subjects.

Question reference: S6W-16189

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what date it anticipates that the public consultation on the revised Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) teaching guidance will be launched.