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-16069

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that people on hormone replacement therapy for menopause are being seen by their GP in person for monitoring and blood pressure checks, in line with NHS guidelines.

Question reference: S6W-14637

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.

The Borders railway line between Tweedbank and Edinburgh has been affected by ongoing issues with poor performance and the availability of diesel trains in ScotRail’s fleet. Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail are working to address this via an Improvement Plan. The reliability of ScotRail trains on this route has also been impacted by the poor performance of UK Government-managed train operating companies, which interact with Tweedbank services on the East Coast Mainline closer to Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-14638

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between East Lothian and Edinburgh.

Performance (reliability and punctuality) at Musselburgh, Wallyford, Prestonpans, Longniddry, and Drem on the North Berwick Line compare favourably with the ScotRail average, which in turn compares well with the GB average. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail to work in partnership with Network Rail in Scotland to continue to improve performance.

For Dunbar in East Lothian, many of the services are provided by LNER, Cross Country and Transpennine Express, which are UK Government train operating companies.

Question reference: S6W-16099

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of fires attended to by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service that were caused by, or suspected to have been caused by, electric (a) scooters, (b) bikes and (c) cars, in each year since 2017.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are working with key stakeholders and partners to understand the risks that lithium-ion batteries (LIB), contained within most electric vehicles, present to communities across Scotland. A bespoke working group is focused on these risks, and its findings will strengthen SFRS’s community safety work going forward. SFRS urges users of LIB technology to take the appropriate steps when disposing of spent battery units to ensure reduced risk of fire.

Question reference: S6W-16085

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is providing to any GP practices in NHS (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Forth Valley that are at risk of closure.

I refer the member to our response to S6W-14599 on 28 February 2023. It is for individual Health Boards to decide if additional support is needed. The General Practice Access Group principles are currently being consulted on with publication anticipated for late Spring. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-15860

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 3 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much compensation ScotRail has paid as part of its Delay Repay scheme since January 2022, broken down by month.

Abellio ScotRail was responsible for Delay Repay payments between January 2022 and March 2022. From 1 April 2022, ScotRail Trains Limited is responsible for considering and settling all new compensation claims.

It is published on the ScotRail website here: Delay Repay | Train Fare Compensation Scheme | ScotRail as per ORR Code of Practice.

Abellio ScotRail	Year	Financial Amount
January	2022	£17,614.07
February	2022	£37,523.57
March	2022	£19,389.40
Total		£99,963.85

ScotRail Trains Ltd	Year	Financial Amount
April	2022	£35,782.25
May	2022	£71,657.24
June	2022	£51,351.00
July	2022	£59,738.77
August	2022	£93,857.56
September	2022	£60,263.38
October	2022	£78,238.08
November	2022	£87,055.53
December	2022	£81,360.00
January	2023	£93,127.94
February	2023	£41,008.50
March	2023	£23,351.17
Total		£776,791.42

Question reference: S6W-16109

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many families have accessed the Young Patients Family Fund in each year since it was established.

Question reference: S6W-16068

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the chronic condition lipoedema will be included in its next Women's Health Plan.

Any future iterations of the Women’s Health Plan will be evidence-based with aims and priorities developed in collaboration with women and girls, our lived experience group, clinical experts and relevant stakeholders.

The Scottish Government has provided £80,000 of funding to Talk Lipoedema over the financial years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The funding assisted the development of the Scoping Report on Lipoedema Care in Scotland, providing a welcome insight into Lipoedema services, and has supported Talk Lipoedema to enhance their important work supporting people across Scotland.

We have now launched the new resource on lipoedema on the NHS Inform Women’s Health Platform. The new resource includes information on the symptoms, self-management and treatment options for lipoedema as well as sign posting to organisations like ‘Talk Lipoedema’ for more help, advice and peer support.

Question reference: S6W-16038

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the proportion of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions that are for patients living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas.

Question reference: S6W-16039

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether ethnic minority women are far less likely to get menopause treatment in Scotland than white women, in light of reports that this is the case in England, according to recently published data.

NHS Scotland does not currently hold information on prescriptions based on patients’ ethnicity.

Through the Women’s Health Plan, we are determined to ensure that all women are able to access the care and support they need for menopause, be that through primary or specialist care. A range of treatments to manage menopause symptoms, including Hormonal Replacement Therapy (HRT), are available on the NHS in Scotland free of charge.