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-15430

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its pilot scheme to remove peak rail fares will operate, and when it will publish the full details of the scheme.

The ScotRail peak fares pilot is scheduled to be undertaken in the next financial year (2023-2024).

Work on the precise methodology and design is ongoing with Transport Scotland officials working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH) and ScotRail to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.

Once this work has been completed an update will be provided well in advance of the ScotRail peak fares pilot commencing.

Question reference: S6W-15559

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of international students currently living in (a) student, (b) private rented and (c) social rented accommodation.

For academic year 2021-2022, which is the most recent data we hold, 22,635 international students were residing in student accommodation (university halls and private purpose-built student accommodation) and 29,090 in other rented accommodation. We do not hold information specifically in relation to private rented or social rented accommodation.

International Enrolments at Scottish Universities by Accommodation Type, 2021-22

Accommodation Type	EU	Non-EU	Total International
Provider maintained property	2,690	11,970	14,660
Private-sector halls	1,445	6,530	7,975
Parental/guardian home	1,010	3,890	4,900
Other rented accommodation	6,180	22,910	29,090
Own residence	3,205	8,380	11,585
Other	1,160	5,480	6,640
Not in attendance at the provider	245	435	680
Not known	1,205	5,705	6,910
Total	17,140	65,300	82,440

Source: HESA Student data

Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5

Question reference: S6W-15457

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in Scotland have received NHS treatment in the rest of the UK in each of the last five years.

The following tables show the number of people from Scotland who have received elective or emergency treatment as an inpatient or day case in hospitals in other parts of the UK in each year since 2017.

Information is provided in the following table on the number of finished admission episodes for patients resident in Scotland who have received healthcare from the NHS in England since 2017.

Year	Finished Admissions Episodes
2017-18	6,595
2018-19	6,534
2019-20	6,657
2020-21	2,719
2021-22	5,002
2022-23 P	4,033

P - data is provisional and not complete (includes April to December only).

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS England

Information is provided in the following table on the number of Scottish residents treated in Welsh providers since 2017.

Year	Admissions
2017-18	111
2018-19	98
2019-20	115
2020-21	27
2021-22	104
2022-23 P	67

P - data is provisional and not fully complete

Source: Admitted Patient Care, Digital Health and Care Wales

Information is provided in the following table on the number of patients resident in Scotland who have received healthcare from the NHS in Northern Ireland since 2017.

Year	Number of Patients
2017	138
2018	105
2019	98
2020	38
2021	3
2022 P	73

P - data is provisional

Source: Hospital Inpatient System, Hospital Information Branch, Information and Analysis Directorate, Dept. of Health, N. Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-15454

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the remit of the external review of NHS Grampian procurement practices by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, as announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in December 2022.

As set out in the Chamber on 15 Dec, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was asked to undertake a high-level review of a specific procurement exercise carried out by NHS Grampian.

The Board was asked:

On the basis of having appropriate NHS procurement expertise and having not been involved in the procurement exercise being reviewed.
To consider if the overall process was conducted in accordance with NHS procurement procedures, including documentation, scoring and selection.

The review has since completed and been shared with the Member. The review found that the exercise was conducted in a compliant manner.

Question reference: S6W-15449

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of lung cancer nurse specialists who will retire in the next five years in (a) the West of Scotland Cancer Network, (b) the North Cancer Alliance, (c) the South East Scotland Cancer Network and (d) Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15243

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view expressed in a number of the responses to the Violence Against Women and Girls Funding Review that the loss of single-sex services and facilities erodes female privacy and deprives women and girls from feelings of security and comfort.

Question reference: S6W-15414

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what role local authorities will be expected to play in monitoring biodiversity at a local level, and what support, resources and funding will be available to them to carry out any such monitoring.

Local Authorities are a key partner in delivering the ambitious aspirations set out in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. However, at the present time, they have a limited role in biodiversity monitoring. Some Local Authorities do host Local Records Centres, who gather biodiversity data from volunteer groups and individuals and make it available to a range of users. The Scottish Government and NatureScot are currently funding the Better Biodiversity Project, which aims to encourage community involvement in biodiversity data collection and put Local Records Centres on a more sustainable footing for the longer term. This in turn supports Local Authorities in meeting their Biodiversity Duty.

Question reference: S6W-15225

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08612 by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022, whether it can provide an update on any ongoing discussions with the UK Government regarding the seeking of a lasting solution to the reported hormone replacement therapy supply issues.

Scottish Government continues to work with the Department for Health and Social Care in relation to supply challenges with HRT medication.

The UK Government appointed Madelaine McTernan as its HRT tsar and her taskforce put together a set of three core recommendations to help mitigate HRT supply issues. These are:

continued dialogue with industry both via continuing the successful model of regular industry roundtables as well as individual engagement
continued use of SSPs when appropriate to manage shortages as steps are taken by suppliers to increase production
continued assessment whether NHS formularies may be impacting access to HRT

Serious Shortage Protocols are still in place to help manage supply and patient access to HRT medication.

Question reference: S6W-15125

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2023

To ask Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when all developments identified under its Cladding Remediation programme will be surveyed.

The Single Building assessment process has started for the 27 buildings in the original pilot. The pilot has been extended to 105 building. As the programme continues we expect further buildings to be identified and assessed. As we survey and undertake these further assessments we will have clearer information on the time-frame for the completion of all surveys on buildings with potentially unsafe cladding.

Question reference: S6W-15432

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-01844 by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2023, when it plans to publish the next iteration of the Climate Change Plan.

As per previous Climate Change plans, it must contain policies and proposals, by sector, for meeting the economy wide annual emissions reduction targets for each year. The Plan will also set out for the first time the costs and benefits (including financial cost, emissions and jobs) of the policies it contains, as well as setting out how it will affect different sectors of the Scottish economy and different regions in Scotland.