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-43964

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of its reported decision to reduce funding for the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award from £75,000 to £30,000 in 2026-27, and whether it will reconsider this decision, in light of the award’s role in supporting young people’s confidence, leadership skills, community cohesion and progression into further education and employment.

While we recognise the positive impact that the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award continues to have, we need to prioritise budget decisions to respond to an increasingly challenging financial environment. However, it is important to recognise that we will continue to support the Award in 2026-27 with £30,000 which will, on the basis of previous years’ experience, enable the Outward Bound Trust to leverage in support from other funders so that it can continue to support young people through the programme. The Scottish Government has funded the Outward Bound Trust to deliver the programme since 2012. Our commitment to the programme has been substantive and has amounted to £1.4 million over that time.

Question reference: S6W-43948

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that (a) NHS boards and (b) Health and Social Care Partnerships are able to fully-fund independent advocacy services for patients.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003is clear that every person with a mental disorder shall have a right of access to independent advocacy. The 2003 Act places these duties at local level, allowing services to be designed and commissioned in a way that reflects local needs and circumstances. This is an essential part of delivering a person-centred system of health and social care.

As8 such, responsibility for securing and commissioning independent advocacy services rests locally with NHS Boards and Local Authorities, working in partnership through Integration Joint Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships. In 2026-27, NHS Boards will see an increase in their baseline funding, bringing total investment of over £17.6 billion, an average real terms uplift of 1.8%.

Question reference: S6W-43965

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in the light of the decision to arrange NHS boards into two sub national planning structures for the west and east of Scotland, what impact this will have on the planned establishment of a northern medicines formulary to complement the existing east formulary and the west formulary, which is in development.

This work is being taken forward by Health Boards using a regional collaborative consensus model, which builds upon proven existing local governance and decision-making processes for formulary development.

Work to establish a formulary for the north region has not yet begun, however, as the new sub-national planning structures are implemented, we expect Health Boards to evolve their approach to regional formulary work and consider the possible impact this will have on both the established and developing regional formularies.

Question reference: S6W-44006

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36671 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025, whether it expects automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland, as it committed to in 2017, to be delivered by the end of 2026, and, if not, when this can be expected.

The delivery of the split payment policy is reliant on the DWP’s ability to carry out an impact assessment of the proposed policy and then to make the necessary changes to the Universal Credit system. The DWP have not yet provided a delivery timetable, therefore it is not currently possible for the Scottish Government to commit to a delivery date. The Scottish Government continues to work with the DWP to progress this policy.

Question reference: S6W-44005

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that split payments of universal credit will be delivered, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, and what action it has taken in the last six months regarding this work.

Question reference: S6W-43871

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, whether temporary accommodation will be included as part of the regulations to set deadlines for landlords to fix damp and mould hazards (Awaab’s Law).

The draft Investigation and Commencement of Repair (Scotland) Regulations 2026, if agreed by Parliament, will apply to all accommodation provided under a private residential, Scottish secure or short Scottish secure tenancy. This means that Awaab’s Law extends to temporary accommodation, such as accommodation provided under a short Scottish secure tenancy. However, I recognise that other types of temporary accommodation are utilised by local authorities.

Whilst the type of tenancy is determined by local authorities, all temporary accommodation they provide must comply with the Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework and the Tolerable Standard.

As part of our next steps, we will be engaging with stakeholders to understand how Awaab’s Law can be extended further, including to other types of temporary accommodation that is not currently covered.

Question reference: S6W-43842

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the rolling stock of train carriages throughout the country, and what its response is to reports of leaking roofs and uncomfortable carriages on services between Glasgow and the (a) Oban and (b) Fort William/Mallaig branch of the West Highland Line.

The Scottish Government expects that all train operators providing rail services in Scotland, including publicly owned ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper, as well as cross-border operators, schedule the necessary maintenance work to ensure the rolling stock they operate is travel worthy. These are operational matters for these operators.

I refer the Member to the answer to the question: S6W-43106 on 26 January 2026. All parliamentary questions are published on the Scottish Parliament’s website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6W-43889

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Barra and Vatersay Community Campus project, including the preparation of the Outline Business Case, and what can be done to share this information more proactively with community organisations in those islands.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to the delivery of the Barra and Vatersay Community Campus project.

Scottish Government officials have written to the Chief Executives of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and NHS Western Isles requesting an updated cost estimate and timeline to support completion of a single joint business case, expected to be developed over the coming months. This will set out clear governance and delivery arrangements.

We recognise the importance of strong community engagement, and we encourage local partners to ensure the community is kept fully informed as the project progresses through the business-case development phase.

Question reference: S6W-43879

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Buvidal injections NHS boards have returned to community pharmacies for destruction due to non-attendance at appointments at clinics in each month of the last three years, and what the total value of any such waste has been, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-43947

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) NHS boards and (b) Health and Social Care Partnerships have yet to retender a contract for the provision of independent advocacy services for patients.