Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-42504

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a targeted transitional relief scheme for any micro tourism businesses that are facing significant increases in their rateable value in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42490

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of the 2026 revaluation of eligibility for the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

Ministers regularly discuss matters of importance including budget priorities and the views of stakeholders in the run-up to the Scottish Budget. Decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will be set out in the budget on 13 January 2026.

The final valuation roll will come into effect on 1 April 2026 and the Scottish Government will publish its report on changes in rateable values once final valuations are available.

Question reference: S6W-42442

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the release of the 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) results and the survey having not run in 2021 as expected, (a) when the next CPES will be conducted, and (b) what steps are being taken to ensure that the SCPES data is available by more distinct age ranges, specifically for people aged 16 to 24, in light of the lowest age group currently available being 16 to 64, which does not allow an adequate assessment of differences or inequalities in experience due to age.

The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) is vital in proving information on improving our understanding of peoples experiences as they navigate their own cancer pathway. Findings published from the 2024 survey show that for those aged 16 and over, 95% of people are positive about their overall cancer care experience, illustrating that that we are progressing towards our aim to put people with cancer at the heart of all decision and actions involving them.

The timing and frequency of SCPES are not fixed. Surveys have been conducted in 2015, 2018, and most recently in 2024, from which we are still taking learning.

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to other cancers.

To protect confidentiality, cancer groups with fewer than 50 responses cannot be analysed, as this helps minimise the risk of individuals being identifiable within the dataset.

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC), who are responsible for the implementation of the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026.

The MCN CYPC have a number of support programmes including the National Youth Advisory Forum and Buddy Support Network, which enable young people to share experiences, identify gaps, and help improve service quality through feedback.

Question reference: S6W-41992

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what the average number of calls made by a patient has been before securing access to medical care in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold information about how many calls are made on average by a patient before securing access to medical care. The telephony systems currently used by most GP practices do not provide such data.

As part of our recent agreement with the BMA, the Scottish Government will invest in a national programme to ensure every GP practice has modern cloud-based telephony. By January 2027, every practice will need to have moved to cloud-based systems, in line with the national Public Switched Telephone Network switch-off. Work will begin with a full baseline assessment and agreed national standards, supported by training and change management. The main implementation phase for practices adopting digital cloud based telephony will take place in 2026-27, and we will be able to begin collecting data from practices once this work is complete.

Practices will be expected to use a core set of features such as automated call back, call flow, and real-time monitoring. These features are designed to reduce queues, improve safety, and provide the data needed for service planning. We will seek to establish a national programme to oversee this work.

Question reference: S6W-42443

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards ensuring that the experiences of children and young people under the age of 16 with cancer are captured, for example through the implementation of a dedicated under-16 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC), who are responsible for the implementation of the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026.

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to other cancers. Due to small patient numbers it is challenging to produce detailed, anonymised data.

To protect confidentiality, cancer groups with fewer than 50 responses cannot be analysed, as this helps minimise the risk of individuals being identifiable within the dataset.

The MCN CYPC have a number of support programmes including the National Youth Advisory Forum and Buddy Support Network, which enable young people to share experiences, identify gaps, and help improve service quality through feedback.

Question reference: S6W-42628

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments in The Scotsman on 16 December 2025 from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance, UKHospitality Scotland, ukactive and the UK Cinema Association that, if Scotland does not follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises, it will be at odds with the vision of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group Implementation Plan to deliver the most competitive business rates regime.

Question reference: S6W-42432

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what Barnett consequential funding will arise from the non-domestic rates decisions of the UK Government that were announced in its 2025 Budget.

The Scottish Government will receive £189 million in consequential funding in 2026-27 from decisions taken by the UK Government on Business rates in England. This includes measures on Business rates income retention, rate-setting and reliefs in England. Decisions on rates and reliefs alone account for £188 million in consequential funding. Consequentials, both negative and positive, accrue as a whole at fiscal events to Scotland and it is for the Scottish Ministers to allocate the funding available at Budget in line with prevailing economic conditions and Government priorities.

Question reference: S6W-42626

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments in The Scotsman on 16 December 2025 from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Tourism Alliance, UKHospitality Scotland, ukactive and the UK Cinema Association that Scotland should follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises.

Question reference: S6W-42620

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42077 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 December 2025, whether there are minutes taken and papers considered by the Working Group on the Supreme Court Judgement and, if so, by what date these will be published.

Question reference: S6W-42619

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42080 by Angela Constance on 9 December 2025, whether all 21 transgender people in the prison estate are housed in the women's prison estate.

Chamber and committees