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: S7W-01737

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any gaps in available data related to potential correlations between domestic abuse against men, substance abuse and likelihood of recovery from addiction.

Question reference: S7W-01765

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body for what reason it continues to fly the EU flag outside the main entrance more than six years after the withdrawal of the UK, including Scotland, from the EU.

Question reference: S7W-01559

Asked by: Morven-May MacCallum, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 06 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending the Island Business Resilience Fund to coastal communities impacted by ferry disruption, and when it will reach a decision on this.

Question reference: S7W-01435

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enhancing opportunities and support for community right to buy and ownership, how and when it plans to implement the findings of its community right to buy review.

Question reference: S7W-01448

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains on track to meet its objective of easing barriers to fish migration so that 99% of water bodies meet "good or better" condition for fish migration by 2027, as set out in the River Basin Management Plan for Scotland 2021 - 2027, and, if not, what percentage of water bodies it expects to achieve that status by 2027.

In 2021, River Basin Management Plan 3 (RBMP3) identified 244 potential fish barriers that needed an ecological assessment and/or work to ease these barriers to achieve the objective of 99% of water bodies meeting good or better condition for fish migration by 2027.

However, since 2021 SEPA has identified an additional 143 barriers, which have been added to the work programme. To manage this increase, SEPA is prioritising barriers based on the amount of habitat available to migratory fish upstream of each barrier.

SEPA is currently on track to complete work on 261 by 2027, against the original objective of 244. SEPA is currently developing Scotland’s fourth River Basin Management Plan (RBMP4). Given the significant shift in the baseline for this objective, RBMP4 will set out a revised objective and actions to address the remaining barriers.

Question reference: S7W-01450

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will undertake a public consultation on its draft conservation commitment report to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO), in light of the reported failure to submit a draft report by February 2026, in accordance with the timetable agreed by all NASCO parties.

Question reference: S7W-01714

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in implementing the accepted recommendations of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report, which was published on 18 July 2024.

The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report on pre-pandemic preparedness and resilience on 18 July 2024. The Scottish Government published an initial response on 16 January 2025, which set out the actions and steps being taken to address the Inquiry’s recommendations.

Today, the Scottish Government has published the third progress report, which shows six of the Inquiry’s recommendations have been delivered and closed as a result. Over the past six months the Scottish Government has continued to make significant, measurable improvements in Scotland’s pandemic planning and preparedness.

The Scottish Government has completed its review of risk assessment processes and is now developing the next iteration of the Scottish Risk Assessment. This will bring together all risks relevant to Scotland in a single document. To support this work, the Scottish Government has established a Scottish Risk Assessment Group to ensure a robust, expert-led approach, with a strong focus on vulnerability.

A Memorandum of Understanding is now in place to enable rapid sharing of data and analysis across the four nations in preparation for, or during, any future crisis. After taking part in the UK Government’s pilot process for independent review of whole-system civil emergency preparedness and resilience, the Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government as it progresses with the Catastrophic Risks Assurance Programme.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Scotland is as resilient as possible to future risks, and will continue to take the necessary steps to achieve this. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to deliver these recommendations.

A copy of the progress report is available online at: UK Covid-19 Inquiry - Module 1 report: progress update - July 2026

Our next progress update will be a combined report covering Module 1 and Module 2ABC, to be published before the end of November 2026.

Question reference: S7W-01243

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the correspondence that was referenced in the Member’s debate, Sustaining Jobs and Securing the Future of Scotland's Universities, on 18 June 2026, which was sent from the Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education to the University of Dundee.

Question reference: S7W-01242

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for Fife North East, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00174 by Jenny Gilruth MSP on 5 June 2026, whether it will consider engaging with other local authorities in the UK, including Devon County Council, on the success of any pilots undertaken to tackle road repairs effectively, when determining how the Better Surfaces Fund will operate.

Question reference: S7W-01321

Asked by: Helen McDade, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve patient safety for children when blood gas testing identifies abnormal results such as significantly raised lactate levels, including whether it will introduce a national patient safety standard requiring abnormal blood gas or blood test results in children to be repeated, verified or formally reviewed before discharge decisions are made where those results have been attributed to sample quality, environmental factors or other concerns about reliability.

Although there is no current specific guideline that requires blood tests with results outside the normal limits to be repeated in all cases before discharge from hospital, these are considered as part of a full clinical assessment.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal and Paediatric programmes, underpinned by the SPSP Essentials of Safe Care, are co-designed to support improved outcomes for women, babies, children, young people and families in Scotland. These programmes work with staff and families to review and strengthen the approach to recognition of deterioration through the Scottish Maternity and Paediatric Early Warning Scores (MEWS and PEWS).

The planned implementation of Martha’s Rule will enable a real-time clinical review of a patient’s treatment and condition, rather than a formal second opinion or diagnosis.

The right to request a second opinion is already enshrined in the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities.

The Scottish Government and Health Boards across Scotland have recently committed to expand the Right Decision Service across health and care in Scotland. This will bring up to date, quality assured and approved guidance to clinicians on their computers, tablet and phones.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards and other healthcare providers to use appropriate guidelines and respond to safety alerts as well as listen when patients express concerns or complain about the safety of their care.