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-40430

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly can no longer ensure that no patient waits longer than one year for NHS treatment by March 2026.

Our position is unchanged on waiting times – by March 2026 no one will wait more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/daycase treatment.

We are investing more than £110 million this year to cut waits, and we expect to see the full impact of our targeted funding in the coming months. This targeted funding is expected to deliver more than 213,000 additional procedures and appointments this year.

Our plan is clearly working with a record number of hip and knee operations last year and the highest level of operations performed in July since February 2020.

Question reference: S6W-40466

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many times, in each of the last three calendar years, its Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team has reported concerns to local authorities regarding the standards of accommodation provided in their areas to migrant workers, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) what the outcome was.

Question reference: S6W-40458

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38195 by Fiona Hyslop on 13 June 2025, what its position is on the introduction of a potential traffic congestion charge by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Question reference: S6W-40473

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will pass a note of the salient points of any substantive discussions that arose during the First Minister’s meeting with the President of the United States of America and the US Secretary of State on 9 September 2025 to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in accordance with Section 11.15 of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

Question reference: S6W-40474

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the original commitment of the Aberdeen to Central Belt Enhancement Project to spend £200 million by 2026 to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and the central belt by 20 minutes, whether it will confirm (a) how much has been spent by the project so far, and on what specific areas of work, (b) what the projected final cost of the project is and (c) by what date (i) work on the project will be completed and (ii) the reduced journey times will be fully operational.

Question reference: S6W-40461

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the framework legislation on the matter, how it will enforce Sections 13 and 19 of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 to ensure that funds raised by a local authority through such a levy are reinvested in tourist infrastructure only.

Question reference: S6W-40465

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on STV News at Six on 9 September 2025 that “Chronic pain sufferers have a debilitating condition that has a chronic impact on their entire ability to live life well. That is why we are investing across the health service to improve waiting times, to improve capacity within the health service", how much additional funding it has allocated from the health budget to hospital-based NHS chronic pain specialist clinics to (a) reduce waiting times and (b) improve the capacity for treatment.

Question reference: S6W-40478

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has updated the drafting guidelines on bills since the United Nations Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 was passed to ensure that subsequent legislation is in the scope of the convention.

Question reference: S6W-40451

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what factors are considered when allocating investment for research on what are considered less survivable cancers, and whether any measures are in place to respond to any reported underfunding for such conditions.

Question reference: S6W-40216

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, since the inception of (a) the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and (b) the NatureScot guidance regarding the grounds permitted for granting licences, how many (i) applications and (ii) grants have been made for licences to control mountain hares.