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: S7F-00027

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7F-00030

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7F-00026

Asked by: Malcolm Offord, MSP for West Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7W-02441

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many issues have been logged with the OneAdvanced Vision Service Centre since the roll-out of the Vision 3 GP clinical system began, broken down by (a) category of issue and (b) NHS Board area.

The migration programme to the Vision 3 system on a hosted environment began in July 2022 .Following the administration of In Practice Systems Ltd (INPS) and subsequent asset purchase by OneAdvanced, migrations restarted in December 2025. We have provided data from 9 December 2025, when OneAdvanced took over support desk arrangements, to 23 August 2026 showing the number of calls logged to the service help desk broken down by Health Board area.

There were 2,658 issues logged with OneAdvanced .These ranged from routine requests, such as password resets, to more significant issues, including system slowness and disconnections, and include reports from long-term Vision users, new users and recently migrated practices.

The highest numbers of issues were recorded in NHS Lothian (580), NHS Grampian (483), NHS Lanarkshire (469), NHS Tayside (403), NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (372) and NHS Highland (196). Other NHS Boards reported NHS Forth Valley (70), NHS Dumfries and Galloway (59), NHS Orkney (10), NHS Borders (5), NHS Western Isles (4) and NHS Ayrshire and Arran (3) issues. No issues were recorded for NHS Fife, while Public Services Delivery Scotland recorded 2 issues.

Question reference: S7W-02386

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) set out in its document, Scottish Government Bonds Programme: Summary Outline Business Case, did not include the potential benefits to Scottish businesses, investors or pension funds, including the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

The Scottish Government Bonds Programme was developed following a recommendation from the independent Investor Panel that Scotland should consider issuing debt in capital markets to strengthen investor engagement, raise Scotland's profile with investors and establish a market track record.

The Critical Success Factors were designed to assess the extent to which options would support the programme's strategic objectives and satisfy requirements relating to value for money, affordability, achievability and deliverability. The Outline Business Case also considered wider economic benefits associated with increased investor engagement and investment in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02431

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its pledge to expand community audiology services and hearing tests on the high street, how many NHS boards currently provide these services through community providers, and what funding has been allocated in 2026-27 to support expansion of this model.

The information requested on the number of NHS Boards that currently provide audiology services through community providers is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Audiology services are operated by NHS Health Boards, which hold information on their own service delivery arrangements.

For 2026-27, the Scottish Government has allocated an additional £1 million in funding for community audiology policy, increasing total funding to £1.2 million. This additional funding underlines our commitment to support community audiology policy development and the Service Renewal Framework vision to shift the balance of care to the community. This funding will also continue to fund the “Near You” service run by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). The service is operating in five Scottish health board areas and provides hearing checks and after-care support to hearing aid users, including maintenance, battery replacement, sign-posting and peer support, and we have signalled our intention to go further in our manifesto.

Question reference: S7W-02430

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what reduction in NHS audiology waiting times it expects to achieve through the introduction of community-based hearing services, and what the current median waiting time is for (a) a first audiology appointment and (b) hearing aid fitting in each NHS board area.

The information requested on audiology waiting times is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Information on waiting times within individual NHS Health Board areas is held by, and is therefore a matter for, the respective NHS Health Boards.

The Scottish Government remains committed to improving audiology services across Scotland and we continue to work closely with partners to determine how best to move the provision of audiology care into community settings. On 27 August 2026, I wrote to the Health, Care and Sport Committee to provide an update on my meeting with NHS Heads of Service, community audiology providers and other key stakeholders as part of this government’s 100 days prospectus. This meeting centred on a draft proposal for development of a Target Operating Model for audiology, and my letter sets out more detail on the Scottish Government’s immediate priorities for audiology services. It can be read in full here: 20260827 Minister for Community Care to Convener | Scottish Parliament Website

Question reference: S7W-02482

Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the construction of purpose built rental homes, in light of recent figures indicating that 1,466 such homes were under construction in 2026, representing a 27% decrease compared with the previous year.

The Scottish Government has taken significant action to support the Build to Rent sector.

During the previous Parliament the Scottish Government brought forward regulations which exempt mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties from any rent control restrictions, introduced using powers in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025. Laying these regulations demonstrates our commitment to providing policy certainty which the sector made clear was required.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with both Real Estate: Scotland and providers to monitor how the sector is responding. Ministers will continue to work closely with industry to ensure the conditions are in place to support continued investment in more quality homes.

Question reference: S7W-02429

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a plan to deliver the commitment set out in the SNP’s 2026 election manifesto to shift the diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated age-related hearing loss into community-based care, and what milestones and target dates have been set for the delivery of this commitment.

The Scottish Government remains committed to improving audiology services across Scotland and we continue to work closely with stakeholders to determine how best to move the provision of audiology care into community settings.

On 27 August 2026, I wrote to the Health, Care and Sport Committee to provide an update on my meeting with NHS Heads of Service, community audiology providers and other key stakeholders as part of this government’s 100 days prospectus. This meeting centred on a draft proposal for development of a Target Operating Model for audiology, and my letter sets out more detail on the Scottish Government’s immediate priorities for audiology services. It can be read in full here: 20260827 Minister for Community Care to Convener | Scottish Parliament Website

As this work is at an early stage and discussions with stakeholders are ongoing, a more detailed delivery plan will follow in due course.

Question reference: S7W-02765

Asked by: Alex Kerr, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing plans for a cap on the price of essential food items to help address food affordability, and what the proposed next steps are.