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-35388

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances an application can be made to prescribe a medicine under the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier (a) One and (b) Two process.

The Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier One process is designed to provide an opportunity for clinicians, on a case by case basis for individual patients, to request the use of a licensed ultra-orphan medicine that is not recommended by the Scottish Medicine Consortium (SMC).

The PACS Tier Two process is designed to provide an opportunity for clinicians, on a case by case basis for individual patients, to request the use of a licensed medicine (other than an ultra-orphan medicine) that:

is a medicine for an indication that has been considered and not recommended by the SMC for routine use in NHS Scotland; or
is a medicine accepted for restricted use by the SMC but the intended use is out with the SMC restrictions; or
is a medicine which has been submitted to the SMC and is awaiting/undergoing evaluation.

Question reference: S6W-35406

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the gender pain gap, where chronic pain is reportedly 10% more prevalent in women than in men.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that anyone living with pain is able to access the best possible care and support. Through our commitment to deliver the actions outlined in our Pain Management Service Delivery Framework implementation plan we are seeking to amplify the voices of people who may face inequality on the basis of their sex. We will work collaboratively with other partners to ensure there are appropriate pathways for women with pain and painful conditions.

Question reference: S6W-35408

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new iteration of the Women’s Health Plan will include a focus on the gender pain gap and the gender arthritis gap.

Women’s Health is a priority for this government which is why Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women’s Health Plan in August 2021.

Women’s health encompasses a wide range of topics and conditions and the areas of focus for the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan are still to be determined.

Timely access to gynaecology services will be a priority, and early discussions indicate pelvic health and optimising future health as potential areas of focus.

We have also started work to bring together an updated evidence base and gather views from women and girls, and from our stakeholders. Future aims and priorities are being developed in collaboration with them and alongside the most up-to-date evidence base.

Question reference: S6W-35391

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to prescribe medicines have been granted under the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two process in each NHS board in each year since the accompanying guidance was issued in March 2018.

There is a requirement for Health Boards to maintain accurate and up to date information on PACS Tier Two requests and their outcomes. The Scottish Government does not hold validated data on the number of PACS applications that Health Boards have granted. This information would need to be requested from Health Boards directly.

Health Boards are required to capture and share data as retrospective “in confidence” summary reports with the Scottish Government on a quarterly basis. The data received by Scottish Government are retained for internal management purposes only and are not formally validated.

Notably, the majority of collated PACS Tier Two requests are for fewer than five medicines; and data for numbers fewer than five are deemed to be patient identifiable and cannot be published.

Question reference: S6W-35399

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, what legal consideration it gave in relation to the permitted rate of rent increase of 3% for private rented sector tenancies expiring on 31 March 2024.

Question reference: S6W-35400

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, what legal consideration it gave when setting the determination of rent payable for private residential tenancies.

Question reference: S6W-35398

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, what legal consideration it gave when setting the permitted rate of rent increase to 3% for private rented sector tenancies.

Question reference: S6W-35403

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, what contact it has had with (a) individual tenants and (b) representative tenant bodies.

Question reference: S6W-35379

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NatureScot is reportedly planning to remove the practical element of muirburn training from the approved training course for muirburn in (a) 2025-26 and (b) future years.

NatureScot is not planning to remove the practical element from the muirburn training. Practical training is an important part of muirburn training and the Scottish Government encourage all practitioners to undertake this as soon as they are able. However, we also recognise that it is possible that everyone who needs to undertake the practical training may not be able to do so before the end of the current muirburn season. This is because of limited training capacity, possible adverse weather and numbers of individuals requiring training.

NatureScot therefore propose to introduce a transitional period during 2025-26 and allow the granting of a licence on the completion of the knowledge-based training, with a requirement for the practitioner to complete the practical element within a specified period. In future years NatureScot will require completion of the practical element before a licence is granted.

Question reference: S6W-35404

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and the Housing (Scotland) Bill, whether it has considered any impact of tenants potentially being left without any protections between the expiration of rent adjudication on 31 March 2025 and the proposed introduction of rent control areas.

The temporary modifications were introduced as part of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 to support a cost-of-living crisis. The Housing (Scotland) Bill will seek to introduce permanent rent control legislation.

From 1 April 2025, existing requirements under the Private Housing (Tenancies)(Scotland) Act 2016 will continue to provide protection from above market rent increases. We are taking steps through a further wave of our Renters Rights Campaign to ensure tenants are made aware of their rights to seek a independent review of a proposed rent increase.