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-02673

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-01961 by Jim Fairlie on 20 August 2026, which did not address the question posed, what consideration it has given to introducing legislation to prohibit the sale, supply and release of sky lanterns and helium balloons, into the atmosphere.

Question reference: S7W-02723

Asked by: Yi-pei Chou Turvey, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many policy reviews are currently ongoing in each portfolio area and how long each of them has been carried out for.

Question reference: S7W-02616

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported closure of Change Mental Health’s Hearing Voices services across NHS Tayside, what action it is taking to ensure that sufficient support is available for people in Angus, Dundee, and Perth and Kinross who experience auditory, visual, or other sensory disturbances.

Question reference: S7W-02739

Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards implementing the provisions of the Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Act 2026 and, in light of the statutory deadline of 30 September 2027, when it expects to make the regulations required under section 4(2) of the Act.

Question reference: S7W-02617

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence it carried out, prior to awarding £400,000 to the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) in June 2026, regarding how the funding would be used and the outcomes that it was expected to deliver.

Question reference: S7W-02738

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in publishing a draft referendum Bill.

I’m pleased to announce that the draft referendum bill is being published today.

The largest number of pro-independence MSPs in history has voted to support the call for powers to hold a referendum on Scottish independence to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

This draft Bill, which is a First 100 Days commitment, is being published to show what a referendum bill would look like at the point at which an agreement to hold a lawful independence referendum has been reached.

Question reference: S7W-02575

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to review the policy on repeated Adult Disability Payment (ADP) reassessments for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), in light of the condition being permanent and progressive in nature.

The Scottish Government recognises that Multiple Sclerosis is a lifelong condition which can affect people differently and can progress over time.

Our person-centred approach accounts for fluctuating and progressive conditions. Adult Disability Payment reviews are tailored to people’s circumstances, making sure they receive the appropriate support for their level of need. Existing information is considered, along with any new information gathered at review, to support the right decisions being made first time.

We have also introduced indefinite awards for people with the highest level of needs which are highly unlikely to change. This helps to avoid the stress and anxiety associated with reviews while providing long-term financial security.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00433 on 9 June 2026 which sets out our planned enhancements to the disability benefit review process. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S7W-02292

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the £10 million Travel Fund for children and young people with cancer being introduced in England in 2027, and the Welsh Government's announcement that work has begun on an equivalent fund in Wales, whether it will ensure that equivalent support regarding the costs of travelling to treatment is available for children and young people with cancer in Scotland, whether by expanding the eligibility criteria of the Young Patients Family Fund or through a separate scheme.

Question reference: S7W-02163

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to obstructive sleep apnoea, what action it is taking to establish a pathway to reduce the time from referral to treatment for people referred to sleep services, in light of reported delays in diagnosis and treatment and the associated impact on health services and the economy.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that delays in diagnosis and treatment can have on people with obstructive sleep apnoea, as well as the wider consequences for health services and the economy.

NHS boards are responsible for the planning and delivery of sleep services to meet the needs of their local populations. The Scottish Government is supporting boards through investment to increase NHS capacity and reduce waiting times across services, including diagnostic and treatment pathways.

The 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a record £22.5 billion for health and social care, alongside an additional £100 million to build on progress made through the Operational Improvement Plan. This investment will support the creation of additional NHS capacity and further reductions in waiting times, particularly for those who have been waiting the longest.

Through this investment and ongoing engagement with NHS boards, we are supporting improvements to referral, diagnostic and treatment pathways, including for patients referred to sleep services, with the aim of reducing waits and improving timely access to assessment and treatment for conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

Question reference: S7W-02715

Asked by: Amanda Lindsay, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports in The Times that LGBT Health and Wellbeing, which receives public funding, including from it, runs a “Queer Milk” group that supports biological men to breastfeed or chestfeed babies, whether it will (a) confirm what funding it has provided to the organisation and the factors considered in awarding that funding, (b) review that funding in light of these reports, (c) assess any safeguarding concerns arising from the feeding of infants by biological males through hormone-induced lactation, and (d) review the measures in place to ensure that public funding is not used to support activities that are inconsistent with child safeguarding requirements.