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: S6O-03334

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly spent nearly £400,000 of public money to promote Scotland’s new hate crime laws.

Question reference: S6W-26876

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported long-term downward trend in adherence to the 62-day cancer treatment standard, whether it plans to make any significant changes to its approach to tackling cancer waiting times.

Question reference: S6W-26875

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many people are currently waiting for (a) cancer treatment and (b) diagnostic tests with suspicion of cancer.

Question reference: S6W-26873

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason adherence to the 62-day referral-to-treatment standard for cancer is reportedly worse than adherence to the 31-day decision-to-treatment standard.

Question reference: S6W-26872

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has regarding setting timelines for achieving the 62-day cancer treatment standard.

Question reference: S6W-26481

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the purpose is of its policy to make music tuition free in schools, and what its response is to reports that the policy could lead to a ban on private tuition during school hours and require paid lessons to be arranged outwith the school day.

The purpose of the Scottish Government’s policy on free instrumental music tuition is ensure that fees and charges are not a barrier to learning an instrument at school.

The policy has transformed instrumental music tuition in Scotland’s schools by funding all councils to eradicate unfair music tuition charges. The most recent Instrumental Music Survey published in December 2023 Instrumental Music Survey shows the number of pupils participating is at a record high.

The policy means that Local Authorities should not charge fees for instrumental music tuition at school.

Question reference: S6W-25562

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that long COVID patients in Scotland have been refused ill health retirement pensions because they have not attended a long COVID clinic.

We are not aware of reports that any long COVID patients have been refused ill health retirement from a public service pension scheme in Scotland solely because they have not attended a long COVID clinic. Each ill health retirement application should be assessed on a case-by-case basis and the medical decision-making process takes into account the available treatment options for an individual.

In assessing an ill health retirement application, the scheme manager must assess whether the individual is permanently incapable of carrying out the duties of their existing employment (lower-tier) or any regular employment of like duration (upper-tier) until their normal pension age. One of the factors which must be considered in making that assessment is whether the individual has received appropriate medical treatment. Where the member has not received appropriate medical treatment, permanent incapacity cannot be established. However, if a long COVID service was not available, according to the general principles of an ill-health retirement assessment, it would not be considered an appropriate treatment option for that individual.

Question reference: S6W-25561

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which agencies or companies are being used by public sector pension scheme agencies, including the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, to conduct medical assessments such as assessments for ill health retirement pension applications, also broken down by the geographical area in which these agencies or companies are located.

SPPA’s appointed medical advisers are Health Partners (OH) Ltd who operate nationally and also provide services to the police and fire services. Full information on local government pensions administration is not held centrally but a range of providers are used, including Optima Health (Falkirk), PAM Group (Strathclyde, Scottish Borders, Lothian, Highland, Tayside, and Fife), TAC Healthcare (Orkney), Genesis OHS (Dumfries and Galloway) and NHS Shetland Occupational Health Service.

Question reference: S6W-25560

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) it and (b) public sector pension agencies, including the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, (i) have taken or (ii) will take steps to ensure that companies or agencies that conduct medical assessments of public sector workers with long COVID are made aware that long COVID clinics do not exist in some areas of Scotland, on the basis that NHS boards make their own arrangements for long COVID treatment, in order to ensure that ill health retirement pension applications are not refused simply due to the lack of attendance at a long COVID clinic.

Care and support for people with long COVID is being provided across the full range of services delivered by NHS Scotland. This includes assessment and investigation in a setting close to home by local primary care teams, and referral to community-based rehabilitation services or secondary care settings for further investigation of specific complications where appropriate.

SPPA’s occupational health advisers at Health Partners are aware that Long Covid Clinics do not exist in some areas of Scotland. Ill health retirement applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and the medical decision-making process takes into account the available treatment options for an individual. This principle is also contained in the guidance issued by SPPA that should be considered by scheme employers responsible for managing ill health retirement applications from members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland).

Question reference: S6W-25563

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 February 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether existing criteria for conducting medical assessments of public sector workers with long COVID, in relation to ill health retirement pension applications, reflect that long COVID clinics do not exist in some areas of Scotland, and, if not, what action it can take to ensure that this is the case.