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-44066

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to follow the educational framework in Denmark with a focus on rolling back reliance on digital tools.

Question reference: S6W-44013

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to monitor the number of repeated cases of Property Factor Enforcement Orders (PFEO) against a factor, and what its position is on when a factor is deemed not fit and proper to continue as a registered factor under the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011.

Question reference: S6W-43795

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government regarding funding for long COVID services for 2025–26, (a) for what reason it was delayed, (b) when NHS boards were formally informed of the delay, (c) how much time they had to respond, (d) what impact the delay had on service delivery, staffing and patient care and (e) what urgent remedial action was taken to prevent disruption for people living with long COVID.

I refer the member to the answers to question S6W-40743 on 25 September 2025 and question S6W-40895 on 21 October 2025.

As set out, further to Parliament’s approval of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 25 February 2025, the Scottish Government engaged closely with NHS boards to support the allocation of resource for new specialist support for Long COVID, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions.

NHS boards were contacted on 10 January 2025 inviting feedback by 22 January on activities which could be delivered and supported by single-year funding of £4.5 million allocated on a non-recurring basis in the financial year 2025-26. A further opportunity to provide feedback was provided on 29 January with feedback invited by 4 February.

Boards told us that having funding only for a single financial year would be a barrier to their ability to develop new support. To enable a case for multi-year funding to be considered, on 2 May NHS boards were requested to provide by 16 May an indicative multi-year proposal covering the financial years 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28. Responses beyond this date were accommodated in instances where NHS boards indicated that additional time was required.

On 6 August NHS boards were requested to provide finalised versions of the indicative proposals supplied in May. Boards were provided with the option of two deadlines for returns, 18 August and 11 September.

Following further assessment in line with Scottish Government spending controls, we wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding would be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.

These shares were reflected in NHS boards’ allocation schedules for September 2025.

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: S6W-43796

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that any underspend arising from delays in funding for long COVID services is ring-fenced for long COVID care rather than being returned to the Scottish Government or diverted to other areas in order to prevent disruption to patient care and the delivery of essential services, and what formal accountability measures it will apply to guarantee this.

NHS boards’ shares of the £4.5 million funding for specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and other similar conditions were included in their funding allocation schedules for September 2025.

In allocating this resource to NHS boards, we have been clear that it should be used entirely for the purpose provided and should not be top-sliced or used for any other purpose.

Question reference: S6W-43988

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated age is of each of the CalMac Clyde and Hebrides ferries in operation under Transport Scotland’s public contract; how many are operating beyond their originally planned service life, and what the scheduled commissioning date is for their replacements.

Question reference: S6W-43971

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to help people over 75 who wish to install solar panels but who may be ineligible for energy saving grants due to their age.

Question reference: S6W-43987

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of taxpayers projected to enter the higher rate income tax band between 2026 and 2030 due to threshold freezes, and what assessment it has undertaken of the potential impact of any such projected fiscal drag.

Question reference: S6W-43985

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are currently being taken to safeguard prosecutorial independence and prevent political interference in the legal process.

Question reference: S6W-43986

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it is currently taking to reverse the reported rise in violent crime, particularly in sex offences and domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-43794

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to the needs of children and young people with long-term conditions when developing the Long Term Conditions Framework; for what reason children and young people do not appear to be included despite contributions from children’s and young people’s organisations and what steps the Scottish Government will take to ensure that their needs are fully reflected and represented in the final framework.