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-37182

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30699 by Jenni Minto on 11 May 2024, whether it will provide an update on when it will commission work on the national audit programme for respiratory conditions.

In 2023, the Scottish Government provided Public Health Scotland with funding to undertake a scoping exercise with a view to developing a respiratory audit programme. However, due to current fiscal challenges, it has not yet been possible to progress this work further.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services and we are carefully considering the best way that this can be achieved going forward.

Question reference: S6W-37217

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the budget for private contractors providing services for Scottish Water was overspent in 2024-25, and, if so, by how much, and what the reasons were for the overspend.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water (Regulated) Contractor P&L expenditure for 2024-25 was £31.7m against a Budget of £30.7m. The actual costs include £4.0m unbudgeted proactive leakage recovery costs so therefore the underlying variance is favourable.

Question reference: S6W-37214

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Young Lives vs Cancer research, The Cost of Waiting, which states that almost one in two households with a child or young person with cancer had to use their savings, and three in five borrowed money, following a diagnosis, what consideration it has given to how such outcomes align with its child poverty reduction targets.

Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and Mr Swinney’s top priority as First Minister.

We fully appreciate how difficult a cancer diagnosis is for young people and their families. We are committed to making sure the necessary support is available to all who need it, when they need it.

Our Child Disability Payment is designed to mitigate some of the additional costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person. It is available to children and young people from the ages of 3 months to 18 years old, who have care and/or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

The Child Disability Payment has paid out over £1 billion to families with disabled children to date.

Question reference: S6F-04067

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

To ask the First Minister when the landslip shelter on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will be complete.

Question reference: S6W-37186

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recourse is open to any charities that have had funding withdrawn by (a) health and social care partnerships, (b) integration joint boards, (c) NHS boards and (d) local authorities based on inaccurate, inadequate or a lack of equality impact assessment reports.

Each of the bodies referenced are responsible for setting their budgets in accordance with their strategic plans and to meet the needs of their local population. How they allocate funding to delivery partners to achieve their outcomes is a decision for them however there is an expectation that public bodies funded by the Scottish Government will develop Equality Impact Assessments through the Equality Act 2010.

Where individuals or organisations feel that public bodies have not fulfilled their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, this should be drawn to the attention of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as escalation is a matter for the Commission. The process involves the Commission's power to issue a compliance notice, and subsequently seek enforcement through the courts, if necessary.

Scottish Ministers cannot direct EHRC because it is independent from Government. As it is a reserved public body, the Scottish Parliament cannot change its powers.

Question reference: S6W-37212

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of disability benefit waiting times, in light of the Young Lives vs Cancer research, The Cost of Waiting, which states that almost half of young cancer patients in Scotland finish their active treatment before receiving a decision on their disability benefit application.

There are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes Social Security Scotland to make a decision on disability benefit applications, including the time taken to gather the supporting information required to make a decision on an application.

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill children and young people, and anyone in Scotland diagnosed with a terminal illness by their healthcare professional can apply for disability benefits under Special Rules for Terminal Illness. Published data shows that applications under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness are currently processed within three working days for Child Disability Payment and two working days for Adult Disability Payment.

The most recent official statistics for Child Disability Payment show Social Security Scotland has made decisions on new applications almost twice as fast as in the previous financial year: Social Security Scotland - Child Disability Payment: high level statistics to 31 December 2024.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication shows Social Security Scotland has made faster decisions on applications over the last year, with average processing times decreasing significantly in the last ten months, when compared to the previous financial year: Social Security Scotland - Adult Disability Payment statistics to 31 January 2025

Question reference: S6W-37213

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Social Security Scotland staff who assess disability benefit applications have appropriate knowledge and understanding of childhood and young adult cancers and their impact.

Social Security Scotland staff who assess applications receive comprehensive training developed in consultation with people with lived experience of health conditions and disabilities.

Due to the complexities and range of health conditions, decision makers are also supported by in-house Health and Social Care practitioners and equipped with the guidance necessary to properly assess the impact of young adult cancers and all other health conditions.

Training includes case studies which highlight a range of health conditions and disabilities, and Clinical Operations colleagues have delivered sessions on general cancer awareness.

As part of its commitment to providing a learning service, Social Security Scotland always welcomes feedback from clients. This helps the organisation understand clients’ views and improve their experience wherever possible.

Question reference: S6W-37187

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Equality Impact Assessment reports relating to their work, whether any charities that face having their funding reduced by statutory funders should be (a) consulted in the drafting of the report and (b) given sight of the report prior to any decision being made.

We must conduct an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) at the earliest stages of developing new policies or revising existing ones. This includes strategies, legislation, guidance, frameworks, training, funding, reviews, and any other activities that affect people. The EQIA process requires evidence gathering to understand and assess the potential impact of policy decisions. This evidence gathering can include public consultations and lived experience discussions with those organisations and members of the public to understand and assess any potential impacts.

Regulation 5 of these Scottish Specific Duties is particularly relevant to EQIAs, as it requires the assessment of all new and revised policies and practices for their impact on the three Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) needs, as well as the publication of these assessment results within a reasonable timeframe and in an easily accessible manner.

Question reference: S6W-36173

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remove the qualifying period for (a) adult and (b) child disability payment for young people diagnosed with cancer.

Question reference: S6O-04589

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding a different model for allocating funding to Integration Joint Boards, in light of a recent Accounts Commission report highlighting the unsustainable gaps in their finances.