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-35214

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-04318 by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2025, on what date it instructed Transport Scotland and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd to progress discussions around its potential purchase of Ardrossan harbour.

We did not expect to consider a change of ownership as part of the business case work, and this alternative approach has not been taken lightly. Transport Scotland and CMAL were formally advised to take forward initial discussions with Peel Ports Group in November 2024.

These initial discussions had progressed to a more advanced stage which allowed for the recent update to Parliament. Intensive commercial negotiations are ongoing.

Question reference: S6F-03906

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is considering to further support Scotland's universities, in light of reports that the University of the West of Scotland reported a multi-million pound deficit in the last financial year, with other universities across Scotland in a similar financial position.

Question reference: S6W-34900

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried of the reasons for the reported increase in the percentage of people diagnosed with HIV who no longer engaged with HIV clinical services.

The latest data on people living with HIV in Scotland and not attending for HIV treatment and care can be found in Public Health Scotland’s HIV in Scotland surveillance report, which is available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/hiv-in-scotland/hiv-in-scotland-update-to-31-december-2023/.

It is important to note that changes to service delivery during and since the COVID-19 pandemic mean that the reported proportion of diagnosed individuals receiving treatment may be an under-estimate and work is underway to ensure the accuracy of this reporting.

Through our HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan, we are working with partners including the third sector to ensure that people living with HIV are receiving the treatment, care and support they need. Through our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults we are also funding a number of projects offering peer support and practical assistance which can help people living with HIV to stay well and engage or re-engage in care.

Question reference: S6W-34901

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to extend the emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing pilot to areas of higher prevalence.

Improving access to testing for blood borne viruses (BBV) plays an important role in achieving the Scottish Government’s hepatitis C elimination and HIV transmission elimination goals. However it is vital that we carefully consider which interventions are likely to be most effective in Scotland. This is why we have funded emergency department (ED) opt-out testing pilot projects in NHS Lothian, Grampian and Highland.

Whilst there are no imminent plans to expand ED opt-out testing, the Scottish Government is using evaluation data from the pilot projects, combined with evidence from the programme in England and Scottish Government-funded academic research, to determine whether further roll-out would be acceptable, deliverable and cost-effective.

Question reference: S6W-34902

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it carried out to determine which NHS boards would take part in the emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing pilot.

The Scottish Government has funded pilots of emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing in three areas – NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. The funding allocations followed a call for bids which was open to all Scottish territorial NHS Boards. Bids were assessed against criteria including geographical spread and value for money, and we were pleased to be able to fund every Board that applied to participate.

Question reference: S6O-04330

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with SEPA regarding how it will address any environmental concerns that arise from new waste incineration sites that have already received approval.

Question reference: S6W-32881

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported statistics from the Office for National Statistics stating that 20% of firms in Scotland have had more difficulty recruiting workers, compared with other parts of the UK.

The Scottish Government recognises challenges faced by businesses and particular circumstances faced in Scotland, and that is why the Scottish Government stands ready to support the UK Government to design an immigration system that addresses the requirements of Scotland’s economy and communities.

The Scottish Government is working with business to grow the economy and address labour and skill shortages, promoting fair work to make it easier for people to enter and remain in the workforce and ensuring our education and skills system are responsive to national needs .

Question reference: S6W-32879

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase access to NHS dentistry, in light of reported figures from Public Health Scotland stating that 1.8 million adults have not seen a dentist since 2022.

Public Health Scotland statistics published in November 2024 show that NHS dental services are performing well at a national level, with almost 4 million courses of treatment delivered to patients between November 2023 and September 2024.

There are many reasons why people may choose not to attend the dentist, which is not shown in participation data. This does not necessarily mean that these patients are unable to access an NHS dentist.

The Draft Budget reinforces our commitment to NHS dentistry, with an increase of almost 15% in funding for primary care dental services planned for 2025-26. Within this we will look to continue our work to improve NHS dental workforce and training measures, in line with our Vision for Healthcare Services.

Question reference: S6O-04219

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of the cross-government co-ordination on islands, including island connectivity, what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the impact on islanders of the relocation of the Arran ferry service from Ardrossan to Troon.

Question reference: S6W-32880

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle serious violent crime, in light of reported figures stating that serious violent crime has almost doubled in a decade to more than 1,000 incidents per month.

Any level of violence is a concern but it is not correct to say that serious violent crime has almost doubled in a decade. The number of serious assaults and attempted murders recorded by the police has increased by 9% since 2014-15. However, levels have fallen over the past six years, down 21% from 4,361 in 2018-19 to 3,457 by 2023-24. This is replicated in other sources, with the number of hospital admissions related to assault down by a third between 2014-15 and 2023/24. Despite this encouraging progress we are determined to do more.

That is why, through the Violence Prevention Framework; Supporting documents - Violence prevention framework - gov.scot we have provided over £4 million investment over the last two years, to fund a range of targeted prevention and intervention activity across communities. Key actions so far include:

Extending the support of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, to reach more individuals and communities across Scotland, including North and South Lanarkshire, Fife, Highlands, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Extending the Medics Against Violence Hospital Navigator Programme in two Children’s Hospitals in Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Supporting Medics Against Violence engagement with young people to highlight the consequences of knife carrying and knife injuries in primary schools, youth clubs and secondary schools.
Supporting the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to develop a community of practice for over 100 police School Liaison Officers across Scotland.
Trained over 800 teachers in schools to provide young people with key messages on violence, reaching 19 local authorities across Scotland.
Supporting YouthLink Scotland to deliver various online and face to face No Knives, Better Lives training sessions to hundreds of practitioners working with young people, in addition to working directly with young people across Scotland.
Supporting Education Scotland to deliver the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme, in schools across all 32 local authorities.