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-36809

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS hospital sites have been reported for vermin infestations in each of the last five years, and what action was taken.

Question reference: S6W-36364

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the report on the review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender (the Sullivan Review), when it will update its 2021 guidance for public bodies on the collection and publication of data on sex, gender identity and trans status, in line with recommendation 23 of the report.

The Office of the Chief Statistician published guidance for public bodies in Scotland on the collection of data on sex and gender in 2021. This guidance recommends that statistics producers should collect data that best serves the needs of users in their specific context, an approach with aligns with the guidance published by the Office for Statistics Regulation in 2024.

The Sullivan Review specifically recommends that the Scottish Government reviews its guidance in light of its recommendations. The Scottish Government has previously committed to reviewing its guidance on collecting data on sex and gender by the end of 2026 as part of the Non-Binary Equality Action plan.

Ahead of this review, the Office of the Chief Statistician is engaged with wider-UK work on this topic. The Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation Team is currently developing harmonised standards for collecting data on sex and gender identity. The Office of the Chief Statistician is contributing to this work, and will consider its outputs as part of its review of the Chief Statistician’s guidance.

Question reference: S6W-36241

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether its commitment to ensure "that by March 2026 no one is waiting longer than a year for their new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case procedure" includes people on waiting lists for mental health services and neurodevelopmental conditions.

The additional £100 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times will create 150,000 extra appointments and procedures for elective services. This does not include mental health or neurodevelopmental services.

Improving mental health remains an absolute priority for the Scottish Government and whilst we recognise the ongoing pressures facing the NHS, long waits are unacceptable and we remain committed to supporting Boards to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies (PT). Currently Psychological Therapies (PT) services are responding well to demand, with one in two people referred starting treatment within three weeks. And in CAMHS, the national performance against the 18-week standard is the best performance ever reported since the standard was introduced in 2014 with 89.1% of patients starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral in the last quarter.

We do not have a treatment time target for neurodevelopmental services. Our key focus is on improving support. The Neurodevelopmental specification aims to ensure that children and families receive the support and access to services that meet their needs at the earliest opportunity.

Despite the progress made across the system, we are not complacent and we remain committed to supporting all Boards to meet the standards and to clear long waiting lists. Performance does still vary across Health Boards, and we continue to provide enhanced support to those Boards not on track to meet the standard, providing access to professional advice, ensuring they have robust improvement plans in place and monitoring their implementation.

Question reference: S6O-04562

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been done of any impact on CAMHS waiting times targets, in light of reports of autism assessment services being cancelled leaving more children in distress and unable to access support that requires a diagnosis.

Question reference: S6O-04560

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that gulls can cause serious human injury, whether it will direct NatureScot to issue licences to control the birds and help prevent such injuries.

Question reference: S6O-04561

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what dialogue it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding shared care agreements for adults with private ADHD and autism diagnoses.

Question reference: S6O-04566

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will publish the outcome of the latest A96 corridor review.

Question reference: S6O-04563

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the uptake of childhood immunisations in NHS Lanarkshire.

Question reference: S6O-04565

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging the growth of community energy projects.

Question reference: S6O-04564

Current Status: Withdrawn