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-02337

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to support women in the immediate days and weeks after they leave a coercive and abusive relationship.

Question reference: S6O-02342

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how secondary school pupils in Aberdeen will be supported through the launch of ABZ Campus.

Question reference: S6O-02331

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate the reopening of any sites that are currently closed due to inspections by Historic Environment Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02332

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the next regular review of the Sentencing young people guidelines is due to take place.

Question reference: S6O-02336

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that police officers are fully resourced.

Question reference: S6W-17989

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors, and communicates to stakeholders, public support for the critical minerals sector and related projects, and what steps it has taken to draw attention to the role of critical minerals in achieving Scotland’s net zero goals and a just transition.

Critical minerals are becoming increasingly important for emerging technologies. However, the Scottish Government is not aware of any existing research on public support for critical minerals for communication to stakeholders.

I would encourage all business sectors in Scotland that rely on critical minerals to ensure that supply chains are resilient to current and future impacts of climate change, and that critical minerals are obtained from sustainable sources.

Where new development proposals come forward, our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) supports the sustainable management of resources, whilst minimising the impacts of the extraction of minerals on communities and the environment.

Question reference: S6W-18036

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to better retain (a) nursing and (b) midwifery staff in the NHS.

The Scottish Government values the skill and dedication of our nurses and midwives, particularly in recent difficult circumstances. This is reflected in a pay deal worth more than £1 billion over the last two years, ensuring that nurses and midwives in Scotland continue to be the best paid in the UK.

We continue to strive towards developing and retaining a sustainable healthcare workforce in NHS Scotland and work is already underway supporting the Work-life Balance polices, that include flexible working, retirement and leave policies. As well as, the development of the NHS Scotland Interim National Arrangement on Retire and Return that supports retiring employees to return to employment in their health board.

In addition, we have also established a Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce, to build on efforts to make Scotland the best place for nurses and midwives to come and work by developing plans to bolster retention and recruitment of the existing workforce, and aim for our people to have the best conditions and career opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-18034

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to expand routes into nursing studies.

The Scottish Government alongside a wide range of stakeholders including health and social care partners, NHS Education for Scotland, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and Skills Development Scotland, is taking forward work to develop alternative career pathways into nursing including potential apprenticeship models and other ‘earn as you learn’ routes. These pathways have the potential to widen access into the profession to those individuals wishing to pursue a career in nursing but may not choose the undergraduate route and to those individuals already employed in NHS Boards or the care home sector, allowing people to study and work at the same time whilst accessing education to progress their career. We already know that many Healthcare Support Workers are seeking career progression and some have entered the second year of an undergraduate programme after being supported by their employer and the Scottish Government to complete an HNC whilst working. We are exploring what more can be done to showcase these routes for existing staff whilst also attracting new employees to our NHS by enabling them to understand the opportunities available to develop and progress towards registered roles.

NHS Lothian are currently piloting a traineeship approach with HEI partners for new staff and early indications show high levels of interest and staff retention.

Question reference: S6W-18044

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is reportedly not possible to currently (a) train in paediatric palliative medicine and (b) study for a community children's nursing (CCN) qualification in Scotland.

Given the small numbers of highly specialised trainees in paediatric palliative medicine, training is currently delivered at the UK centre of excellence at Great Ormond Street.

With regards to studying for a community children’s nursing (CCN) qualification in Scotland, the Scottish Government has commissioned education specific to the needs of nurses delivering care in the community in the form of the Integrated Community Nursing Graduate Diploma.

This education provides opportunities to select an optional module, one of which is focused on integrated care of children and young people. In tandem with this, the Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland, alongside other colleagues and stakeholders, contributed to the revision of the NMC post-registration education standards, available online here Standards of proficiency for community nursing specialist practice qualifications - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk) .

These standards continue to include provision for the development of community children’s nurses education programmes and higher education institutions in Scotland, and across the UK. We are now considering how best to develop programmes in alignment with the revised standards.

Question reference: S6W-18032

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase the number of student places available on nursing courses at Scottish universities.

The target intake for funded places on nursing and midwifery undergraduate programmes has increased for 10 consecutive years. Recognising that undergraduate programmes are not the single solution to developing and increasing the workforce, the Scottish Government has agreed with Higher Education Institutions, NHS Boards and other key partners, to maintain the target intake of 4,837 (4536 nursing and 301 midwifery) for 3 years. Funded places will continue to be monitored annually whilst we work collaboratively with those partners to maximise the places that are filled and explore alternative pipelines into these critical professions such as earn as you learn routes and apprenticeships.