- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its role in proposing the scheduling of parliamentary business, how it can help ensure that parliamentary time is used constructively for the remainder of this parliamentary session.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2025
- Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have exercised their discretion to return vaccination delivery responsibility to rural GPs.
Answer
Since 2022, Health Boards have been responsible for delivering Scotland’s vaccination programmes. The Scottish Government has always recognised that there may be circumstances (eg, in remote and rural places) were some vaccination services need to be delivered by General Practice. It is important that such flexibility exists to ensure that vaccination is as readily accessible to people as possible, regardless of local geography or other situations. However, it is not the case that Health Boards can do so on a discretionary basis.
Through an Options Appraisal process put in place by the Scottish Government, Health Boards must demonstrate a clear and evidenced need for particular vaccination services to be delivered by General Practice. Scottish Ministers must agree such proposals. A small number of discrete cases have been approved, including one practice within NHS Borders and several practices within Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). In each instance these have been approved in response to specific circumstances to support access to vaccination. Approval has also been given for Highland HSCP to establish a mixed model of vaccine delivery, that will include some GP practices in the area delivering some vaccination services. Highland HSCP are developing their mixed model, and the Scottish Government, along with Public Health Scotland (PHS), are working closely with them to ensure a safe and accessible service.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the 2025 biennial workforce survey by the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), which highlights a shortage of staff and resources.
Answer
The regulation of consumer protection, including trading standards, is reserved to the UK Government and managed by local authorities and COSLA.
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of trading standards and is considering this report in full. We will engage with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) in due course.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase funding for the No Knives, Better Lives campaign, in light of the campaign having a reported 12% real-terms reduction in its funding since 2022-23.
Answer
Against a background of increased funding pressures, we have committed over £6 million to support delivery of a range of prevention and early intervention activities through the Violence Prevention Framework, since its publication in 2023. This investment supports a range of partners, who are working jointly to deliver on the priorities set out in the Framework. YouthLink Scotland’s No Knives, Better Lives programme itself has been financially supported with grant funding of over £5.7m since 2009, including almost £300k in 2025-26. This has allowed YouthLink Scotland to deliver social media messages about knife crime prevention as well as No Knives, Better Lives training sessions to 6,000 front line practitioners and 650 peer educators. This has enabled the programme to reach 165,000 young people across all 32 local authorities in Scotland.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an escalation pathway for patients
of private dental practices.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Information regarding making complaints about private dental practices can be accessed online at: Making a complaint about independent healthcare services – Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40644 on 1 October 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.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what studies have recently been carried out regarding the experiences of young people receiving person-centred child and adolescent mental health services (CAHMS).
Answer
Through implementation of the Supporting documents - Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services: national service specification - gov.scot. Health Boards are required to fully engage with children, young people and families, and to gather outcomes data against these standards including on the experiences of young people accessing support through CAMHS. Health Boards are also required to report on performance and governance as part of their responsibilities under the Specification.
The Scottish Government continues to work closely with all Health Boards to support implementation of the CAMHS specification and to improve the service provided to children, young people and families, as well as improve performance across CAMHS. We remain committed to supporting all Boards to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. 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.
- Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure consistent implementation of the Coeliac Disease Pathway across all NHS boards.
Answer
Following the launch of a new national evidence-based pathway for coeliac disease in 2018, we expect all Health Boards to fully implement the Coeliac Disease Pathway in Scotland to improve under diagnosis, time to diagnosis and to ensure dietetic person-centred support for people living with this condition so that they can take control and manage its impact on their health and quality of life.
Our £70 million Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan is increasing capacity and supporting workforce training. This also includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition.
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is invasive and often requires sedation or anaesthesia. A no-biopsy approach, now fully adopted across adult services in Scotland, reduces the need for endoscopy and speeds up diagnosis for eligible patients.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the recent changes to Lanarkshire sexual health services on accessibility for people across the region, including centralising the repeat prescription service for contraception to Coathill Hospital.
Answer
Following a review of services and in order to prioritise access to specialist sexual health services for those in greatest need, NHS Lanarkshire have made a decision to centralise non-Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) prescription appointments to Coathill Hospital. Patients are still able to access non-LARC contraception (such as the pill) at Coathill Hospital or through their GP, which may be more convenient for them. Appointments for LARC continue to be available throughout the wider sexual health service in Lanarkshire.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what funding mechanisms are available to help (a) farmers and (b) crofters improve farm security.
Answer
There are no funds aimed specifically at improving farm security. Farmers and Crofters can choose how to invest in their business from existing funding mechanisms, for example the Basic Payment Scheme which is worth around £282 million annually. Investment which could include measures for improving farm security.
- Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding a replacement for Port Glasgow Health Centre.
Answer
We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.
As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.
