- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what progress Social Security Scotland has made in making sure that frontline staff are trained in the particular needs of the veteran community, to ensure that veterans are not subjected to any unnecessary misunderstanding or distress when accessing financial support.
Answer
Social Security Scotland recognises and values a wide range of diverse groups beyond the nine protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010, including a strong commitment to the armed forces community – veterans and their families.
The organisation remains committed to reviewing and enhancing how it supports people accessing benefits. In particular, how to strengthen colleagues’ understanding of veterans, particularly in light of the report and recommendations published by the Scottish Veterans Commissioner’s June 2025 report on veterans’ experiences with the benefits system.
To promote internal awareness and understanding, Social Security Scotland has delivered sessions highlighting the lived experiences of the armed forces community featuring contributions from veterans now employed within the organisation.
In 2024, the organisation worked closely with Scottish Government colleagues to recruit veterans as Client Advisers on 12-month fixed-term contracts, with the option to extend. Hiring managers received training to help support these new colleagues, recognising the challenges they may have faced.
While there is no specific training tailored exclusively for individual groups like veterans, all colleagues involved in assessing applications receive comprehensive training. This training is developed in consultation with people with lived experience of health conditions and disabilities and is informed by the Scottish Government’s benefit take-up strategy and focuses on understanding each person’s unique circumstances.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W- 32914 and S6W- 32915 by Jenni Minto on 16 January 2025, and following the issuing of a Medicines Supply Alert Notice on 25 April 2024, whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made with securing adequate supplies of naloxegol.
Answer
The supply of medicines and the associated legislation are a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Scottish Government continues to engage with them on all medicine supply issues. The UK Department of Health and Social Care have stated that while the medication is currently unavailable, the anticipated resupply date is mid-august 2025. An alternative medication named Naldemedine (Rizmoic) remains available in 200 microgram tablets and can support increased demand. Those affected by the shortage are encouraged to discuss alternative treatments with their clinical team.
Scottish Government officials continue to monitor the situation for any further developments and are maintaining a close dialogue with all Health Boards to help manage this medicine supply disruption.
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many clinics offer dermatology services, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The information requested on how many clinics offer dermatology services, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost to Scotland’s economy of poor mobile connectivity.
Answer
Telecommunications policy, which includes mobile connectivity, is currently reserved to the UK Government. Whilst the Scottish Government has not conducted any analysis on the economic impacts of poor mobile connectivity, we do recognise the social and economic importance of high-quality and reliable mobile services, particularly for our rural and island areas. Through our Scottish 4G Infill (S4GI) programme, we have invested £28.75 million to deliver and activate 55 mobile masts in areas that previously had no coverage.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what data it collects on the scale of organised sexual exploitation of children.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect data on the scale of organised child sexual exploitation. External agencies such as Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and local authorities collect and record concerns and/or offences related to child sexual abuse and exploitation tailored to their statutory and operational responsibilities.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that patients in towns such as Gretna, Langholm, and Canonbie are not excluded from accessing contingency care staffing systems, such as Staffscanner, due to geographic location, and what steps are being taken to address any resulting disparity in care provision in border communities.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognise that there may be occasions where Health Boards require access to agency workers in order to supplement their workforce. In keeping with our national approach, such workers should only be deployed by exception.
Where such exceptions are met, the Scottish Government expects Health Boards to use one of the approved suppliers on the relevant National Procurement Framework (such as Staffscanner) to obtain temporary staff.
For care services, it the statutory responsibility of local Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to ensure that appropriate social care support services are in place to provide people with the right care, in the right place and at the right time.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what financial assessments have been undertaken regarding the proposed merger of NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland, as set out in the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework.
Answer
Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation. Financial assessment will be part of this. The aim throughout will be to optimise the delivery of national services, creating opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38278 by Neil Gray on 10 June 2025, what support, in the form of guidance and process delivery, it is providing to clinicians to prioritise any urgent non-cancer colonoscopy requests.
Answer
As part of the Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) has published a number of clinical pathways and guidance, co-designed with clinicians from specialty delivery groups to manage patients referred routinely for colonoscopy. This includes the recently published qFIT clinical consensus document and National guidance for specifically managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) symptoms. It is for Health Boards and clinicians to embed these pathways locally and ensure capacity within the six week diagnostic standard. The pathways are published on Health Board websites, and it is expected all boards should be implementing these locally.
Clinicians can also refer to IBD UK’s IBD Standards for advice on delivering high-quality care at every point in a patient’s journey.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency regarding potentially expanding the available locations offered by the Scottish Driving Assessment Service for people who wish to commence, resume or continue driving after illness or injury, in light of the reported barriers to attendance for those in the Highlands and island areas.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the DVSA about the expansion of locations offered by the Scottish Driving Assessment Service.
The Scottish Driving Assessment Service is a matter for NHS Boards, and is hosted by NHS Lothian on behalf of NHS Scotland. The service is free for users and is currently funded through contributions from NHS Boards to NHS Lothian.
The NHS Directors of Planning Group has agreed to oversee a review of the Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS) and present a paper to the NHS Boards Chief Executives group. A Working Group will oversee a detailed scoping exercise to understand the demand for driving assessment in Scotland, and how this is currently being met.
It is proposed that the review will conclude with an Option Appraisal, supported by NHS Ayrshire and Arran, enabling stakeholders from throughout Scotland to discuss and appraise potential future service delivery models for driving assessment in Scotland.
The Scottish Government is in regular contact with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and the review is expected to conclude in late 2025.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, following the removal of peak rail fares in September, whether super off-peak tickets will still be available for purchase at a reduced rate to commuters, and, if so, to which routes this will apply.
Answer
Super off-peak journeys account for 0.2 per cent of all journeys made on ScotRail services. Only a very small number of journeys actually qualify for the ticket, and there are restricted travel times aimed at the quietest trains on particular routes, between 11am and 3pm, and after 8pm. Details of all ScotRail fares and products, following the removal of peak fares on 1 September 2025, will be available in early August.
