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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 4322 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-03255

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of potential locations that would be suitable for the development of off-grid pumped-storage hydro facilities and offshore wind installations.

Scottish Government recognises the unique challenges faced by off-grid communities and we are committed to supporting them to develop sustainable, resilient and locally appropriate energy solutions that can improve energy security and help address energy costs.

The Scottish Government has made no assessment of potential locations for the deployment of off-grid pumped storage hydro and offshore wind installations. However, our Updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) will deliver the spatial planning framework for the ScotWind and Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) leasing rounds.

Question reference: S7W-03485

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of families with twins or other multiple births who are currently unable to access funded early learning and childcare for their children from the age of two solely because multiple-birth status is not an eligibility criterion, and what estimate it has made of the number of additional children who would become eligible if such a criterion was introduced.

As set out in answer to S7W-03483 on 29 September 2026, a definitive assessment of scope or costs of any new policy position has not been undertaken. Some limited consideration was given previously and released as part of a Freedom of Information request in May 2026. It can be found in the following document (document 33): FOI+202600511271+-+Information+Released+-+Attachment+3.pdf.

This included an estimate of the number of additional children who would become eligible although this was for illustrative purposes only.

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.

Question reference: S7W-03301

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans are in place for Dalzell Plate Mill in the event that GFG Alliance is unable to fund feedstock, working capital or a sustained restart of operations, and whether those plans include consideration of public acquisition, a facilitated sale, or the site being placed under the control of an official receiver or a similar mechanism.

Question reference: S7W-03300

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much public money has been spent, directly or indirectly, supporting wages, site safety or care and maintenance at Dalzell and Clydebridge mills, in each year since 2024.

Question reference: S7W-02863

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the treatment and care of cisgender female, transgender and gender diverse individuals with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD), given that these groups are reportedly at greater risk of developing such conditions.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) or Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) receive appropriate, person-centred care, based on their individual clinical needs, regardless of sex, gender identity or other protected characteristics.

Access to assessment, treatment and support within NHS Scotland is determined by clinical need. The Scottish Government is committed to promoting equitable access to healthcare services and reducing inequalities, so that everyone can receive the care and support that is appropriate to their circumstances.

Question reference: S7W-03303

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the current status of GFG Alliance’s consideration of a sale of Clydebridge, whether the site is being actively marketed, and whether it has discussed, or plans to discuss, any conditions related to environmental remediation, employment or future industrial use with any prospective purchaser.

Question reference: S7W-03299

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support arrangements or financial liabilities it still has in place relating to Dalzell, Clydebridge or other GFG Alliance companies in Scotland, and what the maximum possible cost to the public purse would be in each case.

The Scottish Government has no financial support arrangements or financial liabilities relating to (a) Liberty Steel as owners of Dalzell and Clydebridge or (b) to other GFG Alliance companies in Scotland.

There an accounting provision relating to the Lochaber guarantee which is disclosed in the Consolidated Accounts of the Scottish Government. The Government's potential exposure to default payments has been valued at £130m as at 31 March 2025.

Question reference: S7W-03304

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using public acquisition, a public-interest transfer or a joint vehicle with the UK Government to secure the long-term future of Dalzell Plate Mill in Motherwell, in light of reports that the UK Government will take British Steel and Speciality Steel UK into public ownership.

Question reference: S7W-03457

Asked by: Steven Bonnar, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether current cancer waiting times standards provide sufficient monitoring and accountability for women with suspected endometrial cancer, given that it is not one of the 10 cancer types covered by the 62-day cancer waiting times standard, and what consideration it has given to including this cancer within the 62-day cancer waiting times standard or introducing a separate national waiting-time measure for its diagnosis and treatment.

The cancer waiting times standards were originally monitored against 10 major cancer groups: breast, colorectal, head and neck, lung, lymphoma, ovarian, melanoma, upper gastrointestinal, urological and cervical cancers. These were selected because they accounted for a large proportion of cancer cases and referrals, allowing meaningful performance measurement.

Many rarer cancers, such as endometrial cancer, have very small patient numbers, making quarterly reporting less statistically reliable and potentially raising patient confidentiality concerns when results are published by NHS Board and tumour type.

However, The Scottish Government commitment to ‘carrying out a clinically led review of latest data and evidence to determine whether there is merit in specific additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment’ is underway.

A project steering group is being established which will support the review, determining if any amendments to the standards would enhance patient experience and meet the needs of the NHS for the future.

Evidence review commissions were shared with key partners in April with the full clinical consensus review expected to conclude with recommendations within 18- 24 months.

Monitoring and accountability of standards of care for endometrial cancer is still provided through a number of different means including national set of Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs), developed through the Scottish cancer quality programme and overseen by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, with performance reported by Public Health Scotland. These indicators are used to support continuous quality improvement in cancer services across NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03483

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 21 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its answers to question S6W-44443 by Natalie Don-Innes on 19 March 2026 and question S7W-03030 by Siobhian Brown on 18 September 2026, whether it has undertaken or commissioned an estimate of the annual cost of providing 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare from the age of two to children in families with multiple births and, if not, whether it will undertake such an assessment before finalising its forthcoming childcare blueprint.

Full assessment of future childcare delivery options and costs will be undertaken as part of the parliamentary and budgetary processes. While a definitive assessment of scope or costs of any new policy position is not available at this time, information relating to previous limited considerations of this matter was released as part of a Freedom of Information request in May 2026. It can be found in the following document (document 33):

FOI+202600511271+-+Information+Released+-+Attachment+3.pdf