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-04152

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the measures announced in its draft Budget 2025-26 will support its mission to eradicate child poverty.

Question reference: S6O-04124

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support farming businesses that are seeking to diversify.

Question reference: S6O-04136

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase active patient registrations with NHS dentists.

Question reference: S6W-31939

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reduce any stigma for individuals accessing or wishing to access Medication Assisted Treatment.

Work on developing a Stigma Action Plan has taken place, alongside progress with the National Collaborative, who are publishing a Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use on 11 December 2024.

The Charter was developed by a wide network of people with experience of substance use and aims to shift power and change culture, by empowering people affected by substance use to name and claim their rights, and be involved in decisions which impact them. It will also support service providers to understand how to realise these rights.

The purpose of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards is to improve access to treatment and enable people to make an informed choice about their care. The work that services are doing to embed the MAT standards is part of realising the right to health, and therefore very much aligns with the Charter of Rights.

Question reference: S6W-31932

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23717 by Jenni Minto on 19 December 2023, what progress it has made in identifying areas where there is the potential to further explore or support aspects of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) service development and the resource required to do this.

In May 2023 we published an analysis of survey data of health boards’ arrangements for the care and support of individuals with ME/CFS, with the aim of establishing a clearer picture of variations in service provision around Scotland.

We have since gathered updated information on ME/CFS care from every health board in Scotland and published this on 20 November 2024.

Subject to approval, the 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other similar conditions.

This important investment will support people with these conditions across Scotland, and we are asking Parliament to unite behind the Budget to ensure this funding reaches the people who need it.

Question reference: S6W-31943

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many claims have been made to the Young Patients Family Fund in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-31937

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to specifically address the misuse of opiates/opioids.

The Drug Deaths Taskforce was set up in 2019 to provide evidence-based expert advice on tackling the misuse of drugs. Toxicology results tell us that opiates/opioids were, and still are the main substances implicated in drug deaths in Scotland, with polydrug use being a significant factor.

After January 2021 when the National Mission was launched, the Scottish Government published the MAT standards, and through their continuing implementation, transformational change has taken place in drug treatment services throughout Scotland.

Methadone remains the primary form of medication assisted treatment, as an internationally accepted and evidence-based form of opioid antagonist. In the 12-month period ending 31 March 2024, Opioid Substitution Therapy was prescribed to a minimum of 29,817 people for the treatment of opioid dependence.

Question reference: S6W-31936

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to re-evaluate the amount that an applicant can claim from the Young Patients Family Fund.

Question reference: S6W-31935

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to re-evaluate the eligibility criteria for potential applicants to the Young Patients Family Fund.

Question reference: S6W-31934

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many claims have been made to the Young Patients Family fund within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2024.

2021-22	4,983
2022-23	8,437
2023-24	10,765