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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: S6T-01757

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its current policy is regarding the deletion or retention of WhatsApp messages by ministers.

Question reference: S6O-03016

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the MV Isle of Islay will be launched on 16 March 2024.

Question reference: S6W-23791

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase physical activity levels among school children.

The Scottish Government understand the importance of sport and physical activity and the positive impact that it has, not only on physical, mental, and social health, but also on wider social outcomes.

We are committed to ensuring that all children in primary schools receive at least two hours of physical education each school week, and all young people in secondaries 1 to 4 receive at least two 50-minute periods of physical education each school week. Local authorities and individual schools also have the flexibility, under Curriculum for Excellence, to decide upon the content of their own lessons at the local level, since we believe they are best placed to understand the needs and circumstances of the children and young people in attendance.

Alongside opportunities to be physically active in physical education, sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support Active Schools. Active Schools is dedicated to developing and supporting the delivery of high quality sport and physical activity opportunities to all children and young people, taking an inclusive approach and providing targeted opportunities where there is a need. Data published by sportscotland shows significantly increased participation levels across the past academic year (2022-23), with 4.6 million visits to Active Schools sessions, a rise of 34% on 2021/22.

We have committed to ensure that the Active Schools programme is free for all children and young people by the end of this Parliament.

In addition we are funding the Active Play Development Project which provides children with the opportunity to develop physical skills in their early years and to encourage a long-term, positive relationship with physical activity. The programme targets areas of disadvantage and will support more children from areas of higher deprivation, to develop the skills and confidence to enjoy being more physically active.

Question reference: S6W-23793

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its projected timeline is for achieving consistent and year-round adherence to the A&E target of ensuring that 95% of patients are processed within four hours.

A&E performance remains below the levels we all wish to see, however, we continue to work closely with Boards to support delivery of sustained improvements across a range of areas.

Emergency Departments across NHS Scotland and the rest of the UK, continue to face sustained pressures. The combined impact of pandemic backlogs, Brexit-exacerbated staff shortages, and delayed discharges are all contributing to the challenges the NHS is facing, with significant pressure being placed on our urgent care services in particular.

Through our Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme, we are supporting Health Boards to take action to improve patient flow and reduce A&E delays through a range of actions such as: increasing community capacity such as hospital at home, optimising the use of early and effective triage, rapid decision-making and streaming to assessment areas.

Question reference: S6W-23790

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the quantitative impact will be of its current anti-obesity measures on reducing obesity rates, compared with the scenario in which no action is taken.

Addressing obesity is a priority for the Scottish Government, this financial year we have provided core funding of £8.25 million to health boards to deliver adult, children and young people’s weight management services.

The Scottish Government remains committed to taking forward the wide range of actions set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan to deliver our vision for a Scotland where everyone eats well and has a healthy weight.

The quantitative impact of all policies is being tracked through our nationally representative survey on health. The latest results, for the year 2022, were published on 5 December 2023 on the Scottish Government website . Obesity rates were 29% for adults and 18% of children were at risk of obesity. Obesity rates have been measured annually in the Scottish Health Survey since 2008.

Question reference: S6W-23792

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Scottish Health Survey that people aged 16 to 24 experience the highest levels of loneliness among all recorded age brackets.

The Scottish Government recognises that Social Isolation and Loneliness is a public health issue, which has been exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to be affected by the ongoing cost crisis.

The Social Isolation and Loneliness Strategy, and associated delivery plan, highlights a number of actions we are taking to tackle this public health issue, including funding support to 53 organisations across Scotland delivering community-led activity that responds to local needs. Priority groups targeted by the Fund are young people (aged 16-24), disabled people, people with a mental health condition, older people (aged 75+) and people living in areas of deprivation or on a low income.

Since 2021, we have invested £51m in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults, with 3,300 grants being made to local organisations across Scotland to tackle issues including social isolation. This complements action underway funding 53 community organisations who are delivering befriending services and providing opportunities for people to connect.

This Government continues to respond to these public health issues.

Question reference: S6W-23466

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what specific outcomes or targets it seeks to achieve from running its Brush Up campaign.

The Brush Up campaign has been developed to raise awareness of changes to NHS dentistry from 1 November, and to assure patients that they will still be able to access a full range of treatment on the NHS.

In particular the campaign directs patients to updated NHS Inform webpages which set out key information in relation to NHS dental treatment in Scotland. This includes a plain English explanation of the changes to examination frequency, noting these are now determined with respect to individual risk factors; entitlements to exemptions; and information on accessing a dentist.

Question reference: S6W-23464

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will measure the effectiveness of its Brush Up campaign.

Question reference: S6W-23465

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total budget is for its Brush Up campaign to increase awareness of NHS dentistry reforms.

Question reference: S6W-23460

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the total budget is for its Take Hold marketing campaign to raise awareness of the harms of vaping.