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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6F-02497

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2023

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on waiting times for post-cancer breast reconstruction surgery.

Question reference: S6W-22239

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the publication of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2022-23 statistics has reportedly been postponed to March 2024.

Publication of the 2022-23 edition of the Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland statistics has been postponed from November 2023 to March 2024. As outlined within the previous 2021-22 publication, Scottish Government statisticians are undertaking work with Police Scotland to review the methodology for the production of these official statistics, to determine if any future changes in approach could add value. The short postponement of the publication allows us additional time to complete this exercise. We will keep users updated with any new developments via ScotStat and any changes will be highlighted within the next bulletin.

Question reference: S6W-21709

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme to GPs ahead of its full launch.

A programme of communications and engagement is planned to promote the launch of the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme. This will include working with key stakeholder groups, and through their networks, raising awareness of the scheme and encouraging take up by General Practices.

We recognise the value of this scheme and are working to ensure that awareness of the scheme is optimised among both General Practices and their patients.

General Practises keen to be involved can contact gp-afv@gov.scot for more information.

Question reference: S6W-22001

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its timeline for a permanent solution to the issues on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful.

We are committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. Delivery of a permanent and resilient solution is a priority and we will continue to seek ways to achieve that as quickly as possible.

We continue to progress design work at pace and the announcement on 2 June 2023 of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe valley is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem. The proposed new debris flow shelter will help protect the road and road users from future landslides.

The next step for the project is the detailed design and assessment of the preferred option. This is progressing at pace and should conclude by the end of 2024 with the publication of draft Orders for comment. Progress following publication of draft Orders will depend on the level and nature of any representations, including objections, to the published draft Orders.

As with all our infrastructure projects, construction of the long term solution can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory authorisation process and thereafter a timetable for construction can be determined. It is, however, estimated that construction of the preferred route option will take three to four years, including an allowance for possible stand down time due to bad weather.

Question reference: S6W-21750

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed to undertake a scoping exercise on the feasibility of a fund to provide immediate financial support to women experiencing domestic abuse in order to leave an abusive partner, as recommended by Scottish Women’s Aid on 29 June 2023.

I can confirm that the Scottish Government has undertaken a scoping exercise on the feasibility of a fund to provide financial support to women experiencing domestic abuse in order that they can leave that relationship safely.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02601 on 5 October 2023, and reiterate the points made in that response. Meeting of the Parliament: 05/10/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-21754

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported significant challenges in relation to the availability of a skilled and competent workforce that is able to carry out Single Building Assessments at scale.

The safety of homeowners and residents is our absolute upmost priority and Ministers are committed to the assessment of and ensuring remediation of multi residential buildings with potentially unsafe cladding. Work is underway to ensure that the 105 buildings in the pilot programme are on a pathway to a Single Building Assessment by the summer of 2024 and we will continue to engage closely with developers and the supply chain to ensure further assessment, mitigation and remediation so that no homeowner or resident is left without an assessment or a pathway to remediation.

Question reference: S6W-21849

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 13 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate (a) the Single Building Assessment programme and (b) remedial works to ensure that buildings are safe.

The cladding remediation programme has already made good progress in identifying and assessing safety issues and planned legislation through the Cladding Remediation Bill will help also us to address barriers to remediating unsafe cladding that presents a risk to life. We are also committed to undertaking a stock survey and work is underway to risk assess and prioritise the 105 buildings in the pilot programme to ensure that they are on a pathway to Single Building Assessment by summer 2024.

Question reference: S6W-21751

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve ear wax removal services, and whether it will improve guidance on wax removal services to ensure that any guidance is clear, accurate and up to date.

From May 2022, Health Boards are responsible for providing Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services, including ear wax removal, to support GPs to do the job they are trained to do and to give patients access to a wider range of expert advice for their care. While we have made good progress in implementing CTAC and other multidisciplinary team (MDT) services, we know that service gaps remain.

We are therefore introducing an additional phased investment programme over the next 18 months, working with a small number of areas, at different stages of implementation, to demonstrate what a model of full implementation of CTAC, as well as pharmacotherapy services, can look like in practice. The evidence obtained through this programme will then inform a long-term investment proposition for these services.

We will also ensure that content on NHS inform is underpinned as far as possible with current clinical evidence.

Question reference: S6W-20767

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 25 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 on the availability of properties for private rent.

The most recent sector-wide Landlord Registration data shows that in August 2023 there had been no decline in the number of registered properties for rent. While it is an administrative rather than a statistical source, the data shows that there were 342,542 private rented properties registered in Scotland, slightly more than the 339,632 properties registered in August 2022, before the introduction of the emergency Act. It is important to note however that there is likely to be a time lag on this data, particularly in relation to how frequently information from landlords is updated on the system.

The emergency Act is giving important support to tenants, providing them with much-needed stability in their housing costs. It has gone further than anywhere else in the UK in helping protect tenants across the rental sector.

As part of our ongoing duty to keep the provisions of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 under review, a series of reports have been published setting out the evidence as to why the Scottish Government believes the Act remains necessary and proportionate. You may wish to note that the most recent report was laid in Parliament on 1 June.

We will continue to monitor the data to identify emerging impacts on the availability of properties for private rent.

Question reference: S6W-20808

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of the impact of the reported housing shortage on housing policies that are aimed at military service leavers and veterans.

Our veterans and armed forces community are an asset to our society and we want to make sure they have a suitable home that meets their needs. Funding can be made available through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver homes specifically for veterans where local authorities identify this as a strategic priority. Veterans and armed forces personnel also have priority access to the Low-Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers shared equity scheme. The Scottish Government continue to support Housing Options Scotland which includes their Military Matters project and our social housing allocations practice guidance includes a specific section on armed forces and veterans to help landlords consider the needs of this group and respond appropriately.