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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: S6W-36181

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in 2021 to do so, by what date it will publish a public consultation on ending the use of pig farrowing crates.

Question reference: S6W-36180

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support pig farmers who wish to replace conventional farrowing crates with free farrowing systems.

Question reference: S6W-36179

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding working jointly towards ending the use of pig farrowing crates.

Question reference: S6W-35368

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the number of women who leave the workforce due to experiencing menopause; from which sector, and whether such women seek financial benefits.

The health and wellbeing of women at work is a key element of the Scottish Government’s approach to Fair Work, including supporting women experiencing symptoms of menopause.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of women who leave the workforce due to experiencing menopause. However, UK research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - Menopause in the workplace: Employee experiences - published in 2023, that of the over 1,500 women experiencing symptoms of menopause surveyed, 17% were considering leaving due to a lack of support in relation to their symptoms. Also, research from 2022 by the Fawcett Society on Menopause in the workplace in the UK indicated that one in ten women who worked during the menopause left their jobs due to their symptoms.

We are taking action towards supporting those experiencing symptoms of menopause in the workplace - please refer to recently answered question reference S6W-35367 on 12 March 2025 for further information.

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: S6W-36002

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the autumn 2024 deadline not being met, when it expects to deliver the Fracture Liaison Service audit, and what steps it has taken to expediate this.

Question reference: S6W-35366

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support the Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Fife coalfield populations, in light of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s report, State of the Scottish Coalfields 2024, which suggests that nearly one in 10 adults in those areas have bad or very bad health compared with the Scottish average of around one in eight adults.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving health and reducing health inequalities, and supporting our more vulnerable communities, which can include our former coalfield communities.

We know that poverty and unemployment are key drivers of ill health and health inequalities. That is why, we continue to support the health of Scotland’s population through a number of measures including:

allocating around £3 billion a year since 2022-23 to tackle poverty;
initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles through tobacco control, preventing alcohol related harm, promoting healthy eating and physical activity; and
the creation of a Population Health Framework to take a preventative approach in which we address health problems at the root as well as build a Scotland in which our places and communities can positively support health and wellbeing.

In addition, we deliver significant investment through a range programmes to support economic growth and regenerate communities, which contribute to addressing underlying poverty by creating jobs and employment opportunities. Our regeneration programmes are delivered through established relationships with local government and communities, focussing investment in areas of priority need including former coalfield communities. These programmes include our Investing in Communities Fund, which is being delivered over 2023-24 to 2025-26 with an annual budget of circa £9m. It is currently supporting 20 projects in coalfield communities investing nearly £3.5 million to date.

Question reference: S6W-35924

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all patients across Scotland who have Parkinson’s disease have equal access to all appropriate Scottish Medicines Consortium-approved therapies, taking into consideration geographical variation in access to care.

Question reference: S6W-35928

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to increase training on alcohol-related brain damage for health and social care staff.

Question reference: S6W-35935

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to specifically improve and enable timely access to gynaecology services and treatment.

Question reference: S6W-35926

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards have assessed the needs of patients with advanced or complex Parkinson’s disease in their area and ensured that services have been designed to meet patients’ needs.