Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-41625

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to monitor any post-separation abuse of victims who have left a coercive and abusive relationship.

Question reference: S6W-41624

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to support people after they leave a coercive and abusive relationship, particularly in relation to financial abuse.

Question reference: S6W-41623

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work being taken to promote fair work principles in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41626

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the (a) action that it has taken and (b) engagements that it has carried out in relation to improving road safety on the A77 ahead of winter.

Question reference: S6O-05107

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

Question reference: S6W-40990

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to support NHS staff during the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app.

The MyCare.Scot app is part of a programme of digital transformation for health and social care services. To support this transformation the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the right digital and data skills they require to effectively deliver digital services.

Support for staff to develop and maintain their digital and data skills is already underway as part of the wider Scottish Government and COSLA’s cross sector Digital Capabilities suite of resources and activities that are available on the Digitally Enabled Workforce TURAS site at https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/53956.

NHS Lanarkshire are currently working on training and support to staff for the launch of the MyCare.Scot app. Feedback from the evaluation of the launch in December 2025 will be a part of understanding any additional support needed for staff prior to MyCare.scot being made available to everyone across Scotland from April 2026.

Question reference: S6W-41024

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure there is equal access to the support available for bereaved parents, in light of findings from the report published by Sands, Lost in the system: Bereaved parents experiences of mental health care following baby loss, which found that not all services across Scotland support parents after a miscarriage or a sudden unexpected death in infancy.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of timely access to psychological support, including psychological therapies for bereaved parents. One of the main ways this is provided is through Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Intervention (MNPI) services. For most parents who have suffered a pregnancy loss, bereavement and grief support provided by their Health Board or third sector organisations will meet their needs and they will not require specialist mental health services.

The Scottish Government funds the baby loss charity Sands to develop, and support NHS Boards to implement, the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) for pregnancy and baby loss in Scotland. The NBCP includes bereavement care for those who have experienced miscarriage and the sudden death of an infant. All 14 NHS Boards now officially signed up to the NBCP have appointed a NBCP Lead and are at different stages of implementation.

Our Delivery Framework for Miscarriage Care in Scotland, published on 6 February 2025, details work that will map out existing mental health services available following a pregnancy and baby loss to ensure that women can access appropriate mental health support, should they require it.

In 2025-26 the Scottish Government provided third sector organisations with £262,747 funding to support women and families who experience a pregnancy or baby loss.

A small number of parents experience more complicated grief and may benefit from engagement with specialist mental health services. If a parent is identified as requiring Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Intervention (MNPI) services in Scotland after the loss of their baby, they would typically be referred by their midwife, GP or other healthcare professional.

Since 2019, our continued investment has resulted in a substantial increase in MNPI services across Scotland. All NHS Boards now provide these services either from a dedicated local team or, for very small Board areas, via pathways to MNPI care in larger Boards that host the maternity hospitals where the patient is receiving inpatient care.

Question reference: S6W-41021

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 28 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it received in Barnett consequential funding as a result of the UK Government committing £5.8 million for a smoke-free pregnancy incentive scheme in England in 2025-26.

At the UK Spending Review the Scottish Government received a Barnett share of the net changes to UK departmental budget allocations, which ultimately fed into our total block grant settlement.

Any new or additional spending allocations in 2025-26 associated with this UK policy will be included in the overall budget calculation for the Scottish Government. However, spending changes related to Barnett funding arising from UK policy decisions are not allocated to any specific programme of work in Scotland.

All budget allocation decisions are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.

In 2023-24 the Scottish Government permanently provided funding for smoking cessation and prevention services to Health Boards as part of the Outcomes Framework funding, which also covered a wider range of outcomes. In 2025-26 territorial Health Boards received an overall funding uplift of 3%.

Question reference: S6W-41020

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 28 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it received in Barnett consequential funding as a result of the UK Government committing an additional £70 million to support stop smoking services in England in 2025-26.

At the UK Spending Review the Scottish Government received a Barnett share of the net changes to UK departmental budget allocations, which ultimately fed into our total block grant settlement.

Any new or additional spending allocations in 2025-26 associated with this UK policy will be included in the overall budget calculation for the Scottish Government. However, spending changes related to Barnett funding arising from UK policy decisions are not allocated to any specific programme of work in Scotland.

All budget allocation decisions are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.

In 2023-24 the Scottish Government permanently provided funding for smoking cessation and prevention services to Health Boards as part of the Outcomes Framework funding, which also covered a wider range of outcomes. In 2025-26 territorial Health Boards received an overall funding uplift of 3%.

Question reference: S6W-41017

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for access to psychological support for bereaved parents.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of timely access to psychological support, including psychological therapies, for bereaved parents. One of the main ways this is provided is through Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Intervention (MNPI) services. For most parents who have suffered a pregnancy loss, bereavement and grief support provided by their Health Board or third sector organisations will meet their needs and they will not require specialist mental health services.

Since 2019, our continued investment has resulted in a substantial increase in MNPI services across Scotland. All NHS Boards now provide these services either from a dedicated local team or, for very small Board areas, via pathways to MNPI care in larger Boards that host the maternity hospitals where the patient is receiving inpatient care.

Alongside MNPI services, the Scottish Government is committed to improving the quality and delivery of psychological services across a range of settings, including adult mental health services. Over the period April-June 2025 78.3% of patients accessed psychological support within 18 weeks of referral and one in two people started treatment within four weeks. We continue to provide enhanced support to those Boards not on track to meet the waiting times standard, with a focus on improving the quality of care in Psychology Services.

Whilst workforce planning and service delivery are the responsibility of local partners, the Government’s ongoing investment in the psychological therapies' workforce has led to a 32.7% growth since March 2021. We also continue to fund NHS Education for Scotland to maintain student intake for Master's and Doctorate training programmes to ensure a strong psychological therapies’ workforce is maintained.

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