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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: S6W-12297

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

As committed to in Programme for Government 2021-22, work is underway to develop a new earlier cancer diagnosis vision for Scotland which will form part of the new cancer strategy, due to publish Spring 2023. This will outline the future direction of our Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme which we continue to invest in.

The Scottish Cancer Coalition, and its Early Diagnosis & Screening Sub-Group, which is Chaired by Pancreatic Cancer UK, have been consulted on the new vision and DCE awareness campaign that’s under development.

DCE’s website and social media channels continue to raise awareness of possible signs and symptoms and empower people to present early – this includes the development of an interactive symptom-checker tool.

An interim report published by the University of Strathclyde on 21 November 2022 shows that one of the most common types of cancer being diagnosed in our first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) are hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) cancer. We are committed to rolling out RCDS's across NHS Scotland.

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer was completed in 2018 with revised clinical guidance published January 2019. The guidelines support primary care clinicians in ensuring those with symptoms suspicious of cancer are put on the right pathway at the right time.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with primary care clinicians across NHS Scotland, including the Scottish Primary Care Cancer Group, to raise awareness of symptoms and best referral practice for all cancer types, including pancreatic.

Question reference: S6O-01644

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress that has been made in finding a solution to save the Belmont in Aberdeen and the Edinburgh Filmhouse and International Film Festival from permanent closure.

Question reference: S6W-12159

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to ensure that students from Scotland who wish to study at Scottish universities are able to do so.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of higher education and this is why we have protected free tuition for Scottish-domiciled students.

International students and those from other parts of the UK are not eligible to access the funded places which have been protected for eligible Scottish domiciled students.

We remain absolutely committed to the principle that access to education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. By 2030, we want 20% of students entering university to be from Scotland's 20% most deprived backgrounds. HESA figures show we have a record high 16.7% of full-time first degree entrants to university coming from the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland in 2020-21, exceeding the interim target of 16% by 2021.

There are also record numbers of young people securing places in the current UCAS cycle. The number of 18-year-old Scots that have secured a university place (as of 15 September 2022) is up 20% since 2019, the last year there were exams. Overall, Scottish domiciled acceptances through UCAS to Scottish providers is up 5% since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-12018

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the Cats Protection’s, Cats and Their Stats (CATS) Report Scotland 2022, that “32% of all Scottish cat owners expressed considerable concern over being able to afford bills and other living costs over the next 12 months due to price increases”.

The Scottish Government recognises that the current cost of living crisis families are having to make difficult decisions. It is of course very upsetting when anyone has to give up a pet they dearly love. There are numerous charities who can help and I would encourage anyone who is experiencing difficulties to reach out for advice and where possible for support.

The Scottish SPCA Pet Aid scheme aims to provide essential food supplies for animals through a network of food banks across most of Scotland. Concerned owners looking for help and advice can contact the SSPCA, in confidence, via their helpline on 03000 999 999 or can visit their website to find out more details of their Pet Aid scheme ( Pet Aid | SSPCA (scottishspca.org) )

Question reference: S6W-12019

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that the rising cost of living has had on pet owners.

Question reference: S6O-01572

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether provision can be made for access to the Room for Contemplation for evening events held during recess.

Question reference: S6W-12046

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered allocating more funding to Scottish Water so that projects to prevent and tackle flooding and heavy rainfall can be prioritised.

Scottish Water is subject to a statutory charge-setting environment for each regulatory period under which the industry’s independent economic regulator, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) determines the overarching financial limits for Scottish Water based on the lowest overall reasonable cost of achieving Minister’s Objectives for the industry in the relevant regulatory period (2021-27), including the amount of lending required. Decisions on priorities for investment, including in relation to sewer flooding, are taken with reference to the Ministerial Objectives and the process set out in Scottish Water’s Investment Planning and Prioritisation Framework. While the majority of capital available for investment derives from customer charges, the Principles of Charging set by the Scottish Ministers for the period confirm that Scottish Government will also lend Scottish Water up to a maximum of £1.03 billion to support investment decisions.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the serious impacts that sewer flooding can have on homes and businesses and the need for action to tackle the issue. In this regard I would highlight the launch of Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Routemap in December 2021. This plan, backed with significant investment of close to half a billion pounds, aims to deliver a range of improvements across the sewer network including to reduce incidences of sewer flooding and help Scottish Water to respond more quickly when incidents do occur. The Routemap is available on Scottish Water’s website and the first annual report on progress is expected to be published by 21 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-12047

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what framework is used to prioritise funding for public services such as Scottish Water.

Decisions on investment in the current water industry regulatory period (2021-27) are made with reference to the process set out in the Investment Planning and Prioritisation Framework (IPPF). Co-created with industry stakeholders, the Framework represents a balanced programme that makes progress towards the objectives set by Scottish Ministers in the short term, whilst also seeking confidence that the industry is on the best trajectory towards Scottish Water’s Strategic Plan and the co-created Water Sector Vision. Further detail on the IPPF and its operation is available on the Scottish Government’s website.

Question reference: S6W-12020

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to pet owners to help prevent them from having to relinquish pets to charities, in light of the rising cost of living and of reports from Cats Protection of a 19% increase in relinquishments due to financial reasons.

Question reference: S6W-11668

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 16 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the reported freeze of Modern Apprenticeship funding on the childcare sector.