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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-32852

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much compensation was paid by the NHS to settle medical negligence claims in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The Annual Reports for the NHS Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) provide details of the scheme along with the number and value of claims made during each financial year and historical values.

The Annual Reports, which also cover information available in terms of categorisation of claims, are published online at Access annual reports for the scheme | National Services Scotland.

Some settlements are paid through a smaller lump sum together with periodic payments. Detail of these Periodic Payment Orders may be found at page 9.

Question reference: S6W-32836

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of all cycle 2 flood prevention schemes and when it plans to announce successful projects, and in which financial year the money will be drawn down.

A joint COSLA/Scottish Government Flood Risk Management Funding Working Group, including representatives from Scottish Government, COSLA, SEPA, local authority Directors of Finance and flood officers has been established to discuss reform of funding and governance for flood resilience actions in Scotland and make recommendations on these issues to COSLA and Scottish Ministers.

The current funding arrangements end in FY2025/26 and this group is considering what will follow, including arrangements for schemes put forward under the 2022 Flood Risk Management Plans.

Question reference: S6W-32851

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) the NHS has spent on legal costs regarding compensation for medical negligence in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-32454

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for elective surgeries to less than 18 weeks to improve outcomes for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and reduce avoidable presentations at accident and emergency departments, in light of IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change.

The Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change, and is grateful to the organisation for its work in this area.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support. The 2025-26 Budget, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help reduce waiting times and improve capacity. This will help ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026.

Our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan has so far delivered four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms, and a Dyce facility to provide additional endoscopy procedures for NHS Grampian (ceasing December 2024). The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including IBD, are diagnosed and managed timeously. Additionally, the national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, has been implemented in all Health Boards.

We have also funded the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) with a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in IBD care which is being taken forward through the MPPP’s National Gastroenterology Speciality Delivery Group (SDG). They have developed a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland which is due to be published imminently. The Gastroenterology SDG is also developing a lower gastrointestinal pathway which will provide primary care guidance about testing and diagnosis for people with IBD and Coeliac Disease in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32148

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £220.891 million of funding that has been allocated in its draft Budget 2025-26 under the Primary Care Fund budget line.

Further detail on the Scottish Government’s proposed £221.961 million funding for the primary care fund in 2025-2026 can be found in the 2025-26 Level 4 tables published along the Budget itself - Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot. In addition, we plan to further invest in primary and community care services from the commitment to provide £100 million Reform and Improvement measures funding to alleviate waiting time and hospital occupancy.

Question reference: S6W-32147

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether funding to address delayed discharge will be ringfenced in its draft Budget 2025-26, and, if so, what the total amount is that is being ringfenced.

The 2025-26 Budget provides almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – including £200 million to reduce waiting lists, help support reduction of delayed discharge and increase capacity– expanding the hospital and home programme to ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or day case treatment by March 2026.

£100 million of this is going on planned care (waiting times) and the remainder is going on a package of improvement and support to improve flow and increase capacity in NHS acute settings.

Question reference: S6W-32154

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many advanced nurse practitioners, specialising in primary care, have been trained in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-32152

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the additional 600 beds for the Hospital at Home programme will be delivered, broken down by the number for each NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-32150

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £2.2 billion funding that was announced for primary care services in its draft Budget 2025-26.

Further detail on the Scottish Government’s proposed £2.2 billion funding for primary care can be found in the 2025-26 Level 4 tables published along the Budget itself - Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot.

In addition to the direct funding increase of over £160 million (7.8%) for primary care, we plan to further invest in primary and community care services from the commitment to provide £100 million “Reform and Improvement measures funding” to alleviate waiting time and hospital occupancy pressures.

Question reference: S6W-32153

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many advanced nurse practitioners are currently working in general practice, broken down by NHS board area.

Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) working in General Practice are employed by either Health Boards or by GP practices.

Data on the whole-time equivalent (WTE) ANP workforce employed directly by Health Boards is published annually by the Scottish Government in the Primary care improvement plans: implementation progress summary. This data is set out in the following table.

NHS Board	Urgent Care (Advanced Practitioners): ANPs – WTE
Ayrshire and Arran	1.0
Borders	16.0
Dumfries and Galloway	8.5
Fife	20.2
Forth Valley	26.0
Grampian	17.3
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	37.6
Highland	0.0
Lanarkshire	26.0
Lothian	39.0
Orkney	0.0
Shetland	1.5
Tayside	26.5
Western Isles	4.9

Data on the ANP workforce employed by GP practices is published annually by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in the General Practice Workforce Survey report. This reports that as of March 2024, there are 742 ANPs (596.1 WTE) employed by GP practices. This report does not include a breakdown by Health Board.