Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 3415 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-32475

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to allow the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate evidence provided to it during a previously reviewed case.

Question reference: S6W-32474

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what sanctions exist for misleading the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, and how such matters are investigated.

Question reference: S6O-04170

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there is adequate childcare provision in island communities, including in the Orkney constituency.

Question reference: S6W-32102

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its Marine Litter Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-32101

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle marine litter caused by the improper disposal of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear.

Question reference: S6W-31814

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to make an announcement on the delivery of the second tranche of 2024's annual budget funding for Community Led Local Development.

Question reference: S6W-31647

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-30730 and S6W-30726 by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024, whether the process that was put in place across all policy areas included assessment in terms of (a) quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and (b) other public health metrics, and, if so, which metrics.

Marketing campaigns are one intervention used by the Scottish Government to support the population of Scotland to live healthy and active lives. They typically support wider programmes of activity or run alongside other interventions.

Overall progress against this national outcome is tracked through the National Performance Framework, with the latest available progress on each of the health indicators found on the gov.scot website.

Individual programmes of work will be developed and evaluated to reflect policy aims and objectives in a particular area. These may at times (depending on outcomes being sought) include marketing campaigns.

The Cancer strategy and Cancer action plan (which can be found on gov.scot) provide an example of a wider programme of work which includes marketing campaigns. The Cancer action plan includes a section on Monitoring and Evaluation.

Different programmes of work will be evaluated in different ways and at times this might include the use of QALYs.

Question reference: S6W-31646

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30729 by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024, whether the quantitative evaluation that was carried out by an independent research agency to assess campaign performance included assessment in terms of (a) quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and (b) other public health metrics, and, if so which metrics; and, if this was not the case, which quantitative metrics were used.

Health marketing campaigns are one intervention used by the Scottish Government to support the population of Scotland to live healthy and active lives. They typically support wider programmes of activity or run alongside other interventions.

Where possible, marketing campaigns are evaluated using bespoke quantitative research, as well as where appropriate and available, indicators of direct response to a campaign such as visits to a particular website or web pages, calls to a helpline, vaccine uptake, cancer referrals, etc – during the campaign period.

Quantitative research typically provides campaign related metrics such as awareness, recognition, message take-out, engagement and action taken in response. Knowledge, attitudes and claimed behaviour among the target audience are often also measured and sometimes tracked pre to post campaign or over the longer term.

QALY (quality-adjusted life years) is a metric that is typically used in the evaluation of wider programmes of work or longer term interventions, where felt to be appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-30729

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in the letter of 3 October 2024 from its Directorate for Culture and Major Events to the managing director at The Orcadian that it is advised by procured agencies on the most "cost-effective media mix", what its position is on whether (a) "return on investment" is an appropriate aim for essential public health messaging and (b) maximising lives saved or quality-adjusted life years (QALY) would be a more reasonable aim.

Since the announcement of the freeze on marketing expenditure, the following public health campaigns have subsequently been assessed and approved to run in 2024-25 in line with the process set out in the answer to question S6W-30726 on 20 November 2024, and the desired health outcomes and aims that need to be achieved for each.

• Early Cancer Detection – Detect Cancer Earlier

• Dementia Stigma

• Appropriate Use of NHS Services - Right Care Right Place

• Adult Mental Health

• Organ Donation & Tissue

• Winter Vaccines (delivered by Public Health Scotland)

• The Importance of Home Recovery - Home First

• Sexual Assault Referral Centres

• Abortion Safe Access Zones

All activity is developed and evaluated against SMART objectives to help deliver policy outcomes, which includes actions that contribute to improving or saving lives. Where there is substantial spend on paid-for media, quantitative evaluation is carried out by an independent research agency to assess campaign performance. Return on investment is considered to assess the number of people in a target audience who can be reached, and how frequently, via a particular media channel to ensure campaigns are delivered cost-effectively.

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-30730

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether any assessment was undertaken regarding the anticipated quality-adjusted life year (QALY) impact of the freeze on public sector marketing expenditure as a whole, and, if so, what the outcomes of any such assessment were.

The freeze on public sector marketing expenditure was part of a wider exercise to introduce the necessary emergency spending controls to achieve a balanced budget. Cabinet Secretaries were given a directive to freeze all marketing expenditure with immediate effect, with any spend deemed essential then requiring to be assessed accordingly in line with individual policy priorities and outcomes, and approved by the First Minister before proceeding. Many campaigns have gone ahead.

Further details on this process are set out in the answer to question S6W-30726 on 20 November 2024, alongside the now approved public health campaigns listed in the answer to question S6W-30729 on 20 November 2024. 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.