Chamber and committees

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-24382

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that bus travel is affordable for fare-paying passengers travelling to access employment, education and training.

Question reference: S6W-24381

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the bus network in rural Scotland, particularly at (a) night and (b) the weekend.

The majority of services in Scotland are operated on a commercial basis by private bus companies. Under the Transport Act 1985, where there is a social need local transport authorities can provide subsidy for services that are not provided on a commercial basis, this is entirely a matter for the local authority to consider and action.

The Scottish Government have brought forward an enhanced suite of options for local transport authorities to improve bus services according to their local needs, including formal partnerships, franchising and running their own bus services. The Community Bus Fund was launched in September 2023 to support local transport authorities to explore the options in the Transport Act, and to improve public transport in their areas.

Question reference: S6W-24383

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action Transport Scotland is taking to update signage on the A74(M) to include Langholm.

Transport Scotland carried out studies last year to assess the possibility of including Langholm on the existing A74(M) signage. As the motorway signs in question are relatively new, extremely large and expensive to replace, it was felt the most appropriate way to consider this opportunity was to address it when the sign needs replaced upon its serviceable life. Based on the expected lifespan of these type of sign, there are no immediate plans to amend the signs in the near future.

Question reference: S6W-24411

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 18 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities have the flexibility to allow three-year-olds to take up a place at a local authority nursery after the term has started.

Question reference: S6W-23723

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 8 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to offering school teaching staff access to school counsellors, in light of similar provisions being implemented in Wales.

We value our teachers and education professionals and are committed to understanding their needs and providing them with the right support. Since October 2020 we have invested more than £2 million specifically in supporting wellbeing in the education workforce.

This year we are providing £200,000 to offer free wellbeing coaching to teaching staff and educational professionals across Scottish schools and early learning facilities.

We are also funding the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland to deliver an Education Workforce Support Project, to gain a comprehensive understanding of current practice about how we support the wellbeing of our education workforce.

Question reference: S6W-23724

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has undertaken of any online mental health support and resources available to school pupils.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.

We support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services. All school pupils aged 10 and above have access to in person school counselling services.

Local authorities currently provide six monthly reports on school counselling services which include information around number of children accessing the service, improved outcomes, counsellor numbers and the types of issues young people are presenting with. A summary of the reports can be found at: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government has also provided revised guidance and professional learning for school staff to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Question reference: S6W-23725

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending the NHS perinatal treatment period to two years.

Over the last 4 years we have seen a big expansion in specialist perinatal mental health services in Scotland so that all 14 Health Boards now have specialist perinatal mental health services to support women and babies. We have also developed enhanced Mother & Baby Unit provision and established new infant mental health and Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Interventions services across Scotland.

Currently provision within inpatient and community perinatal mental health services spans pregnancy and the first postnatal year. There may be some circumstances where patients may be seen beyond the 12 month period. This decision rests with the local perinatal mental health team and should be based on what a patient needs and what the service can realistically provide given current caseload, waits, and capacity.

It is important to identify the service which is most helpful for the patient, which may sometimes be a Community Perinatal Mental Health Team but could also be an infant mental health service, Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Interventions (MNPI) or adult mental health services. We are committed to taking an integrated approach to service provision, so that there are no barriers to ensuring that women and infants get the most appropriate service for their needs and can easily transition between services as that need changes.

Question reference: S6W-23726

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the effectiveness of current handover practices between community midwives and health visitors.

The formal transfer of care from a midwife to a health visitor will usually happen between 10-14 days after birth. Scotland's Universal Health Visiting Pathway (UHVP) also directs health visitors to utilise the antenatal contact (between 32-34 weeks of pregnancy) to commence the transition process and to initiate a joint visit with a midwife where additional need is identified.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken specific analysis of the effectiveness of these practices. However, a Scottish Government commissioned evaluation of the full UHVP (2021) found evidence that some health visitors and parents viewed the antenatal contact as crucial in building trusting relationships with families and enabling early identification and response to health needs.

Question reference: S6O-02935

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what protection is available to victims of domestic abuse when harassment and exclusion orders expire.

Question reference: S6O-02868

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider carrying out an analysis of the potential impact of renewable energy and the associated infrastructure on farmland and food production in Dumfriesshire.