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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-42983

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42569 by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2025, what the total number of individual respondents from Scotland was to the (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 Action on Smoking and Health Smokefree GB Youth Survey, and whether it considers the number to be sufficiently robust and representative of young people living across the entire spectrum of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) in comparison to the 21,559 S2 and S4 pupils who responded to the Scottish School Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) in 2018 and 25,411 S2 and S4 pupils who replied to the 2021-22 Health and Wellbeing Census.

The total number of Scottish participants in the ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey was:

(a) 760 (677 aged 11-17) in 2024

(b) 856 (755 aged 11-17) in 2025

Information on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is not available for this sample. Data are collected on social grade and grouped into ABC1 and C2DE categories, which are not directly comparable with SIMD. The sample is unlikely to be representative in terms of deprivation as it leans towards higher social grades. The data are not weighted to account for this, and this limitation should be considered when interpreting the results.

The aim of the booster sample is to enable monitoring of progress against key indicators 4(i) and 4(ii) of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework (i.e. smoking and vaping behaviours in children and young people), while balancing cost, analytical value, and timeliness.

Information on the methodology (including sample size) and results for 2024 and 2025 are available on the Scottish Government website (https://www.gov.scot/publications/vaping-smoking-scottish-adolescents/pages/1/;https://www.gov.scot/publications/vaping-smoking-scottish-adolescents-results-ash-smokefree-gb-youth-survey-2025/).

Question reference: S6W-43009

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what training has been made available to civil servants to ensure compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Question reference: S6W-42982

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42573 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2026, what action it is taking to encourage households with a disabled parent to take part in sport or physical activity with their children.

Question reference: S6W-42981

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42575 by Maree Todd on 7 January 2026, how it is working with (a) local authorities and (b) NHS boards to encourage disabled people to participate in physical activity or sport.

Question reference: S6W-42575

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any benefit of physical activity for disabled people.

The Scottish Government’s Physical Activity for Health Framework highlights the critical role of sport and physical activity for everyone, including disabled people. Grounded in the latest scientific evidence and key public health principles, the Framework emphasises the role physical activity plays in reducing non-communicable diseases and improving overall health.

The Framework also recognises the positive impact of physical activity on mental wellbeing, by reducing isolation, fostering community cohesion, and building resilience and confidence. Additionally, the Framework underscores the wider societal benefits of physical activity, such as supporting educational attainment, reducing reoffending, promoting sustainable transport, and enhancing engagement with the natural environment.

Question reference: S6W-42578

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the inclusion of dentistry within the MyCare.scot app roll-out.

A detailed stakeholder identification and mapping exercise is currently underway as part of NHS Education Scotland’s discovery work into onboarding primary care services into MyCare.scot.

As with other primary care services such as optometry and pharmacy, dentistry will come into consideration as part of that mapping process. However, given that dental practices operate independently and their IT systems are not connected to wider primary care systems detailed consideration is required to achieve their onboarding and integration.

Question reference: S6W-42572

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address recent reports that 90% of people with disabilities do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity.

The Scottish Government welcomes Scottish Disability Sport’s (SDS) National Survey and Call to Action. We acknowledge that disabled people are less likely to be active, and we remain committed to working with SDS and wider partners to reduce barriers to participation.

Our national agency for sport, sportscotland, has invested £750,000 into SDS for 2025/26, and is working to create an inclusive sporting system through initiatives such as the Moving to Inclusion Framework, which supports governing bodies of sport to tackle inequalities in participation.

Addressing inequalities in participation of sport and physical activity requires a whole-system approach beyond sport, encompassing transport, education, social security, and health. Our Physical Activity for Health Framework sets out a vision for a more active Scotland across eight strategic areas. Implementation of this Framework will help ensure that physical activity is embedded into everyday life for all.

Question reference: S6W-42574

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported inequality in sports participation for children living in a household with a disabled parent.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that households with a disabled family member often face challenges such as accessibility issues and increased poverty, which in turn can create barriers to participation. The Scottish Government’s devolved disability benefits help with the additional costs of being disabled. These vital payments can reduce barriers to equal participation in communities and increase life opportunities, including for children and young people.

The Scottish Government remains committed to increasing opportunities for children and young people to participate in sport and physical activity, no matter their background. The Active Schools programme provides access to sport before, during, and after school. It is delivered free of charge, making it is accessible, irrespective of socio-economic background. Active School’s mainstream extracurricular programmes target groups in greatest need of inclusion and operate in both mainstream and ASN schools across all 32 local authorities. In 2024-25, Active Schools delivered approximately 265,000 sessions to 280,000 participants.

Question reference: S6W-42573

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported concerns that 40% of people with disabilities are worried their benefits will be removed if they are seen to be more active.

The Scottish Government strongly supports the Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) Call to Action to enable disabled people to engage in sport and physical activity and address the finding that 40% of disabled people in Scotland are worried about losing their benefits if they are seen to be active.

Devolved social security benefits provide financial support to disabled people to help mitigate the additional costs of being disabled. The Scottish Government is clear this support can help reduce barriers to equal participation in communities and increase life opportunities. Social Security Scotland actively encourages everyone who may be eligible to apply for these benefits to apply and work is in hand on a marketing campaign to increase take-up.

Question reference: S6W-42581

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the workforce required to deliver lung function testing and scanning.

The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland. Operational matters, including staffing, are the responsibility of each NHS board and will depend on the service needs of the health board taking account of national, regional and local priorities.

It is the expectation that NHS boards plan and provide safe, effective and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities considering current turnover, retention, absence rates and budgets.

We are investing a record £21.7 billion in our NHS in 2025-26, including £200 million to reduce waiting times. This investment will deliver additional MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures and supports the Respiratory Care Action Plan commitment to improve and simplify access to diagnostic tests.

Access to diagnostic tests remains a key priority for the Scottish Government, and we are working closely with Primary Care colleagues to expand spirometry capacity and strengthen diagnostic pathways for respiratory conditions. This includes exploring options to build workforce capacity and ensure patients can access the right tests at the right time.

Enhancing primary care is central to this approach. We recognise the vital role that GPs, community nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other members of the primary care team play as the foundation of healthcare in our communities. Our commitment to strengthening primary care is embedded in the Service Renewal Framework, which aims to shift more care into community settings and make services more accessible for patients.

The Scottish Government has also established a Scottish Expert Advisory Group to support the work of the UK National Screening Committee Lung Task Group and inform the implementation of a targeted lung cancer screening programme for Scotland. Introducing a new screening programme such as chest and lung CT scanning is inherently complex, and the required evidence and information must be fully developed before implementation begins. This is likely to take several years for each UK nation.

We will continue to work with NHS boards and national delivery partners to ensure diagnostic capacity and workforce planning remain central to improving respiratory care and meeting the needs of people across Scotland.