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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-42444

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of healthcare visits, including GP visits, children and young people under the age of 25 are making before they receive a cancer diagnosis compared to older adults, and what action is being taken to reduce diagnostic delays for this age group.

The Scottish Government does not hold data for the number of healthcare visits, including GP visits, children and young people under the age of 25 are making before they receive a cancer diagnosis compared to older adults.

The Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: The Cancer Strategy for Children and Young People in Scotland 2021–2026, is a dedicated cancer strategy for children and young people, in Scotland.

The strategy sets out our ambitions and actions to provide the best possible treatment and care, as early as possible, to children and young people with cancer. There are several actions that specifically relate to an early, precise diagnosis of cancer.

The Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC) are responsible for the implementation and evaluation of the Children and Young People’s cancer strategy.

We published the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer in August 2025, which includes a specific Cancer in Children & Young People Guideline, encompassing multiple distinct types of cancers more commonly diagnosed in those aged 0-24 years.

A suite of assets have been created for Gateway C, Scotland’s free primary care cancer education platform. These include bespoke assets focusing on children and young people to support early identification of possible symptoms of cancer and prompt referral.

Question reference: S6W-42440

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendation of the independent review of Adult Disability Payment to give consideration to granting automatic entitlement to Adult Disability Payment when a person satisfies certain conditions or is in receipt of other forms of assistance without having to satisfy the qualifying period.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment to ensure the benefit continues to meet the needs of disabled people in Scotland. We appreciate the comprehensive recommendations this report provides for how we may improve Adult Disability Payment.

We are considering the feasibility of the recommendations, including the potential impact on fairness, sustainability and delivery. An initial response to the review will be published in January 2026.

Question reference: S6O-05311

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm that it will not allocate any further funding to the extension of the tram network in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S6W-42173

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the decision by the Motability scheme to end the availability of "premium" vehicles, such as BMW and Mercedes cars, for purchase through the scheme will apply in Scotland.

Motability has taken the decision to remove BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, and Alfa Romeo vehicles from the Scheme immediately for new orders, including in Scotland. Customers will keep their existing vehicles until their lease is due for renewal and existing orders placed before 25 November will be fulfilled.

The Scottish Government does not have powers to direct the choice of vehicles available as part of the Scheme, as these are determined by market forces and are a commercial matter for Motability alone.

Question reference: S6W-40894

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the park being managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and regulated under the Holyrood Park Regulations 1971, what discussions it has had, or plans to have, with HES regarding by what date Duddingston Low Road in Holyrood Park can be fully re-opened; what work is required to allow it to do so; how much it would cost to carry out this work, and whether it agrees in principle that the road should be fully reopened.

The Scottish Government would like to see this site open and accessible for the public to enjoy, however it is vital that this only happens when it is safe to do so. Since Duddingston Low Road was closed in February 2025, there have been six instances of rockfall which have impacted the site.

Any further questions regarding operational matters of sites managed by Historic Environment Scotland, including queries relating to access in Holyrood Park, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to write to the member with a full reply to his question.

Question reference: S6W-40834

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sought legal advice from the Lord Advocate regarding the legislative competence of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-40835

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has indicated, as a response to the correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care regarding the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, whether it agrees with the Scottish Government position that the Bill is outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

Officials are engaging with UK Government counterparts with regard to the legislative competence of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and discussions on proposals to resolve the issues the Scottish Government has raised are ongoing.

The Scottish Government will continue to keep the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee informed of progress. A copy of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care’s most recent correspondence with the Committee is publicly available on the following webpage under 'Stage 2 Correspondence': Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website.

Question reference: S6W-40722

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Public Health Scotland Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report suggesting that, in the last year, on admission to hospital, only 56% of stroke patients in NHS Lothian received the most basic levels of care for the condition, which is known as "the stroke care bundle".

Question reference: S6W-40720

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is a requirement for a second angiographic suite to be built at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to enable a 24/7 thrombectomy service, and what plans there are to build such a suite.

A commitment to a round-the-clock thrombectomy service was set out in our Stroke Improvement Plan and this remains our aim for the thrombectomy service.

Work is ongoing to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This alignment with wider health service planning aims to support oversight of thrombectomy planning, for the NHS Chief Executive Group and encourage greater collaboration between NHS Boards in delivering this vital service.

This work will inform the future expansion of the service, including angiography capacity, and will support consistency across thrombectomy services in Scotland, ensuring the service maximises use of existing resources.

Question reference: S6W-40698

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Independent
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to expand access to specialist migraine care through community and primary care services.

We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.

The Scottish Government funded £221,176 to the Migraine Trust across 2022-2024 to work upskilling community, primary and secondary care pharmacists across NHS Grampian to help people with migraine manage their condition more effectively. This included funding to partner other health boards to extend the reach of this model and increase care and support for people living with migraine.

An eLearning programme for NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) platform TURAS was developed through the project, comprising a suite of training materials available for all pharmacists and pharmacy teams in Scotland to access.