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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-18347

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18351

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18250

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to date to support the application process for the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, including (a) customer service, (b) technical support, (c) logistics and distribution of the cards and (d) marketing and promotion costs.

The Scottish Government provided funding to a number of delivery partners to support the delivery and operation of the application process for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme which includes costs associated with customer service, technical support, card production and distribution, marketing and other operational activities. The breakdown of funding is as follows;

The Improvement Service has been provided funding of £2,382,100 for activities relating to the online application process, support for local authorities, customer service, and other operational costs.
The National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO) has been provided funding of £1,352,332 for activities relating to the management of application systems and processes, card production and distribution, and other operational costs.
Young Scot has been provided funding of £159,000 for activities relating to customer service, marketing and promotion, and other operational costs.

The funding outlined is correct as of 25 May 2023 but is subject to change pending conclusion of financial reconciliations.

The Scottish Government spent a total of £1,173,257 on the communications, marketing and promotion of the scheme and its application process.

Question reference: S6W-18290

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what remit the Women's Health Champion has, and how the public can engage with her.

The remit of the Women’s Health Champion , Professor Anna Glasier, is to drive change and share best practice and innovation in the improvement of health services and health outcomes for women.

Professor Glasier is working with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward the ambitions, aims and actions in the Women’s Health Plan .

Professor Glasier’s particular priorities were set out in the recently published report on progress and include specialist menopause services, menstrual health with a focus on endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and heart health.

Professor Glasier recently published her first quarterly blog , highlighting her initial work and priorities for the months ahead.

Any requests should be directed to womenshealthchampion@gov.scot .

Question reference: S6W-18251

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, what research has been conducted into uptake levels and applications for the scheme from young people in various data zones, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Data on the possession of a National Entitlement Card by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintiles comes from the Scottish Household Survey, which asks questions regarding concessionary bus travel on alternate years.

The Scottish Household Survey 2021 was published in April 2023 but covers the year prior to the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme coming into force in January 2022.

Work is now underway on the one year evaluation of the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. The evaluation will include questions looking at barriers to bus travel and to accessing, or using, the scheme. It will collect information from children, young people and parents (both users and non-users of the scheme) about their experiences. The evaluation study will also draw on scheme cardholder data on young people in various data zones, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Question reference: S6W-18292

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting time is for routine assessments for menopause in each NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

It is important that women are provided with consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms, be it through primary or specialist care.

Through the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan , we want to ensure that all women have timely access to menopause support and services when required, and more information about the progress we have made on delivering this action can be found in our Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress .

Through the Women’s Health Plan we are working to improve collection and use of data, including qualitative evidence of women’s lived experiences to inform service design and improve healthcare services and women’s care and experiences.

Question reference: S6W-18227

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that at least 11 sites that have specially protected status, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar sites and Special Protection Areas, received an intake of sewage overflow in 2022-23, what discussions it has had with Scottish Water on this matter, and what steps are being taken to prevent sewage from entering and damaging protected areas.

Question reference: S6W-18249

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals to include sound.

Question reference: S6W-18185

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address the reported 84% increase in the number of Scottish applicants refused a place at Scottish universities since 2006.

The 84% quoted by the journalist is not correct. UCAS data is not comparable back to 2006 due to changes in the main UCAS cycle including the introduction of Nursing in 2010 and Teacher Training in 2015. As such, comparisons are only appropriate between 2015 and 2022.

For comparable data, between 2015 and 2022, there has been an 8% increase in Scottish domiciled applicants accepted to Scottish providers. The number of unplaced applicants over the same time period has decreased from 17,155 to 13,930, a 19% decrease.

There could be multiple reasons for applicants not securing a place. They might have accepted a place at a provider in the rest of the UK, or a Higher Education course at a Scottish College or decided to pursue a Graduate or Modern Apprenticeship, neither of which go through UCAS.

Question reference: S6W-18395

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 6 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) was made aware of the recently announced £46 million reduction in funding for colleges and universities.