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: S6O-01781

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has fully considered the economic consequences of its presumption against new oil and gas exploration, both to workers within the industry and to the wider Scottish economy as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-13011

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to improve the wellbeing of junior doctors and, in turn, the safety of patients, by providing support to ensure consistent access to nutritious food at NHS workplaces.

We are working closely with NHS Boards to support a range of local initiatives designed to meet the basic and practical needs of junior doctors, and their teams. This includes access to quiet spaces to support health and wellbeing, the installation of lockers and further support to facilitate out of hours catering. The Scottish Government is determined to deliver the recommendations of the Expert Working Group’s report on junior doctor wellbeing and have begun introducing further improvements to working conditions. We are on track to meet the key recommendation of limiting consecutive days of long shifts, with 99% compliance achieved in August 2022.

Question reference: S6T-01020

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Strep A cases in Scotland, including what it is doing to mitigate any risks.

Question reference: S6W-12318

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timescales for any actions it is taking to support and develop community eyecare services across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-12317

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 5 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-11406 and S6W-11407 by Maree Todd on 25 October 2022, whether it will confirm start dates for the commencement of the short life working groups on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) equipment provision and reviewing domiciliary eye care services provision, and, if it is the case that the start dates cannot be confirmed, whether it will provide an anticipated timescale for when decisions will be taken on the start dates.

Question reference: S6O-01668

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm whether WhatsApp messaging by the health secretary and his ministers are covered by Freedom of Information legislation and the processes that are in place to archive these to prevent them being inadvertently lost or otherwise deleted.

Question reference: S6W-11972

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed to all of the key recommendations in the final report of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, and in relation to any that it has not yet agreed to, whether it will provide a timeframe for consideration of the recommendations, and when it expects to publish its response to the key recommendations in the report.

Question reference: S6W-11973

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to any of the key recommendations in the final report of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review to which it agrees, what action it plans to take to implement the recommendations.

The Scottish Mental Health Law Review published its final report at the end of September 2022 and set out over 200 proposals for reform.

Cross-government work is now underway to assess their implications and we will set out our response, including priority actions that will be taken forward, in due course. As part of this work, we are considering the timescales for implementation and any recommendations that can be progressed in the short-term as part of our existing work to strengthen mental health and incapacity policy and law.

Question reference: S6W-11518

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is planning to take to improve public health, in light of reported recent polling by the Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Coalition, which found that around two thirds of Scottish adults would like to see it do more to improve public health.

We welcome the findings of the report which adds to the picture of health across Scotland. Scottish Government is targeting the three biggest factors that impact preventable ill-health. These are tobacco use, diet and alcohol.

Our vision is to have a Tobacco-Free Scotland by lowering smoking rates across our communities to below 5% by 2034. In autumn 2023, we will publish a refreshed Tobacco Action Plan. As part of this we are considering a range of evidence-based interventions with an emphasis on reducing smoking and vaping.

Our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan sets out how we are taking wide-ranging action to support healthier choices. This includes a challenging aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce diet related health inequalities. Our Public Heath (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will restrict the promotion of unhealthier food and drink and will be introduced as part of the 2022-23 legislative session.

We are evaluating the impact of minimum unit pricing (MUP) at the current price of 50 pence per unit and will assess what level MUP should be set at going forward, if MUP is to continue.

We will soon consult on potential restrictions on alcohol advertising and promotion to protect children and young people, and those in recovery. Subject to the outcomes of this consultation, we will introduce legislation within the lifetime of this parliament.

Question reference: S6W-11519

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to support the 530,000 people who will reportedly need to either (a) quit or (b) not take up smoking by 2034 to meet its tobacco-free generation target, as projected by the Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Coalition in its report Non-Communicable Disease Prevention: Mapping Future Harm.

The Scottish Government are developing an expert group that will be reporting on smoking cessation services early next year. We are also committed to working with our NHS cessation coordinators and pharmacy colleagues across Scotland to refocus and remobilise these services to ensure we are reaching those in our communities who are in most need of support to quit.

In addition, next year we will publish a refreshed Tobacco Action Plan which will include a range of evidence-based interventions with an emphasis on reducing smoking and vaping among children and young people.