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-20747

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 21 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered expanding the eligibility for the drug, Paxlovid, to people aged over 50.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium ( SMC) has collaborated with The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on a multiple technology appraisal (MTA) of all COVID-19 treatments (known as TA878). NICE guidance for technology appraisal TA878 was published on 29 March 2023. The SMC published equivalent guidance in Scotland, recommending nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) for restricted use within NHS Scotland, for the treatment of patients with increased risk for progression to severe COVID-19 as defined in the independent advisory group report commissioned by the UK Department of Health and Social Care .

The NICE and the SMC are currently collaborating on a partial rapid review of TA878 , and considering whether to recommend nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) for the treatment of additional risk groups. The draft guidance from this partial rapid review, published on 17 August 2023, recommends that access to nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) is extended beyond the current cohort, to individuals aged 70 years and over, and those with diabetes, obesity (BMI of 35 kg/m 2 or more), or heart failure. If there are no appeals from key stakeholders, the final NICE guidance is expected to be published on 13 September 2023, and will be incorporated into the original NICE technology appraisal guidance TA878. Following this, the SMC will publish equivalent guidance for NHS Scotland.

This advice is based on an assessment of the clinical and cost effectiveness of nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) at a population level based on the best available evidence. The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the outcomes of any further research to ensure that any decisions to make nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir (Paxlovid ® ) available to eligible individuals in Scotland in the future are based on the best available evidence.

Question reference: S6O-02493

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it has made in response to the protracted start to the 2023 grain harvest.

Question reference: S6O-02396

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to support new entrants into agriculture.

Question reference: S6O-02356

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it will next review the car parking arrangements for MSPs and staff.

Question reference: S6O-02369

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address the negative revenue reconciliation of £687 million for 2024-25 that is currently forecast by the Scottish Fiscal Commission.

Question reference: S6W-17445

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the most up-to-date Pupil equity funding - school level funding figures will be published.

Pupil Equity Funding allocations are updated and published annually to take into account new, closed and merged schools of that year. The 2023-24 Pupil Equity Funding allocations are currently being finalised and will be communicated to local authorities shortly with publication in due course thereafter. All previous allocations can be found here: Pupil attainment: closing the gap - Schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6O-02277

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent report by Changeworks, which found that homes in rural areas have a lower Energy Performance Certificate rating than the rest of Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-02130

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to a recent poll that found that more than a third of people in Scotland would consider relocating if income taxes were increased further.

Question reference: S6W-16266

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the updated financial memorandum for the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

As the previous Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care set out in his letter of 23 March to the Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, the Scottish Government will provide a response to the Committee's report and an update to the Financial Memorandum once we have received and considered the final report on the Bill from the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. The letter is available on the Scottish Parliament's website at National Care Service Scotland Bill updated Financial Memorandum response | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-16267

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will avoid any significant underspend in its annual budgets going forward.

The Scottish Budget is largely fixed and the Scottish Government cannot overspend against the Budget limit. Budgets are carefully managed by Scottish Ministers through well-established planning, year-round management and reporting processes. The robust financial management processes in place ensure that spending against the Scottish Budget is continually assessed with all available funding directed to priorities to maximise the effective use of resources. This includes annual autumn and spring revisions of the Budget which are agreed with the Scottish Parliament. All fiscal underspends are carried forward within the Scotland Reserve with no loss of spending power. It is important that the Parliamentary focus is on the discretionary budget figures (that support public spending) rather than technical (non-cash) underspends that can inflate the headline figure but do not impact on spending power.