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-30724

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the national ambition to halve childhood obesity prevalence to 7% by 2030 is still achievable.

Our aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce diet related health inequalities is deliberately ambitious.

A recent study completed by Nesta Counting the cost of obesity in Scotland | Nesta calculated that, on average across all children living with obesity within the 2-to-15-year age range, a sustained reduction of 65 kcal per day – the equivalent of one digestive biscuit – would achieve the desired reduction in obesity from 16.4% (2019 Scottish Health Survey figure) to 7% by 2030.

This represents a reduction of 3.0% in the daily calorie consumption of the average child living with obesity in Scotland.

However, it is important to note that 65 kcal per day is the weighted average of a range of estimates that vary by children’s age and sex, from 19 kcal per day to 142 kcal per day. In practice, a 65 kcal-per-day reduction in excess calories would be excessive for a two-year-old child, but insufficient for a 15-year-old living with obesity.

This suggests the ambition is feasible, even if challenging and we remain committed to achieving this aim.

Question reference: S6W-30723

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to monitor and evaluate the progress of the National Good Food Nation Plan in reducing childhood obesity.

The consultation on the draft national Good Food Nation Plan sets out the indicators and other measures that will be used to measure progress towards achieving the six Outcomes set out in the Plan. This included extending the Scottish Government’s existing target to halve childhood obesity by 2030 to read: “To aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce associated diet-related inequalities”.

The Scottish Government is undertaking work to develop further indicators of progress towards meeting the Outcomes. This work will take account of the responses received to the consultation which suggested indicators that might be used.

Once the final version of the Plan is published there is a legislative requirement to report on the progress towards achieving the Outcomes set out in the national Good Food Nation Plan every two years and to review and, if necessary, revise the Plan within five years.

Question reference: S6W-30725

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Obesity Action Scotland to discuss childhood obesity.

Question reference: S6W-30717

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being taken to improve the early identification of childhood obesity.

Effective approaches to preventing childhood obesity are focused on population-level measures, and therefore it is important that we can track progress on child healthy weight across our communities.

The universal health visiting pathway includes growth assessment of all children at several points across early childhood and supports interventions that promote healthy growth.

Public Health Scotland and Scottish Directors of Public Health established a short life working group, including expertise from local boards and PHS, to consider the Primary 1 BMI surveillance https://publichealthscotland.scot/population-health/early-years-and-young-people/child-health-data-and-intelligence/child-weight-and-growth/routine-health-review/ model and to catalyse work to improve P1 measurement data usability and coverage.

Robust data is really important not only to exhibit the effectiveness of our policies but to inform continuous improvement. We welcome Public Health Scotland and the wider public health system’s continued support on the range of data that underpins our policies.

Question reference: S6W-30722

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that the National Good Food Nation Plan effectively addresses (a) child obesity and (b) diet-related health inequalities.

The first national Good Food Nation Plan represents a fresh approach to food policy and it embeds long-term strategic transformation into decision making at both the national and local levels. The consultation draft of the national Plan set out the six overarching Good Food Nation Outcomes to achieve our ambitions for Scotland’s food system. Draft Outcomes 1 and 3 set out the high-level aspirations in relation to health and diet related inequalities:

Outcome 1 - Everyone in Scotland eats well with reliable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, sustainable, and age and culturally appropriate food.

Outcome 3 - Scotland’s food system encourages a physically and mentally healthy population, leading to a reduction in diet-related conditions.

These Outcomes will be updated and refined based on the consultation responses received before the draft Plan is laid before Parliament in 2025.

Scottish Ministers will need to have regard to the national Good Food Nation Plan when carrying out specified functions in relation to food ensuring a clear, consistent and coherent approach to food policy across policy areas and ministerial portfolios. This approach ensures connections are made between policy areas so that complex issues such as child obesity and diet-related inequalities will be considered in the context of wider food system challenges. As part of this joined up approach the Ministerial Working Group on Food supports cross-Government work to drive progress across portfolios on issues relating to food policy.

Question reference: S6W-30707

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to regulate the promotion and advertising of food and drink products high in fat, salt and sugar, and how it plans to regulate the advertising of such products in outdoor public spaces.

Scottish Government have long advocated for restrictions on the broadcast advertising of less healthy food and drink before 9pm. We welcome the announcement that the UK Government intend to introduce these restrictions next year. We continue to work with the UK Government to further understand the implications of this policy and its implementation for Scotland.

As set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery plan, we remain committed to developing proposals to strengthen outdoor advertising restrictions for food that is high in fat, salt or sugar.

Question reference: S6T-02168

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any increased risk to public safety resulting from industrial action by the Scottish Police Federation.

Question reference: S6T-02170

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of any potential implications for accessibility, equality and safety for passengers and the public, whether it will permit the reduction in opening hours of ticket offices by ScotRail.

Question reference: S6F-03491

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03507

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2024

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to end the reported increase in families in the Central Belt living in temporary accommodation, in light of reports of almost 2,000 children in Glasgow living in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation in 2024 and more than 4,600 households in Edinburgh projected to be living in temporary accommodation by 2040.