Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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-35485

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not sought to develop a high temperature incineration plant in Scotland to dispose of NHS Scotland clinical waste.

The national contract, which is the responsibility of NHS National Services Scotland, requires suppliers to treat high temperature incineration (HTI) waste, but it did not require a specific solution to create the capability in Scotland. HTI waste constitutes around 15% of NHSScotland clinical waste, and at this time, there remains no investment plan for creating HTI clinical waste treatment capacity in Scotland, as that would involve diverting capital investment away from frontline health and social care services.

Question reference: S6W-34908

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken to implement the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

We are working with various delivery partners to implement the commitments in the Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP), which runs into 2026.

We established the Scottish Respiratory Advisory Committee to provide expert support to the implementation of the RCAP. The Committee identified three initial areas of focus: child to adult transition, pulmonary rehab and respiratory data.

The Committee’s Child to Adult Transitions subgroup has produced a set of recommendations to ensure children with asthma and other respiratory conditions have the best possible care and treatment as they move into adult service.

To improve the data available on respiratory conditions and ensure people with respiratory conditions are receiving the right care and support, we are working towards establishing a national audit programme for respiratory conditions. We aim to progress this with Public Health Scotland in 2025/2026.

In 2024, we published the Quality Prescribing Strategy for Respiratory: A Guide for Improvement 2024-2027 that sets out our ambitions for better access to respiratory care. This can be found here –

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery based at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital is developing national patient pathways for respiratory conditions including severe asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea. This work aligns closely with the commitments in the RCAP.

The RCAP also recognises the importance of commitments under the Scottish Government’s Cleaner Air for Scotland and Warmer Homes Strategies and the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan in preventing respiratory disease.

We remain committed to a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034 and welcome the re-introduction of the UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill to UK Parliament, which will help us to achieve our ambitious target.

We are supporting the introduction of Low Emission Zones to improve air quality and protect public health.

We are also committed to supporting those living in fuel poverty or at risk of fuel poverty through installing insulation and heating measures into individual properties, known as the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme. Since the launch of the first Warmer Homes Scotland scheme in 2015, the scheme has invested around £289 million and helped over 39,000 households across Scotland to live in warmer, healthier homes which are more affordable to heat through both phases of the scheme.

Question reference: S6W-34922

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with a lung condition since the publication of the Respiratory Care Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-34919

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards its commitment in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to support wider workforce planning activity to develop innovative, sustainable workforce models in respiratory services.

A significant aspect of our pulmonary rehabilitation improvement work was to support the specialist respiratory workforce. This work is now being taken forward by a small group within the Respiratory Speciality Delivery Group. We also continue to work with many types of clinical advisors on delivering improvements to respiratory care and much of this is related to workforce.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering the National Workforce Strategy () and achieving the overall vision for “A sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices and fair work where all are respected and valued for the work they do”. Whilst no formal update has yet been published, significant progress has been made in a number of areas and we remain committed to providing a fuller update to the strategy at an appropriate time. Whilst the Strategy does not set out operational workforce planning requirements, it states how we are directing policy to support the achievement of our workforce.

Question reference: S6W-34920

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards its commitment in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to work with all relevant policy areas to ensure preventative measures are embedded in all aspects of respiratory care.

The Respiratory Care Action Plan contains broad commitments from a wide range of areas including increasing uptake of vaccines, ensuring people live in warm homes and improvement of air quality. We have made progress across a number of areas under these commitments, such as the Four Nations approach to tobacco.

Along with obesity, smoking represents a chief threat to Scotland's public health and we remain committed to a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034 and welcome the re-introduction of the UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill to UK Parliament, which will help us to achieve our ambitious target.

The Bill will gradually increase the age of sale for tobacco products and provide powers to legislate on vape flavours, displays, packaging, as well introduce an advertising ban for vapes and nicotine products.

Question reference: S6W-34918

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards its commitment in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to work towards a core respiratory data set.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34909 on 4 March 2025. We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services, in 2023 we provided Public Health Scotland with £60,000 to undertake a scoping exercise with a view to developing a respiratory audit programme. Now that the budget for 2025-26 has been passed by Parliament, we aim to progress this in the current financial year.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-35353

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 10 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what the potential impact on hospital audiology and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services waiting lists would be, if all eligible adults with age-related hearing loss were treated in primary care audiology instead

Audiology is considered as a clinical priority area and the Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland.

Whilst our response to the Independent Review of Audiology in Scotland is implemented, we will continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector and private providers to identify and cost an appropriate model of community care for any future service reform and ensure that the voices of those with lived experience inform this work.

Scottish Government officials and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery national planned care team meet monthly with Chief Operating Officer and / or Acute Directors from all Health Boards to review performance and delivery across all Planned Care specialities, including ENT.

Question reference: S6W-34463

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of interim placement care home beds in January 2023, how many placement care home beds were purchased, and what the cost was per bed.

Question reference: S6O-04422

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on NHS pay negotiations for 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-34917

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards its commitment in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to ensure that people with respiratory conditions have access to tools, resources and information that support them to manage their own condition.

We have recently published the Quality Prescribing Guide for Improvement that aims to keep people at the centre of their treatment, and promote safe, evidenced based, sustainable prescribing.

The guide was developed by a wide range of stakeholders including experts in the field and lived experiences. The guide is intended to support clinicians across the multidisciplinary team and people living with respiratory conditions in shared decision-making and the effective use of medicines and offers practical advice and options for tailoring care to the needs and preferences of individuals