- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards record and publish corridor care data consistently.
Answer
Currently there is no requirement or ability for NHS Boards to record and submit data on corridor care to Public Health Scotland for publication, not least as there is not an agreed definition for ‘corridor care’.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase patient capacity in community and social care settings in order to reduce hospital overcrowding.
Answer
We have a clear plan to reduce delayed discharge and are investing more than £200 million to tackle waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that are keeping some patients in hospital longer than they need to be. Improving patient flow is a top priority and a key commitment that we’ve successfully delivered across all NHS boards is our frailty service which provides specialist, multidisciplinary assessment and care for older patients to accelerate early discharge, reduce delays, and shorten hospital stays. We are seeing reductions in delayed discharge in some Health and Social Partnerships in recent months and are working closely with all health boards and local authorities to drive forward improvements. We are confident that we can build on this learning, to deliver better outcomes for patients so that they are cared for in the right setting and hospital beds are there for those who need them.
We also continue to grow our capacity through the expansion of Hospital at Home services. By providing care in this way we’re enabling more people to receive treatment in the comfort of their own home rather than on an acute ward, relieving pressure on frontline services in traditional hospital settings.
H@H services prevented almost 16,000 people spending time in hospital during April 2024 to March 2025, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year, relieving pressure from A&E and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Royal College of Nursing's findings in its report, On the frontline of the UK's corridor care crisis, regarding staff providing daily care in unsuitable settings.
Answer
We accept that caring for patients in non-standard patient areas is sub-optimal and we are clear that no patient should be treated in a space not fit for clinical care.
We recognise the need to improve the acute care experience for patients and work has been underway over the course of 2025 to develop enhanced frailty services through the Healthcare Improvement Scotland - Frailty at the Front door standard. As a result, all NHS Health Boards have a frailty service which includes Multi-Disciplinary teams which support our front doors.
The Hospital and Community Services for Older People Living with Frailty in Scotland HIS report shows that Scotland has made significant progress in ensuring older and vulnerable patients receive timely, specialised care from the moment they arrive.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to mandatory national reporting on corridor care in hospitals.
Answer
We are in active discussions with PHS regarding the feasibility of a national data collection however, our absolute focus is on addressing the cause of the conditions which lead to care in non-standard areas.
That is why through our NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan we are investing £200 million to address high hospital occupancy and improve patient flow.
Key to this work is addressing the capacity challenges which lead to care in nonstandard areas by: increasing focus on discharge planning to ensure that patients leave hospital as soon as they are medically fit; strengthening Same Day Emergency Care services to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions where appropriate; and increasing acute capacity by expanding Hospital at Home services to 2,000 beds by the end of 2026.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that patients have access to suitable equipment and facilities when they are treated outside standard hospital wards.
Answer
This year the Scottish Government published our and we continue to work with local system leaders to support their health and social care improvement reforms to improve access to treatment and shift the balance of care from acute hospital services to the community, and to ensure people receive the right care in the right place.
Our commitment to expand Hospital at Home is supported by a share of over £200 million, announced as part of the 2025-26 budget. This funding will support Hospital at Home services to continue providing time-limited acute inpatient care in the comfort of the patient's home. This helps to reduce waiting times and delayed discharges by shifting the balance of care from acute, to community as well as having multiple benefits to the patient including reducing disruption to their existing care and support arrangements.
As part of this, the Scottish Government is also committed to delivering a more equitable and accessible approach to the provision of equipment. Following an assessment, individuals, regardless of where they are being treated, should experience a seamless journey through the pathway of care, which ensures they receive the right intervention at the right time. Scottish Government produced revised guidance in 2023 on the which underscores the importance of this.
The Scottish Government continues to monitor the implementation of this guidance and the delivery and provision of equipment via the National Network for Equipment and Adaptations.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will investigate any reported incidents of harm, including cardiac arrests, linked to corridor care in hospitals, in the last five years.
Answer
NHS Boards are responsible for investigating incidents of harm. If an incident occurs, we expect NHS Boards to fulfil their statutory duty to be open with patients about what happened and to learn lessons to prevent it happening again.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of patients treated in unsuitable settings due to hospital overcrowding in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) fees or honoraria have been paid to and (b) travel and subsistence expenses have been claimed by each named member of the Abortion Law Review Expert Group in each financial year since its establishment.
Answer
Members of the Abortion Law Review Expert Group did not receive fees or honoraria for their work. Incidental travel for Expert Group members cost £272.39. No subsistence costs were incurred.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in total on the Abortion Law Review Expert Group, and associated work on the review of abortion law in Scotland, in each financial year since 5 September 2023, broken down by (a) the expert group costs, (b) Scottish Government staff costs and (c) any external costs, such as research, consultancy, communications and events.
Answer
Members of the Abortion Law Review Expert Group did not receive payment for their work. The review was supported by existing staff resource in Population Health Directorate. There were no research, consultancy, communications or events costs.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 2 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41527 by Kaukab Stewart on 11 November 2025, what the eligibility status is for homelessness support for individuals who have been placed in temporary accommodation in each local authority since April 2025.
Answer
The Scottish government does not hold finalised homelessness data beyond March 31 2025. The latest published homelessness statistics, including eligibility status and households in temporary accommodation can be found here
Data covering 1 April to 30 September 2025 is due to be published in February 2026.