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-37987

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to close the reported (a) funding gap faced by Integration Joint Boards and (b) £560 million NHS-related deficit.

We sympathise with the pressure the social care sector is facing and that is one of the reasons that the 2025-26 budget includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.

However it is important to note that while the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.

While agreeing budgets is the responsibility of partnerships, The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the health and social care sector to understand key pressures and opportunities to ensure we achieve best value of money and improve the outcomes of our population.

Question reference: S6W-37991

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to restore police officer numbers to 2013 levels, and, if so, what its timeline is for achieving this.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out the Chief Constable’s vision of a thriving workforce which goes beyond an overall officer headcount and that of a police workforce which includes police staff.

The Chief Constable aims to make maximum impact with a workforce that has the right skills and capacity to keep people safe. Through the Chief Constable’s workforce modernisation plan, Police Scotland are developing an operating model that will create capacity to deal with new and increasing threats by moving more officers to frontline roles, to strengthen community confidence.

Question reference: S6W-37988

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported recommendation from the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents to end routine police involvement in social media disputes.

The deployment of officers and staff is a matter for the Chief Constable. It is vital that the Chief Constable has the flexibility to develop her workforce to respond to new and emerging operational demands.

Investigation of reports to Police Scotland are quite rightly operational matters for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that every crime report is assessed for threat, harm, risk, vulnerability and for proportionate lines of investigation and evidence, as soon as it is reported.

Question reference: S6W-37984

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to Police Scotland survey data, which reportedly shows that only 31% of officers feel supported by their executive team and many are leaving due to stress.

Officer wellbeing and retention are operational matters for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March.

The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in wellbeing, which includes a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and enhanced occupational health services, to support officers and staff wellbeing.

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-37990

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the number of police officers assigned to non-criminal complaints investigations, in light of reported concerns that police resources are being diverted to investigate “hurt feelings”.

The operation of Police Scotland, including the deployment of officers, is for the Chief Constable. The latest official statistics show there were 16,553 FTE police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2025. The Scottish Government supports the Chief Constable in having the flexibility to develop and utilise her workforce in a way that responds to the challenges she faces by ensuring she has the right workforce in place. In 2025-26, we are increasing investment in policing by £90 million to a record £1.64 billion to support police capacity and capability.

Question reference: S6W-35965

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children in each NHS board area have seen an NHS dentist in each year since 2024, and how this compares with (i) 2010, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2020.

Question reference: S6W-38430

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reverse Scotland’s reported decline in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings in maths, reading and science.

Question reference: S6W-38390

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for the reported continued delays to the M8 viaduct works in Glasgow, and what the revised completion date is.

Question reference: S6W-38434

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any safety risks associated with transferring mothers and premature babies over long distances for specialist neonatal care.

Question reference: S6W-38411

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Scottish Funding Council has played in scrutinising the University of Edinburgh’s financial strategy.