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-39399

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK, what measures it plans to put in place to help women from lower socio-economic backgrounds with caregiving responsibilities who may have a limited ability to maintain levels of social engagement that results in them experiencing more challenges in adopting healthier behaviours.

Question reference: S6W-39398

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to rectify any negative health implications that women have faced more severely than men, in light of the findings of the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK.

Question reference: S6W-39403

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research commissioned by Food Standards Scotland, which states that, when customers were exposed to price promotions on food ordering apps and websites, they were more likely to buy more food than they intended to, creating a culture of food waste and consumption of excess calories.

Question reference: S6W-39402

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that Public Health Scotland will publish the framework to support out-of-home outlets to provide and promote healthy food.

Question reference: S6W-39397

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK, which reportedly shows that women’s mental and physical health were affected more negatively than men’s during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-38732

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve the levels of recruitment and retention in social care, in light of reports that demand for services is increasing and that entry-level jobs in supermarkets can pay more than roles in social care.

Whilst the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for national social care policy in Scotland, it is for Local Authorities and Integrated Joint Boards to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support in the right place and at the right time.

The Scottish Government budget for 2025-26 sets out almost £2.2 billion investment in social care and integration, of which approximately £950 million enables adult social care workers in the third and private sectors to be paid at least the Real Living Wage. This currently stands at £12.60 per hour, a rate that came into effect from April 2025. This is above the £12.21 National Living Wage rate for workers aged 21 and over, set by the UK Government. The Real Living Wage rate is independently set by the Living Wage Foundation and is currently the only UK wage rate based on the actual cost of living to allow workers to meet their everyday needs.

Since 2021, the Scottish Government has provided funding to the MyJobScotland recruitment portal, enabling all social care providers to advertise vacancies at no cost. We have also funded NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to work with the SSSC to develop a new National Induction Framework, launched in May this year which supports high quality standardised induction training for social care staff.

Question reference: S6W-39174

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of the delay in the delivery of a treatment centre at Carrick Glen Hospital.

We are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan. This will reflect on needs across Scotland and support the continued safe operation of existing facilities, as well as the determination of longer term investment priorities. The National Treatment Centre (NTC) programme is currently paused and the development of the NTC Ayrshire and Arran remains under review at the current time; no assessment has made on the impact of the delay in the delivery of a centre at Carrick Glen.

Question reference: S6W-39175

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Ayrshire and Arran regarding the delay in the delivery of a treatment centre at Carrick Glen Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-39245

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 July 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that the best opportunities for recovery are available to people immediately after an alcohol-related brain damage diagnosis when the most improvement can often be made, in light of reports that some people are waiting in hospital for months for guardianship applications to be processed before they can be moved.

Question reference: S6W-38733

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that women and girls who experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are supported, in light of the reportedly unique and severe symptoms associated with this disorder.

Through the actions in our Women’s Health Plan there is now a Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform, to help women find the information they need on a range of issues relating to their health, including conditions like PMDD.

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has also delivered a series of women’s health webinars, with accompanying resources, which included a session on PMS and PMDD, .

We have taken steps to raise awareness and support better understanding of PMDD among healthcare professionals by commissioning NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to create a bespoke training package and framework on menstrual health, which includes PMDD, for general practice and others working in Primary Care, which is available on TURAS, the education platform for NHS Scotland.

We remain committed to our ambition is that women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives as we develop the second phase of the Women’s Health Plan with the aim of publishing by the end of this year.