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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 43516 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-39204

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the roll-out of the HPV vaccine has had on the health of the people of Scotland.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programme is having a huge impact on preventing cancers for those who have been vaccinated.

A study by PHS shows that no cervical cancer cases have yet been detected in fully vaccinated girls who have received the first HPV vaccine dose at age 12-13 years, for those who entered the programme when it commenced in 2008. This demonstrates that HPV vaccination is a key step in preventing the development of cervical cancer and a cornerstone of the Scottish Government’s commitment to eliminating cervical cancer.

Human papillomaviruses not only cause cervical cancer, but can also cause other diseases, including anogenital, head and neck cancers and genital warts. To increase everyone’s protection against these diseases, the HPV vaccination offer was extended to all young people in 2019. HPV vaccination is also offered to gay and bisexual men in sexual health clinics.

Health Boards are working with Local Authority education partners to improve uptake of HPV and other vaccinations delivered in school settings. This includes the delivery of workshops and education sessions by vaccination teams to deepen both pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of the benefits of vaccination.

PHS, Health Boards and third sector partners work collaboratively to increase vaccination uptake, support those eligible for vaccination and address any inequalities through the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) Inequalities and Inclusion Group.

Question reference: S6W-39203

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not introduced targeted lung cancer screening, in light of the UK National Screening Committee's recommendation in June 2022, and whether it holds any information regarding an estimate of how long it would take to roll out such a national programme.

Following the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation for a targeted lung cancer screening program, the Scottish Government established a Scottish Expert Advisory Group for lung screening to provide advice on the scoping, implementation, establishment and delivery of a targeted lung cancer screening programme within Scotland.

The group concluded that due to the complexities of rolling out a lung screening programme, which were also recognised by the UK NSC, it will take 7-10 years for a full programme to be implemented. Complexities include establishing necessary resources and infrastructure; developing a robust diagnostic pathway; and understanding the implications for wider health services, for example, as a result of incidental findings.

In our Population Health Plan, published in June, the Scottish Government announced a lung screening pilot, which will be developed by Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland (SOAS). SOAS will also prepare for a phased implementation of targeted lung cancer screening.

Question reference: S6W-39202

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the reported comments of Professor David Weller that a nationwide lung cancer screening programme has the potential to be a game changer when it comes to reducing the burden of lung cancer in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is grateful to Professor David Weller for his work on the LungScot study, which has provided valuable evidence and insights into identifying individuals at high risk of lung cancer. The findings of the study informed the work of the Scottish Expert Advisory Group for lung screening, of which Professor Weller was a valued member.

We acknowledge the importance and benefits of early diagnosis of lung screening, and recognise that evidence shows that lung screening can save lives. It is on this basis that we have announced a pilot for targeted lung screening in our Population Health Framework, published in June this year, as part of the work towards a phased roll out of a national targeted lung screening programme.

Question reference: S6W-39296

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the International Commission of European Citizens (ICEC) in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-39201

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Welsh Government's announcement on 28 June 2025 that it will introduce a national lung cancer screening programme at a cost of £13 million per annum once fully implemented, what it would cost to roll out an equivalent programme across Scotland, and what the requirements would be for (a) staff and (b) equipment, such as mobile scanning units capable of providing low dose computed tomography.

The Scottish Government commissioned a Scottish Expert Advisory Group (SEAG) to inform implementation considerations for a targeted Lung Cancer screening programme. The purpose of the SEAG was to support the work of the UK NSC Lung Task Group, and to consider outputs from the Task Group and their application in Scotland.

The Group has provided the Scottish Government with an evaluation of costs and considerations, and have estimated set up costs at approximately £36 million for a national programme. This cost accounts for the resources and equipment required. The estimated annual cost of the screening programme is between £29 million and £39 million, dependant on a number of factors including screening uptake, once the programme is fully implemented. This estimate includes the cost of staffing required across various components of the screening pathway.

The pilot announced in our Population Health Framework will support further refinement of these costs, as well as ensuring a dedicated focus on inequalities.

Question reference: S6W-39681

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many oil and gas decommissioning firms it has supported financially in each of the last five years, and what the outcomes were.

Question reference: S6W-39699

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many air weapon certificates were applied for under section 3 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015, in each year since 2017.

Question reference: S6W-39705

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the reported £98.7 million core running costs for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) to date, by (a) secretariat costs, (b) legal team fees, (c) expert adviser fees, (d) overheads and (e) other.

Question reference: S6W-39556

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on whether an independent Scotland would (a) take a share of UK debt in exchange for assets or (b) adopt a position of no shared assets, no shared debt.

Question reference: S6W-39558

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on whether an independent Scotland would seek to join the Nuclear Energy Agency.