Parliamentary questions
Carol Mochan
846 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the resources available to support the mental health and wellbeing of retail staff following an incident of retail crime.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government is committed to preventing violence and reducing its harm.There are a range of options to support the mental health and wellbeing of employees, including those working in the retail sector.Our Mental health and wellbeing strategy, publ…
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether, in the next Budget, it will renew the additional £3 million of targeted funding allocated to Police Scotland to reduce retail crime.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling retail crime was reaffirmed in our Programme for Government, which makes clear our strong support for Police Scotland’s robust approach in addressing this issue.The Scottish Government has commenced…
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the Scottish Grocers’ Federation 2024 Crime Survey that 99.6% of retailers that responded reported that violence against staff occurs at least once a month, whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce violence against retail s…
Answer · Siobhian Brown: We have made £3 million available this year for Police Scotland specifically to work alongside retailers to tackle crime affecting their sector, which costs businesses millions each year and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops. This …
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision to not proceed with plans to designate Galloway and Ayrshire as a national park, what resources it plans to make available to south-west Scotland to promote investment and economic growth in the area.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I confirmed in Parliament on 29 May that, in light of the consultation findings and the reporter’s conclusions, the Scottish Government will not proceed with the designation of a National Park in Galloway and Ayrshire.In its role as the statutory report…
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NatureScot’s recommendation in its report, A report on the proposal for a National Park in Southwest Scotland, what plans it has to better resource the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere Reserve.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: In its role as the statutory reporter on the National Park proposal, NatureScot made recommendations on ways in which existing structures in the South of Scotland could be further strengthened. These include:a stronger role and a long-term funding arrangement…
30 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Lancet Commission’s research on liver cancer, and what action it plans to take in light of the research’s findings that three-in-five liver cancer cases could be prevented by reducing alcohol consumption and obesity, and by increasing uptake of the…
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government welcomes the Lancet Commission’s research, which highlights that up to 60% of liver cancer cases are preventable through reducing alcohol consumption, tackling obesity, and increasing hepatitis vaccination.Preventing more cancers…
30 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve early detection for liver damage and cancer, in light of the findings in the Lancet Commission’s research on liver cancer.
Answer · Neil Gray: Cancer remains a national priority, within the Scottish Government and across NHS Scotland. Our 10 year Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 and Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 set out a comprehensive approach to improving cancer outcomes,…
22 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeline for the introduction of regulations to increase the income threshold for charity audits in Scotland from £500,000 to £1 million.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We plan to introduce amended regulations for charities accounts by the end of 2025. These will raise the audit income threshold for charities registered in Scotland from £500,000 to £1 million. The amended regulations will also include changes to …
21 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the UK Government committing £5.8 million to a smoke-free pregnancy incentive scheme in England in 2025-26, how much funding it has committed in total in 2025-26 for Quit Your Way services specifically aimed at delivering projects incentivising pregnant wome…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcome…
21 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the UK Government committing an additional £70 million to support stop smoking services in England in 2025-26, how much funding it has committed in total in 2025-26 for the specialist Quit Your Way smoking cessation services delivered by regional NHS boards …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcome…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to make targeted interventions more widely available for those who need them but who are unlikely to be able to access them, as recommended in the conclusion of the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Improving health and reducing health inequalities across Scotland remains a clear ambition for the Scottish Government. To help achieve this, Scottish Government is progressing a range of work to support the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland &nda…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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 …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The food environment, including promotions, significantly influences the food choices people make, both in and out of home. This report adds further to (the evidence base and) our understanding that promotions can encourage impulse spend and can lead to peopl…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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 abil…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities remains a central priority for the Scottish Government. To deliver this, Scottish Government is working closely with partners across sectors to advance women’s health and tackle the root causes …
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We are working with Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and Public Health Scotland (PHS) to develop our Eating Out Eating Well Framework, one of the actions from our Out Of Home Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/diet-and-healthy-weight-out-of-home-actio…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the finding in the research, The gendered impact of Covid-19 on health behaviours and mental health: Evidence from the UK, that more adverse changes in women’s health, compared with men, following the COVID-19 pandemic, persisted through to May 2023, which suggests tha…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises the cumulative impacts of economic shocks including COVID-19 and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis have worsened health inequalities, and understands the impact that debt and money worries can have on mental health and we…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We acknowledge the recent research findings, which highlight the disproportionate health impacts experienced by women in relation to the covid pandemic. Addressing these inequalities is a core ambition of the Scottish Government.In August 2021, Scotland was t…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Recent research findings on the impacts of Covid-19 on women’s mental and physical health adds to the body of evidence of the importance of taking account the specific health needs of women and girls.The Scottish Government remains committed to deliveri…
16 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the national service specification for substance use treatments and support services.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38617 on 17 June 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33389 by Neil Gray on 24 January 2025, whether it will provide an update on when the Scottish Ambulance Service will publish its business case for the new pre-hospital service to cover the east and south east of Scotland, to replace Medic One.
Answer · Neil Gray: The current project plan is on track to have this business case completed by summer 2025. Once completed it will be reviewed through the appropriate governance processes.
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of making it a requirement for NHS boards to proactively publish learnings from Significant Adverse Event Reviews in a way that does not breach data protection or patient confidentiality, in order to support public scrutiny, transparency and accountability in …
Answer · Neil Gray: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) recently reviewed and published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland in February this year. The revised framework includes an updated shareable learning…
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Healthcare Improvement Scotland to discuss the development and implementation of the national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government officials meet with Healthcare Improvement Scotland on a regular basis to discuss the ongoing work surrounding adverse events. The most recent meeting took place on Monday 21 July.
9 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) assess the way that Significant Adverse Event Reviews are recorded in the NHS and (b) consider whether a change in the format of recording practices is required.
Answer · Neil Gray: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) recently reviewed and published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland in February this year. This provides updated templates to support NHS Health Boards…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to better enforce the Agent of Change principle, in light of reports that 72% of fans in Scotland strongly or somewhat agreed that laws should prevent new residents near music venues from filing noise complaints.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Agent of Change principle is enshrined in both the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (the Planning Act) and National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).Section 41A of the Planning Act sets out that, if residents or occupiers of any proposed developme…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who is being invited to provide insight for the first phase of strategy development for its Equality Strategy for Women and Girls.
Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We are engaging a range of stakeholders and women and girls with lived experience in the development of Scotland’s first equality strategy for women and girls.The strategy will be co-designed with the First Minister’s National Advisory Council for…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a recent fan-led review reportedly finding that 58% of live music fans in Scotland never use earplugs, how it plans to improve awareness of, and promote, hearing harm reduction methods.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Any sound, including live music, can damage hearing if it is loud enough and audiences are exposed to it long enough.It is unlikely that the majority of audience members will attend live music events frequently enough to develop Noise Induced Loss of Hearing …
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
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 ap…
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government supports all work being done in primary care, in acute care, in mental health settings, in specialist settings and in residential care, as well as by social care services, public protection chief officers and by social workers to ensur…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is national training and guidance for health settings regarding Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs).
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government’s national guidance on Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABI) was last published in 2018.In response to the national review of ABI we will be working with Public Health Scotland on refreshing and updating guidance and training advice …
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes it will make in response to reports that unplanned hospital admissions will increase over the next 10 years, with a disproportionate amount being due to respiratory illnesses.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Projecting Future Demand for Health and Care Services in Scotland (2024-2034) report forecasts a continued rise in unplanned acute inpatient hospital admissions. Public Health Scotland (PHS) emphasises that this trend is not fixed and can be influenced th…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the national review of Alcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs).
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is engaging widely on the creation of a new approach to care and support for people impacted by alcohol. The recommendations made in the Public Health Scotland review of ABI are a key component of our engagement.Our aim is to publish o…
7 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns regarding changes by NHS England to its cervical screening programme to bring it in line with the five-year cycle in Scotland, how it plans to reassure people in Scotland in relation to the evidence base and safety of its current screening programme.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In March 2020, Scotland implemented human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as the primary cervical screening test, and increased the routine screening interval from every three years to every five. Both changes followed UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) re…