Foysol Choudhury

17 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that it is not currently on track to meet its target to reduce child poverty to less than 10% by 2031, what its response is to children’s charities stating that its child poverty plan is "timid" and does not go far enough.

11 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to formally define "green" to ensure alignment with net zero targets in its designation of data centres as a "national priority".

24 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Who Owns Scotland 2025.

12 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has decided to recalculate the baseline for funding the uplift to the real Living Wage in its draft Budget 2026-27, in light of it funding it in its entirety for nearly 10 years for adult social care workers, and concerns that social care employers …

Answer · Tom Arthur: The draft Budget 2026-27 set out a further £160 million investment to enable the payment of the Real Living Wage to adult social care workers in commissioned services in the next financial year.The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government has …

5 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to reduce waiting lists for cardiology outpatient appointments.

Answer · Neil Gray: We have allocated more than £135.5 million over 2025-26 to cut waits and the latest figures show our plan is delivering for the people of Scotland.A further £20 million funding has been made available to support waiting times for the last quarter …

5 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the response of the Scottish Funding Council Apprenticeship Committee is to the recommendations of the Commission on Race in Apprenticeships, including how it will implement these.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill made provision for the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to establish an apprenticeship committee. The transfer of apprenticeship responsibilities to the Scottish Funding Council is pla…

4 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any public body holds and is able to publishpractice-level data on the total number of complaints made about individualdental practices that receive NHS General Dental Services payments, includingcomplaints relating to private treatment provided by those practices in each ofthe l…

Answer · Jenni Minto: Complaints about dentists and dental practices can be made through a number of different mechanisms - directly with the practice; with the NHS Board in relation to NHS treatment; through Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) for private treatment; and through…

11 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a timetable for the review of statutory charges and vehicle recovery legislation for e-bikes and e-scooters that it has been discussing with Police Scotland, the Association of Vehicle Recovery Operators (AVRO) and wider stakeholders.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Prescribed Sums and Charges etc (Scotland) Regulations 2019 and The Police (Retention and Disposal of Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 are the existing pieces of legislation governing the fees which vehicle recovery operators can char…

9 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often ministers meet with local authorities and divisions of Police Scotland to assess the progress of antisocial behaviour strategies.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Ministers meet regularly with both Police Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, including to discuss antisocial behaviour. They do not, however, meet with individual local authorities or Police Scotland divisional commanders to assess the…

9 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the provision of bleed kits across Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland. We encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the publi…

20 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the potential introduction of regulations to prevent breeders of greyhounds from taking their dogs to races in England, and whether it will consider working with MSPs to amend the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill to that effect.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce regulations to prevent breeders, trainers or owners of greyhounds in Scotland taking their dogs to race in England. While we will be proposing some amendments to the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill…

19 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the University of Edinburgh, in its current dispute with the University and College Union, is fulfilling its obligation under the paper, Fair Work First - Guidance, to provide "appropriate channels for effective workers' voice".

Answer · Ben Macpherson: While the University of Edinburgh is an autonomous institution with responsibility for its own operational decision making, I expect constructive and meaningful engagement with UCU to seek a resolution to this dispute - in line with Fair Work principles. Cent…

18 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its decision to narrow the eligibility criteria for the autumn COVID-19 booster, what assessment it has made of the cost to the NHS and the impact on hospitalisation rates.

22 Sep 2025 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what urgent action the Scottish Government is taking in light of Public Health Scotland's estimate that dementia in Scotland is set to rise by more than 50% by 2044.

18 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a long-term and sustainablemodel for National 5 Creative Industries courses in roof slating and stonecarving to be rolled out across Scotland.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Operational responsibility for the National 5 Creative Industries course is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).This Skills for Work qualification has been designed to link broadly to National Occupational Standards in the creative indust…

16 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with stakeholders regarding the development and scaling up of sustainable aviation fuel production, in light of the need to support the infrastructure, skills, and supply chains required to make Scotland a leader in the sector.

10 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated in each year since 2022 to research in (a) brain, (b) liver, (c) lung, (d) oesophageal, (e) pancreatic and (f) stomach cancer.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland. These schemes provide funding opportunities for research across the clinical spectrum inclusive of res…

2 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will renew the Investing in Communities Fund after it ends in 2026.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Decisions concerning future Scottish Government funding programmes will be considered and addressed through the Scottish Budget and Scottish Spending Review processes.

26 Aug 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with business leaders regarding work to maximise the economic impact of Edinburgh's festivals.

18 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 with regards to offering autistic people who are unable to use the phone, communication methods appropriate to their needs, for example, letters or in-person communication.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is committed to advancing inclusive communication in Scotland. We have therefore commissioned an inclusive communications toolkit for listed authorities, which includes NHS Boards, to consider. This toolkit aims to make improvements fo…

11 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people have been supported to have repairs made to their homes through the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Repairs made under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 are private matters, for individual homeowners in affected properties. As such the Scottish Government does not collect or hold this data.

23 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to publish its public sector pay award for 2025-26.

Answer · Shona Robison: At this time there is no agreed pay award for Scottish Government.Following a period of negotiation the Scottish Government made a formal pay offer to the recognised trade unions (PCS, Prospect, and FDA) on 14 July 2025. The offer was rejected by PCS and Pros…

21 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made regarding its plans to implement a nationwide, 24/7 national thrombectomy service.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service that is available across Scotland whenever people need it. The majority of NHS Boards can now refer to thrombectomy Hub centres, increasing geogr…

2 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that public bodies meet their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in regard to offering reasonable accommodation and access to services for people who cannot communicate by phone.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Scotland should be a place where everyone can participate fully within society, access their rights and thrive within their communities. To realise this vision, we must make bold and sustained progress in tackling discrimination and advancing equality across …

18 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 36 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it will provide an update on (a) progress made on the development of alternative entry routes into nursing and midwife…

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That is why we value the important role colleges play in widening acc…

18 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 44 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it will provide an update on progress made towards identifying the barriers and enablers to attracting candidates to n…

Answer · Neil Gray: As set out in the answer to question S6W-38860 on 1 July 2025, the Scottish Government recognises that widening access into nursing and midwifery programmes is important to grow the number of nurses and midwives in our health and social care workforce. That i…

18 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to action 44 of the Ministerial Scottish Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce report, Delivering Together for a Stronger Nursing and Midwifery Workforce, whether it has started a review of the package of financial support available to nursing and midwifery students, and, if so, w…

Answer · Neil Gray: As set out in the answer to question S6W-37764 on 22 May 2025, The Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery (PNM) student financial support review is currently ongoing. This review will take time, as it is important that we clearly understand how we can support our P…

10 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to improve access to modern apprenticeships and employment for those completing pre-apprenticeship college courses.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is working with Skills Development Scotland and other partners on post school education reform. This includes apprenticeship reform, improvements to careers information and advice and ensuring there are clear pathways for young people …

9 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address any challenges associated with patient travel to in-centre dialysis appointments, in light of Kidney Care UK’s report, In-centre Dialysis Transport in Scotland, which was published in February 2024.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living with kidney diseases are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective, and put people at the centre of their care.…

9 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve equity in access to home dialysis for patients from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The decision to offer home dialysis to patients is primarily a matter for NHS Boards. As set out in my answer to S6W-38515 on 17 June 2025, NHS Boards are required to develop plans to address racialised healthcare inequalities.Last year, we agreed a national …