Parliamentary questions
Jackson Carlaw
1,088 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider pro-actively approaching high street retailers, such as Boots and Superdrug, to help reduce waiting lists in audiology and to allow more NHS patients to receive quicker access to hearing aid services.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland. We continue to engage with the audiology sector, Third Sector, those with lived experience and other stakeholders including high street …
9 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with reducing audiology waiting lists in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has experienced recruitment challenges in its audiology service, which has affected appointment times. To mitigate this, the Board has insourced qualified audiologists from the private sector to work alongside substantive staff, …
5 Feb 2026 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on discussions with the UK Government in relation to The Hughes Report.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Dr Henrietta Hughes published her report, which was about financial and non-financial redress for persons affected by transvaginal mesh or the medicine sodium valproate, on 7 February 2024. The report was commissioned by the previous UK Government, but the pr…
4 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a member of a charity speaking to a class of pupils on an organised visit would be considered as a regulated role with a requirement for the individual to obtain a PVG scheme membership approval that is specific to the school and local authority area.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Regulated roles are defined under schedule 2 and schedule 3 of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and there is guidance to assist at PVG scheme - Regulated roles guidance - mygov.scot.It is the responsibility of the organisation providing…
2 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission research into any impact of fast release caffeine products on children and young people, including caffeinated chewing gum, in particular for those who participate in athletics, sport and physical activity, to determine whether their use by under 18s should be …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises concerns in relation to the use of fast release caffeine products on children and young people, including caffeinated chewing gum, for those who participate in physical activity.While risk analysis of regulated food products…
2 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) Scottish Athletics and (b) Scottish Schools Athletics regarding the consumption of caffeinated chewing gum, including discussion on any potential health risks that it poses for young people participating in athletics.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Sportscotland has previously provided advice on caffeine to Scottish Athletics, through its Institute of Sport performance nutrition team, to inform their guidance to members. UK Athletics and UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) strongly advise a "food-first" approach to n…
2 Feb 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review any health risks associated with young people in Scotland consuming caffeinated chewing gum, in light of the warning issued by the Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards department on 9 October 2025 regarding such products.
Answer · Jenni Minto: While risk analysis of regulated food products is now a GB responsibility, there has been no change to the scientific advice on caffeine since 2015 when extensive evidence was considered by the European Food Safety Authority. Food Standards Scotland and the F…
30 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40490 by Jenni Minto on 25 September 2025, whether any meetings have since taken place with UK ministers to discuss the 2024 Hughes Report, and what progress has been made towards (a) delivering compensation for mesh injured women and (b) the UK Gov…
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43598 on 6 February 2026. 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-committe…
21 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hairdressing courses there have been at colleges in Scotland in each year since 2021-22, also broken down by how many students have (a) enrolled on and (b) graduated from these.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government does not hold this data.The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) collect and published college data each year in the College Statistics publication.College Statistics 2023-24 - Scottish Funding CouncilSubject full-time equivalent figures (FT…
21 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what workforce assessment it has carried out of hairdressing businesses, and what its position is regarding whether there will be sufficient fully-qualified hairdressers to meet future demand.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Skills Development Scotland (SDS) carries out workforce assessments for key sectors across Scotland. These assessments are available on the SDS website here: Sectoral Skills Assessments - Skills Development Scotland.As such, the Scottish Government does not h…
21 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the support that it can provide to hairdressing businesses towards (a) training apprentices and (b) the recruitment and retention of staff, including what assistance it can offer to reduce the cost of this.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government provides funding support for Modern Apprenticeships via Skills Development Scotland, who provide a contribution to the costs of training and assessing modern apprentices. This includes hairdressing and barbering at SCQF levels 5 and 6.…
15 Jan 2026 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the total number of existing (a) residential, (b) commercial and (c) industrial properties that are considered at risk of flooding, based on SEPA's use of the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 emissions scenario, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA recently completed an update to their National Flood Risk Assessment. This was summarised in their December 2025 National Flood Risk Assessment 2025 report.The report includes data on the number of properties at risk in a medium risk current day scenario…
16 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average cost of flood insurance for existing residential properties in circumstances where SEPA's high emissions scenario has placed the homes in an area that is deemed to be at a high risk of flooding.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the specific costs of flood insurance for residential properties. Insurance premiums are set by individual insurers who use commercial risk maps, developed by a number of providers, for pricing purposes.SEP…
16 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with SEPA over its adoption of Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, in which a global temperature rise of 4.3 degrees centigrade is anticipated, as set out in the document, Climate change allowances for flood risk assessment in land use planning Version 6,…
Answer · Gillian Martin: SEPA has a statutory duty to reduce overall flood risk and will provide advice accordingly to planning authorities in its role as a statutory consultee on development proposals. SEPA’s guidance has been taken forward with an approach consistent with adv…
14 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the evidential basis is for the Scottish Medicines Consortium's decision not to approve the use of the targeted treatment (a) elacestrant and (b) capivasertib for secondary breast cancer, in light of the drug being approved for use in the NHS in England, Wale…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The SMC | Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers. Making decisions about whether or not to recommend that people should routinely have access to new medicines is a complex task, and the independent SMC …
14 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) regarding its decision not to approve the targeted treatment (a) elacestrant and (b) capivasertib for secondary breast cancer, and what information it has on the SMC's reasons for not approving the use of each drug …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The SMC | Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly licensed medicines at a population level, ensuring value for both the NHS in Scotland and ta…
12 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been promoted to a senior leadership position within secondary schools, including (a) headteachers, (b) deputy headteachers and (c) principal teachers, who have completed a formal management training programme to support them in the discharge of their increased res…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Statistics on the overall number of teachers in promoted posts are published as part of the teacher census statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/The Scottish Go…
24 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding Creative Scotland has provided, through the funding programmes it manages, including those where the finance is provided by the National Lottery, for South Asian productions in (a) each of the last three full financial years and (b) 2025-26 to da…
Answer · Angus Robertson: A ‘South Asian production’ is a broad term which could span various languages, countries, art forms, and cultural contexts.Generally the region is defined to include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.Regarding or…
24 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any funding applications that Creative Scotland has received to support South Asian productions through the funding programmes that it manages, including those where the finance is provided by the National Lottery, how many applications in total there have been that were initi…
Answer · Angus Robertson: A ‘South Asian production’ is a broad term which could span various languages, countries, art forms, and cultural contexts.Generally the region is defined to include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.Regarding or…
24 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding funding programmes managed by Creative Scotland, including those where the finance is provided by the National Lottery, how many applications in total have been submitted for South Asian productions in (a) each of the last three full financial years and (b) 2025-26 to date, an…
Answer · Angus Robertson: A ‘South Asian production’ is a broad term which could span various languages, countries, art forms, and cultural contexts.Generally the region is defined to include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.Regarding or…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for each of the 21 recommendations in the report Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review that it decided not to accept, what the reasons were in each case for the decision not to implement the recommendation.
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41296 on 10 November 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-committ…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for each of the 21 recommendations in the report Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review that it decided to accept, whether it will set out the evidence in each case that demonstrates that the recommendation has been implemented.
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41296 on 10 November 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-committ…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 21 listed recommendations in the report, Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review, which of the recommendations it (a) accepted and (b) rejected.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government did not reject any of the recommendations from the Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review.Recommendations 1, 2 and 5 were about how similar case record reviews might be conducted, and in particular how they might be conducted in a more c…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for each of the 46 recommendations in the report An Investigative Review into the process of establishing, managing and supporting Independent Reviewsin Scotland that it decided not to accept, what the reasons were in each case for the decision not to implement the recommendation.
Answer · Angela Constance: The reasons are set out below.Dedicated administrative support unit within the Scottish Government to support all commissioned reviews (recommendations 3 and 40)From both logistical and governance perspectives, the Directorate responsible for the subject matt…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, for each of the 46 recommendations in the report An Investigative Review into the process of establishing, managing and supporting Independent Reviewsin Scotland that it decided to accept, whether it will set out the evidence in each case that demonstrates that the recommendation has be…
Answer · Angela Constance: Set out below are the Scottish Government's responses to the accepted recommendations.Chapter 1: Background and Process1. We recommend that appropriate data on the frequency and nature of ‘Commissioning Inquiries, Reviews and Panels’ is collected,…
13 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 46 listed recommendations in the report, An Investigative Review into the process of establishing, managing and supporting IndependentReviews in Scotland, which of the recommendations it (a) accepted and (b) rejected.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government accepted the vast majority of the report’s recommendations, but after due consideration the Government did not accept the following:Dedicated administrative support unit within the Scottish Government to support all commissioned …
30 Sep 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding its proposals for an "at-city-boundary congestion charge" and a toll on the Clyde Tunnel.
11 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further analysis it has made of the recommendations in the Patient Safety Commissioner report, The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, for mesh injured women to receive compensation through (a) an interim an…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Hughes report was commissioned by the UK Government and was concerned in the first place with patients in England. But patients across the UK were affected by transvaginal mesh and by valproate, and this is acknowledged by the UK Government. The Scottish …
25 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any formal requirement is placed on NHS boards to record the age of all GP premises in their geographical regions as part of preparing property strategies for investment prioritisation and for this information to be directly communicated to ministers.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS boards record the age and condition of their estates as a matter of standard practice.
25 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend The Primary Medical Services - (Premises Development Grants, Improvement Grants and Premises Costs) Directions 2004 to introduce guidance for NHS boards to consider marking projects as a priority for funding based on (a) the age of an existing premises, for example,…
Answer · Neil Gray: Paragraph 8 in part 2 of the Primary Medical Services (Premises Development Grants, Improvement Grants and Premises Costs) Directions 2004 sets out that:Health Boards must have in place a plan for the development of premises to support the provision of Primar…