Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times its Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team has been deployed to support businesses in each year since 2009.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government provides support to individuals facing redundancy through our initiative Partnership Action for Continuing Employment, PACE. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected…
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many school additional support needs professionals there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: All teachers are responsible for supporting pupils with additional support needs, not just those teachers whose role is specifically related to additional support for learning.Statistics on teachers with a main subject relating to additional support needs are…
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings with cladding have had the Single Building Assessment completed.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Information relating to the number of buildings which have undergone a Single Building Assessment is published on the Scottish Government’s website as Official Statistics in development on a monthly and quarterly basis.
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many buildings with cladding have had remedial works carried out as a result of the Single Building Assessment.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Information relating to the number of buildings which have had remedial works carried out as a result of a Single Building Assessment is published on the Scottish Government’s website as Official Statistics in development on a monthly and quarterly basi…
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding the evacuation of classrooms due to disruptive behaviour from pupils, and how many times classrooms have been evacuated due to such behaviour in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The safety of young people and staff in school is of paramount importance.The Scottish Government’s approach to relationships and behaviour in schools is focussed on prevention and de-escalation of concerns. There are a number of strategies schools can …
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional credits for college courses have been delivered as part of the just transition in each year since 2019, broken down by college.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Supporting Scotland’s workforce to develop the skills needed for the transition to Net Zero is a key priority for this Government, with colleges playing a pivotal role.To enable delivery, the Scottish Funding Council allocates an annual credit threshold…
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been placed in adult services in each year since 1999.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring Scotland’s system is one where children are first and foremost treated as children, with their rights and wellbeing at the heart of all decisions with, for, and about them. There are many reasons why chil…
6 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional support needs professionals have been registered in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the registration of additional support needs professionals. Information on the registration of teachers is managed by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many men have received screening for prostate cancer in each year since 1999, broken down by age group.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this data.There is no screening programme for prostate cancer in Scotland.
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many veterans have declared themselves homeless in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The number of homelessness applications from former members of the armed forces, broken down by local authority, is published in Table 2 (T2) of the Veteran homelessness workbook available on the Scottish Government homelessness statistics webpage here:Homele…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of congestion charges on businesses.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”) provides a discretionary power for local authorities to implement local road user charging schemes. It will be for local authorities to undertake any required assessments if they consider a road u…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Ministers will update Parliament on the progress to deliver the Sheriffhall roundabout upgrade project.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government continues to support the promotion of improvements to Sheriffhall Roundabout as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal.Following publication of the draft Orders and Environme…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on patients paying a congestion charge to access health services.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41574 on 7 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…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop new pathways for children and young people to access autism and ADHD assessments in schools.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and providing funding to local authorities and NHS Health Boards to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. …
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop a national prostate cancer screening programme.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government, along with all other UK nations, relies on advice about screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. The UK NSC does not currently recommend prostate screening, and ther…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Ministers will provide an update to Parliament on plans to extend the support provided to unpaid carers after the person they have cared for dies.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were passed by Parliament on 5 November 2025. From 15 March 2026, they extend entitlement to Carer Support Pa…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of congestion charges on lower paid workers who drive.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41574 on 7 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…
29 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions NHS boards have been placed in escalation status in each year since 1999.
Answer · Neil Gray: The NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework (formerly known as the Performance Escalation Framework) has existed in its current form with five separate stages since 2016. A description of the Framework and the current position on territorial NHS Board…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what targeted approaches it is using to identify undiagnosed people living with the hepatitis C virus.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to expanding access to hepatitis C testing across all NHS Board areas, as part of our blood borne virus (BBV) elimination efforts. The latest surveillance report from Public Health Scotland shows that the numbe…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its paper, Sexual health and blood borne virus action plan: 2023 to 2026, to achieve "the elimination of HCV [the hepatitis C virus] as a public health concern in Scotland by the end of the 2024/25 financial year", what progress was made toward me…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Progress towards eliminating hepatitis C (HCV) in Scotland is monitored by Public Health Scotland (PHS). PHS’s latest HCV surveillance report, published in January 2025, described progress as “hugely encouraging”. For example, there was evid…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is measuring the impact of opt-out testing in A&E departments on the prevalence of (a) blood borne viruses and (b) the hepatitis C virus, and the subsequent uptake of treatment.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has commissioned Public Health Scotland to lead national-level monitoring and evaluation of the Emergency Department Opt-Out Testing programme. This evaluation will include both quantitative and qualitative components to assess the pro…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been delivered in foster carers allowances in each local authority area since 1999.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities are responsible for paying foster carers’ allowances. Prior to the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance in August 2023, the Scottish Government had no role…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what out-of-hours pharmacy services are available for vulnerable patients to access prescriptions at weekends.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Each Health Board is responsible for the provision of community pharmacy services, including at weekends. Through Health Board Pharmaceutical Care Plans, community pharmacies provide a range of additional national services and locally enhanced services, inclu…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve access to pharmacies at weekends.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The provision on community pharmaceutical care is the responsibility of territorial health boards. Each Health Board has in place a Pharmaceutical Care Service Plan which outlines how the Health Board deliver pharmaceutical services to its population, focusin…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the projected cost is of the Musselburgh Flood Defence Scheme.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Local authorities are responsible for developing and delivering flood protection schemes, and the Scottish Government provides funding to support them to do so.Local authorities provide Scottish Government with annual updates to projected spend profiles for f…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the rate of support in foster carers allowances is in each local authority area.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities are responsible for paying foster carers’ allowances and may choose to pay above the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA).Local authorities are expected to publish their…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many prescriptions have been issued by weekend pharmacy services in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jenni Minto: It is not possible to determine the number of prescription items dispensed by community pharmacies at weekends, since 1999, using existing data.The annual Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis publication, managed by Public Health Scotland, provid…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many modern language teachers, broken down by language taught, each local authority has employed in each year since 2007.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Statistics on teachers by main subject taught, including modern languages, are available in the teacher census supplementary statistics, available on the Scottish Government website here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statisti…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been committed to flood defence schemes in each year since 1999.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Since 2008, the Scottish Government has funded local authorities through the general capital grant to invest in flood protection and resilience measures. That funding is outlined in the following table.The majority of funding available to councils is provided…
10 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on STV News at Six on 9 September 2025 that “Chronic pain sufferers have a debilitating condition that has a chronic impact on their entire ability to live life well. That is why we are investing across th…
Answer · Jenni Minto: We are investing £200 million across the health and social care system to increase capacity and reduce backlogs. For chronic pain services, this investment will support Health Boards to create additional appointments and strengthen the flow of patients …