Parliamentary questions
Rachael Hamilton
1,432 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all NHS boards can accurately measure total patient waiting times for treatment and what the timeline is for implementing systems that allow full patient data linkage.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40963 on 17 October 2025.The Scottish Government is not aware of any NHS Scotland Health Board that cannot accurately measure total patient waiting times for treatment.All answers to written Parliamentary Quest…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average and longest waiting times are for cataract surgery, when calculated from initial referral to completion of treatment, in the most recent year for which data is available and broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.Public Health Scotland (PHS), as Scotland’s national public health body for the purpose of intelligence and analysis, is responsible for sourcing waiting times data from hospital administrative syst…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Public Health Scotland has paused the 18 weeks referral-to-treatment standard reporting, and what steps are being taken to address any underlying data quality issues.
Answer · Neil Gray: The 18 weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) standard is one of a number of targets set by the Scottish Government for access to hospital services.The decision by Public Health Scotland (PHS) to pause RTT collection and reporting is consistent with the Scottish G…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards are currently unable to link outpatient and inpatient data in order to provide a complete record of patient pathways from referral to treatment.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is not aware of any NHS Scotland Health Board that is unable to link outpatient and inpatient data in order to provide a complete record of patient pathways from referral to treatment.As stated in my response to question S6W-40967 on 1…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an an update on its public consultation on the role of Permitted Development Rights in delivering more high-quality homes.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government launched a public consultation on Permitted development rights to support the provision of new homes on 3 September 2025. The consultation closes on 27 October 2025. The consultation sets out a range of options to simplify planning pro…
17 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with community groups that have raised concerns regarding the proliferation of energy infrastructure, including pylons, battery energy storage systems and wind farms.
10 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its ongoing review of the guidance on the mothballing of nurseries.
1 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many publicly operated electric vehicle (EV) charge points have been installed in the Scottish Borders in each year since 2015.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The UK Government regulates public electric vehicle (EV) charging and publishes Official Statistics on public charging infrastructure on a quarterly basis by local authority area. The most recent data was published in April this year and showed 109 public cha…
1 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund has been allocated to the Scottish Borders.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Since 2011, the Scottish Government has provided over £65 million to support the development of public EV charging across Scotland. As a direct result of this funding, and increasing private sector investment, Scotland now has over 6,900 public charge p…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new build homes have been (a) started and (b) completed in the Scottish Borders in each year since 2003.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes started and completed throughout Scotland, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scotFigures specific to new …
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government have many private sector-led houses have been (a) started and (b) completed in the Scottish Borders in each year since 2003.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes started and completed throughout Scotland, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scotFigures specific to priv…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38295 by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2025, how much of the £39 million has been awarded to NHS Borders.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has provided funding of £70,100 to NHS Borders to support the thrombectomy service to the end of financial year 2024-25. A further £115,495 has now been provided in financial year 2025-26 to support the referral of patients…
25 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38295 by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2025, when it expects to publish a plan on service expansion.
Answer · Jenni Minto: As indicated in the answer to S6W-38295, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion. While there is not a specific date for publication, we expect the next steps…
18 Jun 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local stakeholders regarding the protection of wild goats in the Scottish Borders.
18 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often it plans to review its code of practice for regenerative agriculture once published, and how it will engage stakeholders on their views ahead of these updates.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: A preliminary version of the Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture which has been co-developed with the industry was launched on 19th June at the Royal Highland Show.This is an opportunity to gather real world feedback from the industry…
18 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate the adoption of soil health measures on farms.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government is supporting our farmers and crofters to maintain and enhance their soil healthBy understanding their current soil health, farmers and crofters can identify and action opportunities for improvements that work for their businesses. Tha…
18 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of the final code of practice for regenerative agriculture, and when it expects it to be laid before the Scottish Parliament.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 introduces new requirements including the publication of a Rural Support Plan and a Code of Practice on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture. The Code must be published within 1 year of section 29 …
11 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many licences for gull management were awarded in Eyemouth for 2025.
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is being offered to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the reported 14 community fire stations across Scotland that are affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), including Hawick Fire Station.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government has increased the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Capital budget by £4 million in 2025-26 to £43 million. Decisions on how that budget allocation should be spent, between buildings, fleet and equipment is a matter f…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its ministers have met with representatives of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to discuss the ongoing service delivery review.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: I regularly meet with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Chief Officer and Board Chair to discuss a variety of matters including the SFRS Strategic Service Review. I last met with the Chief Officer and Chair on 19 June 2025.
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether a national impact assessment has been conducted in relation to any fire risk of battery energy storage system applications and developments, and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding this issue.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Scottish Government holds regular discussions with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) about Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites. SFRS continually review and develop their operational response to any new and emerging technology to keep communit…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the fire and rescue coverage in rural areas, and how Scottish Fire and Rescue Service proposals would impact on rural communities.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The provision of fire and rescue activity is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).SFRS will be consulting on a range of options for change as part of its Strategic Service Review at the end of June. As SFRS delivers its servic…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the role of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in responding to non-fire related incidents, such as flooding, road traffic collisions, and medical emergencies.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government’s assessment of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) response to any incidents is informed by regular engagement (at various levels between SFRS and the Scottish Government), annual and mid-year performance reviews…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35709 by Siobhian Brown on 21 March 2025, what support would be available to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service if it were to request to become a statutory consultee in planning processes involving battery energy storage systems.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: We do not have plans at this stage to ask SFRS to become a statutory consultee in planning processes for these sites however, we will of course continue discussions with SFRS on this matter as and when appropriate.SFRS have outlined they continually review an…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what types of participation are measured in the Annual Participation Measure.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Annual Participation Measure is published by Skills Development Scotland and uses the following classifications:Participating Status GroupingAnnual Participation StatusParticipating (Education)School PupilParticipating (Education)Higher EducationParticipa…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of Annual ParticipationMeasure data in the Scottish Borders since 2015.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Annual Participation Measure is published by Skills Development Scotland. This publication began in 2016. The Scottish Borders local authority data is available in supplementary table 1.7a – https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/publications-s…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposals outlined in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s service delivery review.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government supports the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) as it carefully considers how to adapt to the changing risks to remain effective and efficient, with firefighters in the right place at the right time.SFRS is undertaking a Strategic…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the national average participation level has been inthe Annual Participation Measure since 2015.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Annual Participation Measure is published by Skills Development Scotland. This publication began in 2016. The national average participation level is included in several tables, including supplementary table 1.1a – https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotl…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each year since 2010, broken down by (a) capital and (b) resource budget.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was established on 1 April 2013 so 2013-14 is the first year of funding allocation. The allocations provided to SFRS in the annual budget Acts were as follows:YearResourceDepreciationCapitalTotal13-14277.222.015.331…
11 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that the mental health and wellbeing of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service staff is supported, in light of the service delivery review proposals.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has had extensive engagement with staff who could be impacted by the Service Delivery options for change. A full 12 week public consultation will take place from the end of June where staff, stakeholders and member …