Parliamentary questions
Brian Whittle
810 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance the Energy Consents Unit applies to distinguish between joint or template-based and individual objections to developments.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Energy Consents Unit formally recognises any external organisation providing paid or unpaid support to facilitate the submission of public objections to energy developments, and, if so, what form this recognition takes.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Energy Consents Unit does not formally recognise any organisation involved in the submission of representations regarding applications.All submissions received by the ECU are treated in the same manner, provided that they meet the requirements as set out …
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the policy of the Energy Consents Unit is in regard to the treatment of objections submitted by members of the public in which the content appears to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the policy of the Energy Consents Unit is in regard to the treatment of objections submitted by multiple members of the public containing substantially identical text and only minor, non-substantive, alterations.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the policy of the Energy Consents Unit is in regard to the treatment of objections submitted by multiple members of the public using template-based text.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 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-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the policy of the Energy Consents Unit is in regard to the treatment of objections submitted by members of the public.
Answer · Gillian Martin: All material considerations raised in representations and submitted by members of the public are carefully considered before reaching a decision on the application.This is the case whether or not a representation has been created using template-based text, su…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Royal College of Psychiatrists' recent report, Multi-system solutions for meeting the needs of autistic people and people with ADHD in Scotland.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government welcomes the Royal College of Psychiatry’s report on meeting the needs of autistic people and people with ADHD in Scotland.The Scottish Government agrees with the College, that the demand for neurodevelopmental assessment and sup…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage the uptake of flu vaccines by frontline health workers, in light of reports from Public Health Scotland that vaccination rates among these workers have fallen to 35%.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Improving uptake in this group is a key focus for Ministers and for the Scottish Vaccination & Immunisation Programme (SVIP). By improving vaccination in this group, staff are protected, onward transmission to colleagues and patients is reduced, all of wh…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding whether, at its commencement, its COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme for winter 2025-26 was fully resourced with regard to staffing and vaccine availability.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Territorial Health Boards are responsible for assessing and planning for the workforce required to deliver their programme locally. Scotland’s winter vaccination programme for Covid-19 and flu is delivered as part of the Scottish Vaccination and Immunis…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date all NHS boards will have received their full stock of the (a) COVID-19 and (b) flu vaccine for public immunisation programmes.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Health Boards do not receive their entire stock in one delivery. Instead, they draw down stock based on demand in order to minimise wastage and optimise on-site capacity.COVID-19 vaccines have been available for Boards to order since 8 September, for the COVI…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of flu in the winter 2024-25 period on NHS staff absence rates, and how this compares with the (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2022-23 and (d) 2023-24 period.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government receives NHS Scotland sickness absence management information on a fortnightly basis, but this data does not include detailed absence reasons. This sickness absence data enables us to review and compare against the known seasonal patte…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it anticipates that the majority of adult vaccinations for (a) COVID-19 and (b) flu will be completed in 2025.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Health Boards will ensure that all eligible adults are given the opportunity to receive their COVID-19 and flu vaccinations by Sunday 7 December 2025. This is to ensure that as many eligible individuals as possible are vaccinated at least 2 weeks prior to the…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date eligible over-75s will have received their option of an appointment date for the (a) COVID-19 and (b) flu vaccination.
Answer · Jenni Minto: All those aged 75 years and over are eligible for both flu and COVID-19 vaccination, and will be offered both vaccines at the same appointment. Invitations for these cohorts will have been sent out by the start of November.Additionally, in October, the Scotti…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that vaccination rates are returning to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels for over-65s, and what steps it is taking to encourage their uptake of the winter (a) flu and (b) COVID-19 vaccine programme in 2025-26.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Between winter 2023-24 and winter 2024-25 uptake across all adult groups for both flu and COVID-19 decreased, with flu uptake dropping back in line with pre-pandemic levels.Each year, the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) reviews the perf…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the rising number of older people in Scotland, due to its ageing population, with regard to resourcing its adult (a) spring and (b) winter COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Scotland’s spring and winter vaccination programmes for flu and COVID-19 are implemented as part of the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) - a collaborative effort involving the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, and Health…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making flu vaccination mandatoryfor all public-facing NHS staff.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has no plans to consider making flu vaccination mandatory for any eligible groups, including public-facing NHS staff.There is evidence that mandatory vaccination damages confidence in vaccination and provokes a negative reaction in tho…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to shift the start of the winter COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme for adults in 2026 from September to October, what operational changes it has made to the delivery of the programme to ensure that i…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), in its minutes of 10 October 2023, advised that the adult flu programme should run from the beginning of October to the end of November, with Health Boards able to apply flexibility as appropriate.Th…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a paid expedited Protecting Vulnerable Groups application service under Disclosure Scotland, in light of reported delays impacting businesses' and voluntary organisations' operations.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Disclosure Scotland’s fees are set by secondary legislation and do not provide for offering an expedited service at additional cost. This ensures that all customers receive the same level of service.Disclosure Scotland’s Service Level Agreement (S…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for businesses and voluntary organisations impacted by the reported Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme processing delays.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Disclosure Scotland is currently performing back within its service level agreement to process 90% of applications within 14 days.Improvements have been ma…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reintroducing supervised working for individuals with a pending Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, in light of reported delays in PVG processing.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: There has never been a provision in law for supervised working while organisations were waiting to obtain a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme record. Until 1 April 2025, the PVG scheme was not a legal requirement therefore organisations could choose t…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average, (b) median and (c) longest processing time has been for Protecting Vulnerable Groups disclosures in each month since January 2025 to date.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Month PVG application completed inAverage processing time (days)Median processing time (days)Longest processing time (days)January 20258.17.640.3February 2…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it gave to the staffing levels at Disclosure Scotland prior to the introduction of the Scottish Statutory Instruments under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, which introduced a requirement for all employees in regulated roles to obtain a new Protecting Vulnerable Gro…
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:There has never been a provision in law for supervised working while organisations were waiting to obtain a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme recor…
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, when introducing a requirement for all employees in regulated roles to obtain a new Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) disclosure for each new employer under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, what consideration it gave to the potential impact of such a policy on seasonal work, such as…
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Employees already in regulated roles on 1 April 2025 and whose employer had received a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme record did not need to obtain a new Level 2 with PVG disclosure. Only people who were in regulated roles whose employer had never …
7 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that it will publish its health andsocial care winter preparedness plan for 2025-26.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government will set out its approach to winter preparedness for 2025/26 in due course. This will include the publication of the planning document National Planning Priorities and Principles for Surge and Winter Preparedness in Health and Social C…
6 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of the launch of MyCare.scot, Scotland’s new health and social care online app, when it anticipates that NHS patients will be able to re-order prescriptions via the app.
Answer · Neil Gray: I can confirm that enabling people to re-order prescriptions are a core part of the plans for future functionality of MyCare.scot. Scotland’s Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme (DPDP) is a critical dependency for this functionality. The full b…
6 Oct 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the mental health budget has been reduced in the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision.
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement and collaboration it has had with (a) COSLA and (b) individual local authorities in the development of the MyCare.scot app.
Answer · Neil Gray: COSLA and Scottish Government, along with NES, are working together to develop and deliver MyCare.scot. COSLA are joint owners of our Digital Health and Care Strategy and previously committed to supporting delivery of the Digital Front Door Programme and by e…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement and collaboration it has had with (a) integration joint boards and (b) health and social care partnerships in the development of the MyCare.scot app.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) as a lead partner for the delivery of the Digital Front Door (DFD) Programme, including MyCare.scot, and NES are engaging with a range of stakeholders in the development of MyCare.scot and DFD. Tha…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its recent announcement regarding the MyCare.scot app, whether any interoperability barriers of the different IT systems have been overcome.
Answer · Neil Gray: It has been a critical aim of the Scottish Government over a number of years to improve interoperability within health and social care. We recently passed the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, which includes the introduction of mandatory information standards …
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app aligns with its ambition to establish a single digital platform for the NHS, and when that technology will be available in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scotland’s National Digital Platform (NDP) brings together cloud-based digital components and services. The technology available on the platform will improve consistency of access to core digital tools in the health and care system. MyCare.scot will mak…