Jeremy Balfour

10 Mar 2026 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the current levels of Pupil Support Assistant staffing in schools to support pupils with Additional Support for Learning are adequate, including steps required where shortages exist.

19 Feb 2026 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to invest £10 million to increase the number of Changing Places toilets across Scotland.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Access to toilet facilities is a fundamental human right. Changing Places Toilets (CPT) offer a vital facility for people with disabilities and their families and carers whose needs cannot be met through standard accessible toilet provision.The Scottish Gover…

17 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an (a) Equality Impact Assessment and (b) Economic Impact Assessment has been carried out for the bird gathering general licence, and, if so, whether it has been made public.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Bird Gathering General Licence is applied in accordance with Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/263 article 4(4) and 6(2), and with article 4 of The Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Order 2007 and is therefore subject to a…

17 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether regulations rectifying the oversight whereby children in receipt of the Scottish Child Disability Payment were not receiving an exemption under the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 will be introduced before the end of the current parliamentary session.

29 Jan 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a year having passed since it paused researcher access to the 2021-22 Scottish Government Health and Wellbeing Census, following ethical concerns about the way that sensitive personal data from over 130,000 school children in 16 local authorities had been gathered without pa…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has deleted all versions of the 2021-22 Health and Wellbeing Census dataset held internally. All onward data recipients, both internal and external, have deleted their copies of these datasets.

27 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated in its draft Budget 2026-27 to replace the Investing Communities Fund when the current funding ends in March 2026.

16 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) adult and (b) child disability payment tribunals the Social Security Scotland tribunal system has heard in the calendar year 2025; how many have been held (i) in person, (ii) online, (ii) by telephone and (iv) by correspondence, and what information it can provide regarding …

Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

9 Dec 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm that it will not allocate any further funding to the extension of the tram network in Edinburgh.

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of healthcare visits, including GP visits, children and young people under the age of 25 are making before they receive a cancer diagnosis compared to older adults, and what action is being taken to reduce diagnostic delays for this age group.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold data for the number of healthcare visits, including GP visits, children and young people under the age of 25 are making before they receive a cancer diagnosis compared to older adults.The Collaborative and Compassionate C…

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards ensuring that the experiences of children and young people under the age of 16 with cancer are captured, for example through the implementation of a dedicated under-16 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

Answer · Neil Gray: Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC), who are responsible for the implementation of…

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the release of the 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) results and the survey having not run in 2021 as expected, (a) when the next CPES will be conducted, and (b) what steps are being taken to ensure that the SCPES data is available by…

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) is vital in proving information on improving our understanding of peoples experiences as they navigate their own cancer pathway. Findings published from the 2024 survey show that for those aged 16 and over…

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will use any learnings from the independent review of Adult Disability Payment and apply them, as appropriate, to Child Disability Payment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government commissioned the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) to ensure the benefit continues to meet the needs of disabled people in Scotland. We appreciate the comprehensive recommendations it provides on how Adult Disability…

8 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendation of the independent review of Adult Disability Payment to give consideration to granting automatic entitlement to Adult Disability Payment when a person satisfies certain conditions or is in receipt of other forms of assistance without having t…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government commissioned the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment to ensure the benefit continues to meet the needs of disabled people in Scotland. We appreciate the comprehensive recommendations this report provides for how we may impro…

26 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the decision by the Motability scheme to end the availability of "premium" vehicles, such as BMW and Mercedes cars, for purchase through the scheme will apply in Scotland.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Motability has taken the decision to remove BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, and Alfa Romeo vehicles from the Scheme immediately for new orders, including in Scotland. Customers will keep their existing vehicles until their lease is due for renewal and existing or…

30 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the park being managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and regulated under the Holyrood Park Regulations 1971, what discussions it has had, or plans to have, with HES regarding by what date Duddingston Low Road in Holyrood Park can be fully re-opened; what work i…

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government would like to see this site open and accessible for the public to enjoy, however it is vital that this only happens when it is safe to do so. Since Duddingston Low Road was closed in February 2025, there have been six instances of rock…

26 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has indicated, as a response to the correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care regarding the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, whether it agrees with the Scottish Government position that the Bill is outside the …

Answer · Neil Gray: Officials are engaging with UK Government counterparts with regard to the legislative competence of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill and discussions on proposals to resolve the issues the Scottish Government has raised are ongoing.…

26 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sought legal advice from the Lord Advocate regarding the legislative competence of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government decisions are informed by appropriate analysis of any legal considerations. All legal advice is confidential. It is a long-established convention that legal advice provided to the Scottish Government is not disclosed, and that the Scottish…

23 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is a requirement for a second angiographic suite to be built at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to enable a 24/7 thrombectomy service, and what plans there are to build such a suite.

Answer · Jenni Minto: A commitment to a round-the-clock thrombectomy service was set out in our Stroke Improvement Plan and this remains our aim for the thrombectomy service.Work is ongoing to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This…

23 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Public Health Scotland Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report suggesting that, in the last year, on admission to hospital, only 56% of stroke patients in NHS Lothian received the most basic levels of care for the condition, which is known as "the stroke …

Answer · Jenni Minto: We expect NHS Health Boards, including NHS Lothian, to identify aspects of their stroke services which do not meet the Scottish Standards and to work to improve their standards of care locally.Every NHS Board now has an accountable senior individual responsib…

22 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to expand access to specialist migraine care through community and primary care services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.The Scottish Government funded £221,176 to the Migraine Trust across 2022-2024 to work upskilling community, primary and secondary care pharmacists acros…

16 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40302 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 September 2025, regarding Adult Disability Payment (ADP) reviews, whether it will confirm the financial cost to Social Security Scotland of conducting the 142,100 reviews of claimants transferred from…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland does not hold information regarding the financial cost of conducting reviews of awards at this level.While 79% of reviews resulted in no change to the award, the review process remains a key part of ensuring that awards are accurate a…

2 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Adult Disability claimants transferred from PIP have received a reassessment of their claim, and what the outcomes were of any such reassessment, including the percentage of claims that have (a) increased, (b) decreased and (c) remained the same. 

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland is committed to transparency and accountability and routinely publishes statistics on its benefits, including Adult Disability Payment reviews in its quarterly Adult Disability Payment Official Statistics publication.As of 30 April 20…

18 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the new Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations, which will raise the audit income threshold for charities registered in Scotland from £500,000 to £1 million, will be introduced and come into force.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39506 on 8 August 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-committees…

13 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when section 8 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 will be implemented.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to implementing all relevant elements of the 2023 Act. Section 8 of the Bail and Release From Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 will be implemented as soon as is practicable.The sections of the Act are being commenced at differe…

13 Aug 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason section 8 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 has not yet been implemented.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to implementing all elements of the Bail and Release (Scotland) Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”).The sections of the Act are being commenced at different times, with the timeline being influenced by multiple factors, …

17 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the report, Older People’s Economic Wellbeing Index: Scotland 2024–25, by Independent Age, which found that almost one in four (24%) older people with a health condition are not aware of Pension Age Disability Payment or its predecessor, Attendance Allo…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone takes up the support to which they are entitled and has worked closely with stakeholders in designing Pension Age Disability Payment and promoting take-up.This includes ensuring that people can ap…

17 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Older People’s Economic Wellbeing Index: Scotland 2024–25, by Independent Age, which found that almost one third (32%) of older people with a health condition have skipped meals because of costs and that 58% of people with a healt…

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government’s A Fairer Scotland for Older People: framework for action contains a dedicated strand focused on activity we are undertaking to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age. The framework and actions within it …

6 Jun 2025 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the removal of dangerous building cladding, in light of the recent publications by Scotland’s Cladding Remediation Programme.

2 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated value is of the contribution that disabled people make to the Scottish economy annually.

27 May 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, when the homelessness prevention pilots will commence.