Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39896 by Angus Robertson on 27 August 2025, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether the topic of Scottish independence was discussed in the meeting between the First Minister and the President of the European Commission on 26 July 2025.
Answered by Robertson, Angus - Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
As previously noted to Mr Eagle, the First Minister and President Von der Leyen met on 26 July, holding a cordial and substantive discussion on Scottish and European interests. A minute of this meeting is available at: First Minister meeting with President of the European Commission: FOI release - gov.scot
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to amending NHS fertility guidelines to ensure that embryo creation and implantation remain funded when privately sourced donor eggs are used, provided that they meet UK safety and quality standards, in order to eliminate any discrimination against couples based solely on the origin of donor gametes.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to meet the needs of couples who are eligible for NHS fertility treatment and require donor gametes (eggs and sperm) for that treatment. We have always been clear that couples who are eligible for NHS fertility treatment should not pay for any aspect of their treatment, and this includes the purchase and use of donor gametes.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recently reported finding by the General Medical Council of an increase in the frequency of care failings in Scotland compared with a reduction in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39938 on 4 September 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/written-questions-and-answers.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have died or suffered serious harm in the past five years in circumstances linked to delays in emergency or corridor care.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as Public Health Scotland does not collect this data.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the General Medical Council’s finding that Scotland performed worse than the UK average in 2024 on patient safety, and what it is doing to reverse this trend.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government welcomes the findings from the General Medical Council Report, and we will ensure any concerns raised are fully considered and addressed.
The Scottish Government meets regularly with Boards and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to discuss what actions can be taken to continue to build on the programmes of work already in place to improve the quality and safety of care delivered to patients in Scotland and to ensure a co-ordinated and holistic approach. These programmes and legislation include;
In addition, the Scottish Government introduced legislation for a Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland. Scotland’s first Patient Safety Commissioner, Karen Titchener, took up her post on 1 September.
A Quality and Safety Sub-group of the NHS Scotland Executive Group, chaired by Dr John Harden, Scottish Government National Clinical Lead for Quality and Safety, meets regularly to review data and reports from across the system, including the above programmes, to support improvement in the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided by NHS Scotland.
Asked by: Carson, Finlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Galloway and West Dumfries)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to reduce diagnostic delays for brain tumour patients.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
Scottish Government recognises that diagnosing brain cancer can be challenging as symptoms are wide-ranging and often vague.
Through our Cancer strategy 2023 to 2033 - gov.scot and initial three year Cancer action plan 2023 to 2026 - gov.scot published in June 2023, a new Earlier Cancer Diagnosis Vision was developed. This vision aims to reduce later stage disease by 18 percentage points in 10 years’ time, with a focus on reducing the health inequalities gap, including for those with brain tumours.
Actions and resources to aid this vision include the Get Checked Early and NHS Inform websites, which highlight the possible symptoms of brain tumours, encouraging individuals to contact their General Practice for early detection and referrals.
In August 2025, Scottish Government published the updated Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer. These guidelines support primary care clinicians to identify those with symptoms suspicious of cancer and identify those who require urgent assessment by a specialist and for the first time, the guideline includes an update to the guidance for urgent referral for suspected brain tumours
Other resources to support primary care also include:
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of residents being placed in care homes more than two hours from family and wider support networks.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Although we have overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning, providing appropriate social care capacity at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and integrated Health and Social Care Partnerships.
It is, therefore, vital that these local authorities assess local population needs and target their investment where it’s needed to improve the social care infrastructure and access to care within their relevant area for current and future population needs.
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that care is delivered as close to home as possible, recognising that strong family and community connections are vital to individuals’ health and wellbeing. Local authorities should take this into account when planning and commissioning care packages, prioritising arrangements that support proximity to loved ones and familiar environments.
We are committed to developing a sustainable health and social care system in Scotland that ensures people get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Asked by: Villalba, Mercedes (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, whether it will list the criteria underpinning Crown Estate Scotland’s assessment process in administering seabed leasing for (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
The assessment process for seabed leasing for offshore wind and other marine renewable developments and the criteria that underpins that process, is a matter for Crown Estate Scotland.
The criteria underpinning the awarding of seabed option agreements by Crown Estate Scotland varies by leasing round and sector. In general, the awards process focuses on ensuring the organisation applying for the agreement has the experience and resources necessary to take the project through to completion. In competitive processes, this information will also be used as the basis for choosing between applications for the same area of seabed.
As an example, the ScotWind Leasing process required provision of the following categories of information from applicants:
i. Project Concept and Feasibility
ii. Project Delivery Plans
iii. Experience and capability of the Lead applicant and Project Partners
iv. Development budget
v. Financial strength
vi. Commitment and preparedness
In addition, Crown Estate Scotland requires confirmation that the applicant is not in breach of any laws or sanctions regimes, with that confirmation being provided by a Statement of Commitment signed by a duly authorised officer of the company.
Crown Estate Scotland is committed to the Fair Work Framework and its underlying principles. With regard to seabed leasing, they require a Statement of Commitment and, for the most recent leasing round (INTOG), the Statement of Commitment required inclusion of a commitment to adopting Fair Work First practices.
Crown Estate Scotland has confirmed that similar commitments will be a requirement of future leasing activities on both offshore wind and marine energy award processes.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of dog thefts reported in each or the last five years, and how many of those dogs reported stolen were reunited with their owners.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
Information is not held centrally on the number of dog thefts in Scotland. When the theft of a dog is reported to the police, it may be recorded under a number of crimes, depending on the circumstances (for example theft, housebreaking or robbery). The data the Scottish Government receive from Police Scotland on recorded crime is a simple count of recorded crimes by crime type and does not contain any detail on the specifics of each crime e.g. the type of item stolen.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with the UK Government on any proposals to reform the grid connection queue in order to remove so-called zombie scheme energy applications, and, if so, whether it will provide details of such engagement.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39878 on 3 September 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/written-questions-and-answers.