Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place to enable patients in NHS Lanarkshire to be referred to other NHS boards for thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery, and how many such referrals there have been in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Referral arrangements exist within NHS Scotland to allow patients to access specialist procedures not available locally. Where thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery is clinically indicated and not provided within NHS Lanarkshire, patients may be referred to another Board offering the procedure if that is appropriate.
Data on the number of referrals over the past five years is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This information may be obtained from NHS Lanarkshire and other relevant Boards.
Asked by: Whittle, Brian (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the inclusion of dentistry within the MyCare.scot app roll-out.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
A detailed stakeholder identification and mapping exercise is currently underway as part of NHS Education Scotland’s discovery work into onboarding primary care services into MyCare.scot.
As with other primary care services such as optometry and pharmacy, dentistry will come into consideration as part of that mapping process. However, given that dental practices operate independently and their IT systems are not connected to wider primary care systems detailed consideration is required to achieve their onboarding and integration.
Asked by:
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration it has given to a fireworks licensing scheme or restrictions on the days on which fireworks can be supplied and used.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
We have aimed to strike a balance between introducing restrictions, while still enabling fireworks to be used safely in appropriate circumstances. We have already implemented four out of the six key measures provided for within the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022. These include:
After careful consideration and assessment, the introduction of a licensing scheme and restricting sales days were paused due to significant financial and resource implications. We are, however, keeping the pauses under review, and will continue to assess how existing measures are having an impact.
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on (a) recovery times and (b) long-term function of thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery not being offered to patients and fusion surgery being undertaken instead.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government does not undertake direct clinical outcome assessments.
Health Boards are expected to consider these factors when determining the most appropriate surgical option for individual patients, in line with current clinical guidelines and best practice. Such as the guidance shared in response to S6W-42776 on 7 January 2026.
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: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure equitable access to (a) thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery and (b) other surgical procedures across all NHS boards.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring equitable access to all clinically approved surgical procedures, including thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery, across NHS Scotland.
Each NHS Board has a process for assessing and adopting innovative procedures with appropriate safeguards until a procedure becomes standard practice. At present though, there is insufficient long term data to recommend thumb carpometacarpal joint replacement surgery as the routine standard of care.
Health Boards are expected to plan and deliver services in accordance with the needs of their local populations, ensuring that care is safe, effective, person-centred, and aligned with current clinical guidelines and best practice.
Asked by: Sweeney, Paul (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of potential liabilities for site remediation at Grangemouth Refinery.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
As the owner of the site, Petroineos holds responsibility for any liabilities associated with remediation and would be expected to work with the relevant authorities to ensure compliance with all applicable environmental, planning and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Independent - Inverness and Nairn)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what cumulative impact assessment it has carried out of the regulatory and fiscal changes affecting microtourism businesses over the last five years.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business and Employment
The Scottish Government undertakes a range of impact assessments when developing or introducing new policy, taking account of other ongoing policy development that may interact with the options being considered. Where relevant, this includes Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments, which consider businesses of all sizes and the cumulative impact of multiple policy changes and their timing.
The Scottish Government report on the 2023 non-domestic rates revaluation was published on 5 July 2023. The report set out the changes in rateable values for different property classes as a result of the 2023 revaluation. A report on the 2026 revaluation will be published once final values are available.
On Short-term lets we continue to work with stakeholders to monitor implementation of the licensing regime. In response to stakeholder feedback we commissioned VisitScotland to launch an expert group to revise short-term let guidance, bringing industry and local authorities together to provide recommend updates to short-term let licencing guidance.
In relation to the visitor levy, impact assessments were carried out to support the original Visitor Levy Bill/Act and we are revising them for the new Bill, but these were on the overall impact of a Visitor Levy. Each Local Authority must assess the impact of its proposed local Visitor Levy’s scheme while it is developing and consulting on it.
Asked by: Kerr, Liam (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, when it will publish the statutory review of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), which it is required to undertake “as soon as practicable after the end of the 5-year period", which was 5 June 2023.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
Under section 23 of the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, Scottish Ministers must review the operation of Parts 1 to 3 and report to the Scottish Parliament as soon as practicable after the end of the five-year period following Royal Assent. The intention behind this period was to allow sufficient time for those Parts to be fully in force and operating as intended before the review took place.
While some sections came into force on Royal Assent and others shortly thereafter, implementation of Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS)—which sits within Part 2 —required detailed court rules. Work on these rules was delayed because urgent rule changes were needed to keep courts operating under COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, QOCS did not come into effect until June 2021.
The Act specifies that the review must include information on the effect of QOCS on access to justice and the administration of the courts. To provide a meaningful assessment based on robust and meaningful data, the review will therefore focus on five years of actual operation rather than five years from Royal Assent. This approach reflects the original policy intention.
The Scottish Government will publish the review once sufficient evidence has been gathered and analysed. This will be after QOCS has operated for five years, ensuring the review reflects its practical effects on access to justice and court administration.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the number of babies who are expected to require transfer to one of the three specialist neonatal intensive care units remaining under its proposed reforms, per year.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The RSM report, published on 29 May 2024, New Model of Neonatal Care – RSM UK Consulting - Report, included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.
Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). The report has undergone a detailed review by the Perinatal Sub Group (PSG) and has benefited from discussion with the three elected Regional Planners and Chief Executives.
The report to date has been well received and supports the findings of the options appraisal report.
Asked by: Briggs, Miles (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of expanding the Young Patients Family Fund’s eligibility to include children and young people with cancer who are (a) day-case patients, and (b) aged 18-25.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) is just one of the means of financial support available to patients and their families. YPFF supports families to visit a child or young person aged under 18 while they are an inpatient. Financial assistance for attending hospital appointments, including outpatient and day treatments, is available through the patient travel reimbursement schemes.
These schemes provide financial assistance for eligible patients and authorised escorts, including for outpatient appointments and day treatments, and apply to travel both within and outside Scotland. All eligible patients aged 16 and under automatically qualify for an escort. NHS Boards are responsible for assessing eligibility and have the flexibility to consider individual circumstances and make decision in the best interests of patient care and wellbeing.