Asked by: Marra, Michael (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that patients can access diagnosis or treatment where no NHS board is able to accept a referral to the required specialist service due to capacity or workforce pressures.
Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care
As set out in the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011, where a Health Board is unable to meet the Treatment Time Guarantee within its own area, it must take all reasonably practicable steps to arrange for the provision of the agreed treatment by—
(a) another Health Board;
(b) the National Health Service in England, Wales or Northern Ireland;
(c) an authorised provider; or
(d) another suitable alternative provider in the United Kingdom.
When pursuing the above options, a Health Board must have regard to the importance of securing the effective and efficient use of the health service organisation and resources.
Health Boards also have the option to agree national or regional provision for diagnostic and specialist services.
Asked by: Marra, Michael (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the funding of private specialist assessment or treatment in circumstances where an NHS board is unable to provide the required service and is unable to secure an onward NHS referral within a clinically appropriate timescale.
Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care
Service delivery and patient care are the responsibility of NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally. Clinical decisions on the care and treatment of individual patients are always matters of professional judgement for the responsible practitioner.
In certain circumstances, NHS Boards may make limited use of alternative providers, including independent sector providers, in response to capacity constraints and to improve access to patient care.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group has not met since November 2024.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing
The Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group was established on a limited term basis to support the co-ordination of data collection and information sharing about RAAC across the public sector estate in Scotland. The aims and objectives of the Working Group are now met by the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum which, with a broader remit, meets to discuss a range of building safety issues with representation from across key sectors. Information about the Forum is published here: Building safety: cross sector forum - gov.scot.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position regarding whether the responsibility for addressing the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) rests with a building owner in the same way as responsibility for addressing other building issues.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing
The Scottish Government position on the responsibility for addressing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has not changed. RAAC is primarily a building maintenance issue and responsibility lies with the owner of the building.
Asked by: Marra, Michael (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the correspondence that was referenced in the Member’s debate, Sustaining Jobs and Securing the Future of Scotland's Universities, on 18 June 2026, which was sent from the Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education to the University of Dundee.
Answered by Macpherson, Ben - Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education
A copy of the letter I sent to the Interim Principal of the University of Dundee, dated 11 June 2026, has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 66746).
Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enhancing opportunities and support for community right to buy and ownership, how and when it plans to implement the findings of its community right to buy review.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs
The review of Community Right to Buy concluded at the end of 2025 and the previous Cabinet Secretary accepted those recommendations in full.
The Government is currently exploring legislative options to take forward the recommendations in light of manifesto commitments. Where legislation isn’t required, work is already underway with stakeholders to maximise progress in the meantime.
Asked by:
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to extending the Island Business Resilience Fund to coastal communities impacted by ferry disruption, and when it will reach a decision on this.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs
The Scottish Government recognises the impact that disruption can have on island communities. The First Minister has announced the implementation of a £10 million Islands Resilience Fund as part of the Government’s first 100 days commitments, and work is underway to deliver that pledge.
Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by:
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve patient safety for children when blood gas testing identifies abnormal results such as significantly raised lactate levels, including whether it will introduce a national patient safety standard requiring abnormal blood gas or blood test results in children to be repeated, verified or formally reviewed before discharge decisions are made where those results have been attributed to sample quality, environmental factors or other concerns about reliability.
Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care
Although there is no current specific guideline that requires blood tests with results outside the normal limits to be repeated in all cases before discharge from hospital, these are considered as part of a full clinical assessment.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal and Paediatric programmes, underpinned by the SPSP Essentials of Safe Care, are co-designed to support improved outcomes for women, babies, children, young people and families in Scotland. These programmes work with staff and families to review and strengthen the approach to recognition of deterioration through the Scottish Maternity and Paediatric Early Warning Scores (MEWS and PEWS).
The planned implementation of Martha’s Rule will enable a real-time clinical review of a patient’s treatment and condition, rather than a formal second opinion or diagnosis.
The right to request a second opinion is already enshrined in the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities.
The Scottish Government and Health Boards across Scotland have recently committed to expand the Right Decision Service across health and care in Scotland. This will bring up to date, quality assured and approved guidance to clinicians on their computers, tablet and phones.
The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards and other healthcare providers to use appropriate guidelines and respond to safety alerts as well as listen when patients express concerns or complain about the safety of their care.
Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains on track to meet its objective of easing barriers to fish migration so that 99% of water bodies meet "good or better" condition for fish migration by 2027, as set out in the River Basin Management Plan for Scotland 2021 - 2027, and, if not, what percentage of water bodies it expects to achieve that status by 2027.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs
In 2021, River Basin Management Plan 3 (RBMP3) identified 244 potential fish barriers that needed an ecological assessment and/or work to ease these barriers to achieve the objective of 99% of water bodies meeting good or better condition for fish migration by 2027.
However, since 2021 SEPA has identified an additional 143 barriers, which have been added to the work programme. To manage this increase, SEPA is prioritising barriers based on the amount of habitat available to migratory fish upstream of each barrier.
SEPA is currently on track to complete work on 261 by 2027, against the original objective of 244. SEPA is currently developing Scotland’s fourth River Basin Management Plan (RBMP4). Given the significant shift in the baseline for this objective, RBMP4 will set out a revised objective and actions to address the remaining barriers.
Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00174 by Jenny Gilruth MSP on 5 June 2026, whether it will consider engaging with other local authorities in the UK, including Devon County Council, on the success of any pilots undertaken to tackle road repairs effectively, when determining how the Better Surfaces Fund will operate.
Answered by Gilruth, Jenny - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
The Scottish Government is committed to drawing on a wide range of evidence in developing the Better Surfaces Fund. Engagement with relevant stakeholders will inform the design and operation of the fund, to ensure it supports the adoption of best practice and delivers lasting benefits for Scotland’s road network.