Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 85 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-23411

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of making medicinal cannabis more widely available on the NHS for adults with epilepsy.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted a cannabidiol (Epidyolex ® ) for three severe treatment-resistant epilepsies:

as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome (DS) in conjunction with clobazam, for patients 2 years of age and older
as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) in conjunction with clobazam, for patients 2 years of age and older
as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) for patients 2 years of age and older

The biggest barrier to the prescribing of other Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) on the NHS is that most products remain unlicensed with a limited, or non-existent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence base for their use.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is currently leading on the design of CBPM clinical trials into epilepsy. The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer continues to engage on the progress of these trials, which will be critical in building the evidence for CBPMs.

Question reference: S6O-02831

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of its funding for humanitarian aid to Palestine.

Question reference: S6W-22950

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work is currently being undertaken to assess the possibility of making medicinal cannabis available on the NHS for those with chronic pain.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the prescribing of Cannabis Based Products for Medicinal use (CBPMs) for people with intractable nausea and vomiting, chronic pain, spasticity and severe treatment resistant epilepsy on 11 November 2019, which was updated in October 2022. The guideline states that nabilone, dronabinol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or a combination of cannabidiol (CBD) with THC should not be offered to manage chronic pain in adults. Clinicians working in Scotland are expected to have regard to NICE guidance on CBPMs.

The Scottish Government and SIGN will both shortly be updating their chronic pain prescribing guides that will consider the evidence around the best and most effective treatments for chronic pain.

Question reference: S6O-02813

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to provide financial support to those infected with chronic hepatitis B due to receiving contaminated blood.

Question reference: S6O-02753

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment set out in its Programme for Government 2023-24, whether it will provide more details of how it plans to increase the number of people earning the real Living Wage.

Question reference: S6O-02712

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is assessing feedback to the Building a New Scotland series of papers.

Question reference: S6O-02627

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support any migrants living in Scotland who have experienced domestic violence.

Question reference: S6O-02553

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to tackle the gender pay gap and promote equal pay.

Question reference: S6O-02523

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support creative writers.

Question reference: S6O-02482

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates it will receive the Scottish Law Commission’s findings and recommendations arising from its consultation on damages for personal injury.