- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 13 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of active travel investment on reducing road accidents involving cyclists in Lanarkshire.
Answer
Answer expected on 13 January 2026
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many representations have been received (a) in support
of and (b) opposed to the proposed golf course on the wildlife site at Coul
Links near Embo in Sutherland, which NatureScot has described as
"internationally important".
Answer
The Highland Council’s report of handling recorded 1,047 representations: 746 objections, 314 in support, and 9 neutral.
Separately, the Scottish Government has received a total 411 individual written representations in relation to the proposed development. A detailed breakdown of how many are in support or opposed is not available; however all relevant matters raised will be taken into account through the decision-making process.
In addition, petitions opposing the proposal have been submitted to the Scottish Government, including from: Not Coul (currently over 92,000 signatures), the Scottish Greens (around 4,500), and RSPB (around 11,000).
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many adopted children have been surrendered under section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 in each of the last three years, and what percentage of total adoptions this represents during each of these years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information at the level of detail requested. Analysis of related data collected for Looked After Children Statistics is included in the following table.
| Total number of looked after children[2, 3]: - returned under Section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, or
- where adoption did not proceed under Section 26 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
| Total number of looked after children adopted |
| | |
| | |
| | |
[1] Year refers to the 12-month period ending on 31 July.
[2] Total number of looked after children refers to the number of looked after children either returned to the local authority under Section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, or where adoption did not proceed, under Section 26 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, during each year.
[3] An adoption order was not issued for children counted in these figures, which have therefore not been shown as a percentage of all adoptions, where an adoption order was issued.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been surrendered by birth parents and, comparatively by adoptive parents, under section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, in each of the last three years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-41875, S6W-41876, S6W-41877, S6W-41879, S6W-41880, S6W-41882 and S6W-41884 by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025, what information it currently collects from NHS boards on patients who travel outwith their home board area to receive secondary or tertiary care, and whether it plans to introduce standardised national reporting on (a) patient numbers, (b) travel, accommodation and subsistence costs, (c) the use of remote consultation alternatives such as Near Me and (d) funded patient escorts, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect patient data directly. It is for Public Health Scotland (PHS) to collect outpatient, inpatient and day case activity data from hospital administrative systems.
PHS publishes official statistics on cross boundary flow quarterly within its Stage of Treatment Waiting Times publications. This includes inpatient, day case, and new outpatient data. The most recent publication that includes cross boundary flow data can be accessed here: Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients 28 October 2025 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland.
PHS’s annual Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds Information report includes information on cross boundary flow. The latest publication covers the period between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and can be found here: Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds Information (Annual) - Publications - Public Health Scotland.
Costs associated with patient travel, accommodation, subsistence and funded patient escorts are managed locally by individual NHS boards and are funded from their respective budgets. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally and there is currently no intention to standardise national reporting on these measures.
Similarly, there are no current plans to nationalise reporting on the use of remote consultation platforms, including Near Me.
The Scottish Government’s approach reflects the principle of local accountability for service delivery and associated costs. NHS boards are responsible for managing patient transfers and related expenses within their allocated budgets. National reporting is focused on treatment activity and waiting times, which are published by PHS to ensure transparency and consistency.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will require transmission operators to underground new distribution overhead lines in island communities.
Answer
Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government, with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) responsible for the strategic approach to the development of the electricity system across Great Britain.
The Scottish Government has no powers to direct network companies to prioritise one technology or route over another when developing their build plans.
Network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing project proposals they must give due consideration to their license obligations, which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the decision taken in the UK Budget to provide a permanent business rate discount for retail and hospitality in England from April 2026, what discussions it has had with its Tax Advisory Group regarding the possible implications of this for retail investment in Scotland.
Answer
The Tax Advisory Group (TAG)’s most recent meeting took place on 21 October 2025, prior to the UK Government’s budget on 26 November 2025. The group’s final meeting of this Parliament is expected to take place in early 2026.
The minutes for TAG meetings are published at Tax Advisory Group - gov.scot
Ministers regularly discuss matters of importance including budget priorities and the views of stakeholders in the run-up to the Scottish Budget. As is normal, decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will be set out in the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42190 by Neil Gray on 5 December 2025, how many NHS 24 staff it calculated were needed for staffing levels to meet the required service standards for winter 2025-26, broken down by job role.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what post-adoption support services are currently provided by local authorities, and how these services are monitored for consistency across Scotland.
Answer
Sections 9-11 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007(The Act), require local authorities to assess a person’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support if it is deemed necessary. This applies to children, young people, adoptive and birth families and adult adoptees.
Adoption support services are defined in section 1 of The Act as the provision of counselling, guidance and any other assistance that the local authority considers appropriate in the circumstances of that case. The accompanying Guidance on the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 explains that support services provided by local authorities can include:
- support to groups of adopted children, adopters and birth children
- assistance, including mediation, in arrangements for contact between adopted children and their birth parents, siblings and other relatives
- services to meet the therapeutic needs of adopted children
- assistance to adopters such as training to meet special needs and respite care
- mediation and other services if there is a disruption in an adoption placement, or risk of one.
Local Authority adoption services, including the post adoption support they provide, are monitored through inspections by the Care Inspectorate, which has the role of looking at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards, and supporting services to make positive changes where improvement is needed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 16 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what statutory support is available to adoptive parents following the completion of an adoption order.
Answer
Section 1 of The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (The Act) outlines the duty of local authorities to provide an adoption service. Sections 9, 10 and 11 of The Act require local authorities to assess a person’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support if it is deemed necessary. This applies both pre and post adoption to children, young people, adoptive and birth families and adult adoptees.
Section 45 of The Act also requires local authorities, who have decided that adoption support is needed by a person or family, to prepare an adoption support plan setting out how the person or family’s needs will be met by adoption support services.
In addition, under Part 3 of the Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009, every local authority is required to establish an Adoption Allowance Scheme. An adoption allowance may be paid where the local authority determines that one or more of the circumstances set out in Regulation 10 apply. These include supporting the placement of the adoptive child, facilitating special arrangements for placement or adoption, or supporting the continuation of adoption arrangements after an adoption order is made.
