Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-41110

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reinstate independent counselling grants for beneficiaries of the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme and their families until the full transfer of functions to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority is completed.

The Scottish Government appreciates the distress that has been caused to infected and affected persons by the long wait for compensation. For this reason, the Scottish Government remains committed to the continued funding of both the Scottish Infected Blood Psychology Service and the Haemophilia Psychology Service, which offer availability for referrals alongside existing NHS services. In addition, the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) has discretion to make payments for counselling grants to infected and affected persons in some specific circumstances. This discretion, in cases of applications made by a deadline of 30 October 2026, will remain in place until the full transfer of functions to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is completed.

The UK Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 required SIBSS, along with the other UK Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS), to transfer remaining members to the IBCA early next year. This was in order that the IBCA could progress payment of final compensation, which the Scottish Government regards as a priority, and assume responsibility for any ongoing support payments. SIBSS members were due to transfer to the IBCA on 1 February 2026, which would have meant that no payments could be made by SIBSS, including for discretionary grants, in respect of the period of that date onwards.

However, in July 2025 the UK Government requested that the IBSS remain open for a further calendar year, prior to the IBCA taking responsibility for making IBSS payments. In order to ensure parity across the IBSS the Scottish Government has been working since with the UK Government and the other Devolved Administrations to determine future arrangements for discretionary grants and other related matters. As a result, the Scottish Government has now published an amendment to the SIBSS scheme document, which came into force on 22 October 2025. This amendment provides SIBSS with the continued discretion to make payments for such grants up to 1 February 2027.

Given that consultation on the establishment of the IBCA and the UK-wide compensation scheme is led by the UK Government, and taking into account the fact that SIBSS continues to have discretion to make payments for counselling grants, the Scottish Government has not undertaken any risk or other assessment, or specific consultation, about the removal of such grants. The decision to set a closing date for such grants is a direct consequence of the IBCA taking on the support payment functions of the IBSS, as a result of which all IBSS across the UK will close in early 2027.

The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the UK Government and the IBCA in order to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to the new arrangements. These meetings have not included discussions about the transfer of discretionary grants, as the IBCA does not directly seek to replicate the services that have been provided by the IBSS. Rather, the UK infected blood compensation scheme – which is based on the recommendations and principles put forward by the Infected Blood Inquiry (IBI) and the IBI Response Expert Group, and informed by feedback from representatives of the infected and affected blood community – aims to provide a fair and comprehensive final compensation scheme that is quick and simple for eligible applicants to access.

The Scottish Minsters meet regularly with Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum to ensure that the views of infected and affected people are heard. The Scottish Ministers remain open to meeting individual SIBSS beneficiaries in order to discuss particular concerns.

Question reference: S6W-41109

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any mental health impact of removing the independent counselling grant from beneficiaries of the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme and their families.

Question reference: S6W-40826

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 7 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of delivering a circular economy, whether it plans to set a national reuse target, in line with the approach taken by countries such as Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium, and if so, what guidance and financial support it will provide to local authorities to help achieve this.

As set out in the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030, available on the Scottish Government’s website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-circular-economy-waste-route-map-2030/, new circular economy targets will be set by 2027 and will build on the monitoring and indicator framework that will be part of the forthcoming circular economy strategy. Reuse targets will be considered as part of the development of these new targets.

Question reference: S6O-04992

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on the development and expansion of heat networks across Scotland, including any plans it has to accelerate deployment to meet heat network decarbonisation targets.

Question reference: S6W-39738

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths have been reported where the cause of death was sepsis, either on its own or alongside other factors, in each month of the past 10 years.

I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:

Table 1 shows the number of deaths where sepsis was mentioned in the cause of death, either as the underlying cause or a contributory cause, which occurred in Scotland in each month of the past 10 years.

Table 1: Deaths which mention sepsis by month of occurrence, Scotland, 2014 to 2023 [note 1]

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
2014	221	207	207	183	193	181	193	213	176	212	187	223
2015	257	220	200	209	175	209	210	194	184	200	195	225
2016	229	235	222	174	155	200	191	168	170	174	192	215
2017	203	179	175	198	165	174	155	178	153	176	177	212
2018	242	181	214	173	189	153	151	154	163	179	193	183
2019	198	170	154	162	152	163	154	156	157	168	141	184
2020	178	167	171	150	154	134	155	153	155	172	160	174
2021	177	164	170	160	163	158	162	192	183	192	182	224
2022	199	170	175	186	164	165	176	191	193	215	208	248
2023	251	230	227	180	179	160	151	169	154	179	164	212

Note 1: These figures have been determined using ICD-10 codes A40 (streptococcal sepsis) and A41 (other sepsis). This will be an underestimate of the number of deaths involving sepsis. There are a range of conditions involving sepsis which will not lead to a code A40 or A41, for example 'urosepsis' will be coded to N39.0 (urinary tract infection, site not specified). It is not possible to include these codes in the definition of sepsis, as they will include deaths which are not sepsis-related.

Question reference: S6W-39344

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the reported findings of the independent evaluation of the Just Transition Fund, what its position is on how spending £43 million of public money to create 110 jobs can be justified, in light of reports of workers and communities in north east Scotland continuing to experience job insecurity and uncertainty.

The independent evaluation highlighted the enabling role of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) in supporting a just transition in the region and found that 230 jobs had been created and safeguarded in the first two years. Additionally, the JTF supported the provision of more than 750 training places and leveraged over £34 million in additional investment. The JTF supports a range of activity in the North East and Moray, alongside the creation and safeguarding of jobs. This includes enabling innovative technologies, improving environmental outcomes, investing in communities, and empowering communities with our participatory budgeting approach.

Importantly, the Fund forms part of a wider toolkit of support available for workers in the North East, including a new Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund recently launched in partnership with the UK Government to support offshore workers transition to the sustainable energy sector.

Question reference: S6W-39345

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the funding to support a just transition for Scotland is structured as (a) grants and (b) loans or investments, and what its position is on how these proportions impact the sustainability of job creation.

From 2022 to date, £50 million of the Just Transition Fund has been allocated as capital grants. In addition, £25 million was allocated in financial transactions to the Scottish National Investment Bank to be invested on a commercial basis in line with the Bank’s Investment Strategy and its mission, including support for a just transition. A further £1.5 million in financial transitions was allocated to Social Investment Scotland to deliver the Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund.

In its first two years, the Just Transition Fund has supported the creation and safeguarding of over 230 jobs, enabled more than 750 training opportunities, and helped secure over £34 million in additional investment. These early outcomes demonstrate the Fund’s positive impact, and we are confident that the number of jobs, level of investment leveraged, and other key results will continue to grow as projects progress.

Question reference: S6W-39343

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported finding of the independent evaluation of the Just Transition Fund that it has, to date, delivered limited, temporary and precarious employment outcomes, and what immediate steps it will take to ensure that the fund delivers secure, sustainable jobs for workers and communities in north east Scotland.

The independent evaluation of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) found that, in its first two years of operation, the Fund created and safeguarded 230 jobs, alongside the provision of more than 750 training places, and leveraged over £34 million in additional investment.

The evaluation also highlighted the need for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of projects supported through the Fund to fully understand its longer-term impact on employment and the wider outcomes supported through the Fund, including economic growth, community empowerment, and environmental sustainability.

To ensure we maximise the impact for workers and communities, the Fund will specifically focus on projects that support jobs, skills and economic opportunities in 2025-26, with £8.5 million of new funding available.

Question reference: S6W-39342

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 July 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what changes it will make to the design and delivery of the Just Transition Fund, in light of reported concerns regarding the findings of the independent evaluation that it commissioned in relation to transparency, administrative complexity and a lack of multi-year funding to support sustainable outcomes to deliver a just transition for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Just Transition Fund (JTF) is responsive to the needs of the North East and Moray. This includes full consideration of the recommendations of the independent evaluation to support ongoing improvements to the 10-year Fund in a way which aligns with Scottish Government’s budget position.

The independent evaluation highlighted the positive and catalytic impact of support delivered through the Fund in its first two years of operation. We have already delivered against some of the report’s recommendations. For example, updated application material and guidance were issued as part of the 2025-26 open capital funding round for the JTF to support greater transparency of process.

Question reference: S6W-38633

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will release its promised financial support for the Musselburgh Flood Prevention Scheme.

To date the Scottish Government has distributed £11.5 million to East Lothian Council against the council’s forecast expenditure for the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme. This is sufficient to fund East Lothian Council’s forecast expenditure for the financial years 2025–26, 2026–27 and part of 2027–28.

This funding has been distributed through the General Capital Grant, which means East Lothian Council has autonomy to allocate it in line with the council’s priorities.

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