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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.

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Question reference: S6W-40667

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding antisocial behaviour and fire-raising, how it is working with local fire services to ensure they are adequately resourced and supported to deliver local patrols and community engagement.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has four national youth engagement services on offer ranging from primary, secondary and tertiary interventions depending on local partnerships, funding and need. These are:

FireSkills – This is a fully flexible programme, free for those aged between 12-18, consisting of a range of sessions based on firefighter drills, adapted to provide a unique opportunity and learning experience for young people.
FireSkills Employability Award (FEA) - Building on the sessions from FireSkills, the FireSkills Employability Award has been developed in partnership with Ayrshire College and demonstrates the SFRS commitment to supporting the attainment challenge by providing the best opportunities for young people through providing formal recognition of their achievement.
Fire Safety Support and Education (FSSE) - SFRS works in partnership to deliver FSSE to those under the age of 18. Through a programme of tailored interventions, FSSE offers a flexible approach to assist in the early intervention of those who demonstrate an unsafe interest in fire or fire related anti-social behaviour. The scheme aims to educate young people and their families on fire safety and consider wider implications and impact of their actions.
Youth Volunteer Scheme (YVS) – SFRS’s YVS is a free national youth initiative that creates opportunities for young people aged 12-18. The main objective of YVS is to provide a safe, welcoming, enjoyable and fun environment where young people can learn as individuals, develop positive relationships and actively work together for a safer Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-40557

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential environmental impact in Scotland, whether its ministers have been informed of, endorsed or approved any Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Ministry of Defence memoranda of understanding and associated business cases relating to proposals on nuclear liability transfers.

Scottish Government has been informed of a memorandum of understanding and initial business case between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) to carry out technical work to evaluate the potential transfer of the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, near to Caithness, from the MOD to the NDA when the site reaches the end of its operational life. As this relates to initial work to consider the viability of a potential transfer, Scottish Ministers are not required to endorse or approve this.

Under the terms of the Energy Act 2004 any proposal to give the NDA additional responsibilities, including any defence liabilities, in Scotland requires agreement from Scottish Ministers and a Designation Direction under the Energy Act 2004 would require to be laid at the Scottish Parliament so Scottish Ministers agreement would be required for any transfer. We expect that Vulcan will continue operations until at least April 2027.

Question reference: S6W-40685

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on women working in the Scottish public sector whose employers will not be covered by the UK Government’s commitment to introduce mandatory gender pay gap action plans, in light of reported concerns that they may be left behind if equivalent measures are not introduced.

While inter-governmental discussions are ongoing, and while we are developing PSED-related improvement proposals, we have not yet made an assessment of the likely impact on women of the UK Government’s commitment but we are making stringent efforts to resolve this matter and to consider how action planning could be used in a Scottish context.

As Minister for Equalities, I am still awaiting a confirmed meeting date with UK Government Ministers, following an offer via correspondence in May 2025, to discuss the Scottish Government’s concerns around provisions in the UK Government’s Employment Rights Bill and to seek a resolution in line with current timelines for the Bill’s passage. These concerns relate to powers to mandate for equality action plans and the naming of outsourcing providers for public bodies in Scotland. Currently these provisions will only come into force for public bodies in England, and so Scottish Ministers continue to seek assurances around receiving the equivalent powers to regulate as those proposed for UK Government Ministers.

Using the powers that we do have and as part of the Scottish Government’s phased approach to improving the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in Scotland, we continue to review the operation of the Scottish Specific Duties to support Scottish listed authorities to enable better performance of the general duty.

Question reference: S6W-40670

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a long-term and sustainable model for National 5 Creative Industries courses in roof slating and stone carving to be rolled out across Scotland.

Operational responsibility for the National 5 Creative Industries course is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

This Skills for Work qualification has been designed to link broadly to National Occupational Standards in the creative industries sector and provides some of the underpinning knowledge required for the industry. The course also gives learners experience of the practical skills required to work in the sector and helps prepare them for further training.

The course is context free so centres can choose which creative industries sector to base their course on. The City of Edinburgh Council is piloting using Roof Tiling and Stone Carving as the context for their course. This is not an SQA pilot although SQA did agree with the City of Edinburgh Council that the course could be used for this purpose.

The qualification itself is already established and available to all schools in Scotland.

We want young people to have the opportunity to undertake the pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations.

SQA attainment data from Results day this year showed that the number of pupils and students achieving passes in vocational and technical qualifications and awards has reached a record high of 110,380 – this represents a year-on-year increase of 22.6% compared to 2024.

Question reference: S6W-40702

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the article in the 19 September - 2 October 2025 edition of Private Eye, "Fishy Figures", by what date it will close any loopholes in salmon farm mortality reporting so that official figures include all deaths, including those arising from culls, during transport and within the first six weeks following transfer to sea pens, and whether it will mandate comprehensive site-level reporting.

The Scottish Government has no plans currently to mandate further data collection from salmon farms given the information already provided is sufficient for transparency and regulatory purposes. The approach was set in our response (March 2025) to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee's recent inquiry and report into salmon farming in Scotland. In this correspondence, I also committed to improve the accessibility of existing data collections and to explore how to gain greater insights into cleaner fish mortality.

Question reference: S6T-02699

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report from the Scottish Funding Council stating that universities and colleges are in unsustainable financial situations, with some at risk of insolvency in the current financial year.

Question reference: S6T-02690

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has issued an extreme wildfire warning for the first time in September since 2020.

Question reference: S6T-02701

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason patients across Scotland will reportedly not be able to fully access the new MyCare NHS app until 2030.

Question reference: S6F-04356

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the First Minister, regarding the potential impact on marginalised communities and public services in Scotland, what the Scottish Government’s response is to UK Government proposals to introduce a mandatory digital ID scheme.

Question reference: S6F-04352

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reported comments from the chair of the British Medical Association in Scotland, that Scotland's NHS is "dying before our eyes".