- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a robust, audited, single public dataset covering the use of site-level veterinary-medicines, with a quarterly publication and a clear timetable for implementation, by Scotland’s salmon industry across the freshwater and marine stages.
Answer
Regulation of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is responsible for enforcing Veterinary Medicines Regulations and undertaking appropriate monitoring in fulfilment of their regulatory duties. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not have plans to implement a dedicated single public dataset covering site-level use of veterinary-medicines across all production phases.
Information required by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on monthly medicinal treatment usage by site is already made publicly available on Scotland’s Aquaculture Website on a quarterly basis. Sea lice medicine, Hydrogen Peroxide and antibiotic use are available datasets.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on Scotland’s forests of its proposed budget reduction of 40.2% to Forestry and Land Scotland in its draft Budget 2026-27.
Answer
The 40.2% reduction compares the FY 25/26 budget, including Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) transfers with the FY 26/27 budget.
During the FY 2025-26, Forestry and Land Scotland received a £7.0m transfer for Peatland and Atlantic Rainforest restoration on Scotland’s national forests and land as part of the ABR. Allocation of funding for those activities in FY 2026-27 to delivery partners (including FLS) has yet to agreed.
If this transfer is removed to enable a like-for-like comparison, the reduction is 22% (£5.0m), which relates to funding for woodland creation on Scotland’s national forests and land.
There is a corresponding increase in the capital allocation to Scottish Forestry. The Scottish Government is placing a greater emphasis on supporting woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS).
Focusing woodland creation through the FGS offers improved value for money for the taxpayer, as the FGS only partially covers the cost of tree planting, requiring private investment to meet remaining costs and to purchase the land.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to introducing independent auditing of antibiotic use data submitted by the salmon farming industry.
Answer
Regulation of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is responsible for enforcing Veterinary Medicines Regulations and undertaking appropriate monitoring in fulfilment of their regulatory duties.
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43099 on 23 January 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Scotland’s salmon industry understated its 2024 antibiotic use by 66% before revising the figure, what sanctions are available where inaccurate or incomplete veterinary-medicines returns required under licence conditions are made to regulators, and what information it has regarding how often any such sanctions have been (a) considered and (b) applied under similar circumstances since 2021.
Answer
Regulation of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for market authorisation of antibiotics, including publication of antibiotic sales and sectorial usage statistics, and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.
The VMD publishes antibiotic sales and usage figures annually in the Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Sales and Surveillance (VARSS) Report. Figures for antibiotics sales figures, including aquaculture, are provided by the veterinary pharmaceutical companies marketing these products to the VMD, and this is a statutory requirement. The VARSS report also includes data on usage in different animal sectors, including fish, and the VMD works in partnership with animal sectors to develop, facilitate and coordinate antibiotic usage data collection systems. Data are reported on a voluntary basis.
For the purpose of environmental protection, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) places licence conditions on marine fish farm operators to record and report antibiotic treatments to SEPA, including the product and volume used. The requirement for enforcement action associated with non-compliance in returns is assessed in line with SEPA’s enforcement approach.
No enforcement action has been required by SEPA in respect of any non- or incorrect antibiotic usage reports it has received from operators.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement mechanisms are in place in situations where inaccurate or potentially misleading information on antibiotic use is provided to regulators by salmon farming companies or representative bodies.
Answer
The regulation of veterinary medicines as a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for market authorisation of antibiotics, including publication of antibiotic sales and sectorial usage statistics, and surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.
The VMD publish antibiotic sales and usage figures annually in the Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Sales and Surveillance (VARSS) Report. Figures for antibiotics sales figures, including aquaculture, are provided by the veterinary pharmaceutical companies marketing these products to the VMD, and this is a statutory requirement. The VARSS report also includes data on usage in different animal sectors, including fish, and the VMD works in partnership with various animal sectors to develop, facilitate and coordinate antibiotic usage data collection systems. These data are reported on a voluntary basis.
For the purpose of environmental protection, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) places licence conditions on marine fish farm operators to record and report antibiotic treatments to SEPA, including the product and volume used. The requirement for enforcement action associated with non-compliance in returns is assessed in line with SEPA’s enforcement approach.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Resolution Foundation's analysis of Adult Disability Payment and Personal Independence Payment official statistics that successful application rates for Adult Disability Payment are now lower compared with the equivalent Personal Independence Payment in England and Wales, what the reason is for any such difference in successful application rates.
Answer
While Adult Disability Payment and Personal Independence Payment are both benefits which provide money to help disabled people, they are underpinned by different principles and approaches. Direct comparisons should be treated with caution.
The more person-centred approach taken in Scotland includes increased support provided to those applying, including gathering supporting information on clients behalf from professionals, and offering face-to-face support through Social Security Scotland’s local delivery service.
Latest statistics show over 491,300 people were receiving Adult Disability Payment in October 2025. This is higher than the 310,000 people receiving Personal Independence Payment in Scotland in March 2022.
In Social Security Scotland’s 2024-25 disability payments client survey, 87% of Adult Disability Payment applicants who received help to complete their applications agreed ‘it was easy to get this support’ -demonstrating the commitment to delivering a service based on dignity, fairness and respect.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the successful application rate for Adult Disability Payment (ADP) has reportedly fallen in each fiscal year that ADP has operated, from 57% in 2022-23, to 51% in 2023-24, to 42% in 2024-25, and to 34% in 2025-26 to date.
Answer
Social Security Scotland is committed to ensuring eligible people receive the financial help they are entitled to.
Independent analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the Resolution Foundation shows a surge in application numbers following Adult Disability Payment’s introduction, driven by awareness-raising activity and more accessible application processes, along with an initial higher rate in awarded applications. This was followed by a stabilisation in awarded applications as processes mature and decision-making becomes more consistent.
Social Security Scotland remains committed to making the right decision first time and continues to monitor performance to ensure accurate decision-making across all benefits.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been provided to local authorities to address delayed discharges, broken down by local authority, in each of the last five years.
Answer
The 2026-27 Budget provides a further real terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of almost £15.7 billion including, a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant.
However, the Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on delayed discharges, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase awareness of the medical condition, eosinophilic oesophagitis, in NHS Scotland, in both primary and secondary care settings.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of improving awareness of gastrointestinal conditions, including eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE), across NHS Scotland and is committed to ensuring that people living with these conditions receive safe, effective, person-centred care.
We expect healthcare professionals in both primary and secondary care to remain informed about emerging evidence and best practice for the diagnosis and management of EoE and to maintain and update their clinical knowledge and understanding through continuous professional development.
NHS Education for Scotland provides a range of educational resources and training programmes for healthcare professionals that encompass gastrointestinal conditions, including EoE.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 23 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark Eosinophilic Diseases Awareness Month in May 2026.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the impact that Eosinophilic Diseases can have on those affected and their families, and remains committed to ensuring access to safe, effective and person-centred care for people living with these conditions in Scotland.
Whilst we do not currently have any plans to mark Eosinophilic Diseases Awareness Month in May 2026, we welcome and value the work of third sector organisations, such as Guts UK and the EOS Network, whose ongoing awareness raising activities and support for people living with these long-term conditions make an important contribution to improving understanding and supporting those affected.
