- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 14 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34824 by Neil Gray on 26 February 2025, whether it will provide a breakdown by NHS board area of how the £13.6 million that it announced on 29 November 2024 to support the retention and recruitment of GPs was allocated to GP practices.
Answer
The £13.6 million was allocated to Health Boards for distribution to Health Boards alongside the £59.6 million GMS uplift agreed following the DDRB’s recommendations with £66.89 million of the total put into the Global Sum, £2.31 million into uplifting Income & Expenses Guarantees and £4 million into increasing Enhanced Services funding.
The Global Sum is shared among GP practices on the basis of their weighted patient lists.
Some practices receive Income & Expenses Guarantees to ensure no detriment to their funding following a revision of patient list weightings in 2018.
In addition to their core work, practices can also carry out enhanced services for additional funding. This is based on participation.
NHS Board | Global sum Uplift (£m) | Income & Expenses Uplift (£m) | Enhanced Services payment allocation (£m) | Total (£m) |
Ayrshire & Arran | 4.75 | 0.05 | 0.28 | 5.08 |
Borders | 1.46 | 0.05 | 0.09 | 1.59 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 2.03 | 0.09 | 0.12 | 2.24 |
Fife | 4.62 | 0.03 | 0.28 | 4.92 |
Forth Valley | 3.69 | 0.07 | 0.22 | 3.99 |
Grampian | 6.54 | 0.28 | 0.39 | 7.20 |
Greater Glasgow | 15.14 | 0.13 | 0.91 | 16.18 |
Highlands | 3.95 | 0.98 | 0.24 | 5.17 |
Lanarkshire | 8.14 | 0.08 | 0.49 | 8.71 |
Lothian | 10.71 | 0.10 | 0.64 | 11.45 |
Orkney | 0.26 | 0.09 | 0.02 | 0.36 |
Shetland | 0.25 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.34 |
Tayside | 5.02 | 0.12 | 0.30 | 5.45 |
Western Isles | 0.33 | 0.17 | 0.02 | 0.52 |
| | | | | |
Total | 66.89 | 2.31 | 4.00 | 73.20 |
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 14 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will respond to the reported warning by Colleges Scotland that the sector has reached “the limit of what doing more with less can achieve”.
Answer
In recognition that Scotland’s colleges are a vital part of our economy and wider society, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocations provide a 2.6% sector increase in teaching funding for 2025-26 compared to last year, with an increase of almost 5% in capital maintenance funding over the same period.
The Scottish Government is engaging very closely with Colleges Scotland on issues affecting the sector, while the SFC robustly monitors the position of the sector and the challenges faced, and considers appropriate forms of support, including to address short-term cash flow challenges.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the potential impact to charity and second-hand shops of introducing a kerbside textiles collection service, as discussed in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government recently held a consultation on whether local councils should be required to collect textiles at the kerbside. This was part of a commitment in the Circular Economy & Waste Route Map.
The consultation closed on 17 June 2025 and received 60 responses. Independent analysts are now reviewing the feedback, and a report will be published soon. The findings will also inform the co-design work on the Household Recycling Code of Practice.
The report will include analysis of feedback provided about the potential effects of household collection on charity shops, as well as reuse and resale organisations.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to MV Glen Sannox, what contractual arrangements are in place for the supply and bunkering of (a) marine gas oil and (b) liquefied natural gas; what provisions apply to fuel delivery, standing charges, storage or minimum offtake (take-or-pay) obligations when the vessel is under repair or otherwise unavailable, including who is responsible for these costs, and what costs have been incurred under these provisions in each month from January 2024 to date, broken down by cost category.
Answer
The provision, supply and procurement of fuel is a matter for CalMac as the operator and this is managed through existing contracts with their suppliers. For MV Glen Sannox this applies both to LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and MGO (Marine Gas Oil), and while the vessel is either in service or undergoing repairs.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the types of combustible façade material used on the estimated 1,020 to 1,200 residential buildings with a height of 11 to 18m that have been identified as possibly requiring remedial work, in light of it having provided a breakdown of the type of work required, namely remediation, partial remediation or mitigation.
Answer
The figures of 1,020 to 1,200 residential buildings with a height of 11 to 18m are drawn from estimates developed by the Scottish Government and published in June 2025. These were estimates of the approximate numbers of buildings in this category that might require work to alleviate cladding risk.
In parallel, however, the Scottish Government has been identifying specific buildings which may be at risk from cladding, through the series of information-gathering exercises set out in the ‘Next Phase Plan of Action’ published in August. We are using the outputs of these exercises to seek assurance from building owners that appropriate action is being taken, including through the Scottish Government’s Single Open Call scheme which offers financial support for assessment and any mitigation and remediation work found to be necessary.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the number of veterans it has helped secure accommodation since November 2018, broken down by financial year.
Answer
Information on the number of veterans assisted to secure accommodation is not held by Scottish Government. Local authorities have the legal duty to provide housing assistance to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and this includes offering temporary or permanent accommodation.
The Scottish Government collects statistics from local authorities on homelessness applications and assessments and outcomes, including information on veterans. The most recent annual homelessness statistics on veterans’ homelessness were published on 24 September 2025 and can be found on the Scottish Government website using the following link: Homelessness in Scotland: veteran homelessness - gov.scot.
Statistical analysis of accommodation outcomes in 2024-25 show that 75% of homeless veteran households secured settled accommodation in 2024-25. Achieving a settled outcome has been consistently between 75% and 79% over the last seven years.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, what its position is on whether it is appropriate for the BS 8414 cladding system test to reportedly still form part of Scotland’s building standards technical handbooks for demonstrating compliance for external wall cladding systems.
Answer
Public safety remains a foremost priority for the Scottish Government. To strengthen fire safety standards following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, an independent panel of fire safety experts was convened to assess the risks associated with combustible cladding materials and to review the role of the BS 8414 fire performance test.
The use of BS 8414 test data and BR 135 classification reports is now only permitted for buildings outside the scope of the combustible cladding ban. Where such evidence is submitted in support of a building warrant application, local authority verifiers must notify the Building Standards Division. In these cases, rigorous compliance checks must be carried out throughout the design and construction phases, with all supporting evidence thoroughly documented.
In addition, the Scottish Government will extend the ban from April 2026 on combustible external wall cladding systems to include hotels, boarding houses, and hostels, further reducing fire risk in buildings where occupants may be especially vulnerable.
Following the publication of the final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report and the Scottish Government’s formal response, a comprehensive review of fire safety standards will be undertaken. This will include a call for evidence later this year to ensure that future policy is informed by a broad range of expertise and stakeholder input.
- Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps it is taking to support households struggling with energy bill debt.
Answer
Energy prices are reserved and we have been pressing the UK Government to tackle energy debt by immediately delivering a targeted and automatic unit rate discount on energy bills.
In 2025/26, we are delivering a £16.9 million package for free advice on income maximisation and debt, including over £11 million to debt advice services, with almost £1 million of additional funding for energy debt advice.
We are also providing an estimated £28.3 million through our Winter Heating Payment, £11.4 million through our Child Winter Heating Payment, and £157 million through our Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the dates, agendas and minutes of all
meetings between Alexander Dennis and (a) the Deputy First Minister, (b)
Scottish Government ministers and (c) Scottish Government officials, since 12
September 2025.
Answer
Scottish Government officials met with representatives of Alexander Dennis on 12 September and 14 September. The First Minister then visited the Alexander Dennis site at Larbert on 15 September to announce Scottish Government support for the company’s furlough scheme. Papers relating to the meetings will be available upon appropriate request in due course.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40762 by Gillian Martin on 9 October 2025, what carbon levy on business flights was charged and paid in respect of ministerial and official travel to (a) Japan between 15 and 19 September 2025 and (b) New York between 20 and 24 September 2025, broken down by (i) traveller category and (ii) flight segment, and what the associated estimated CO2 emissions were for each leg.
Answer
The carbon levy collected in respect of Ministerial and official travel is listed in the following table. The levy is applied to Ministerial and official travel booked via the Scottish Governments travel agent.
Traveler | Segment | Levy Amount | CO2 (Tonnes) |
Cab Sec | Edinburgh to Doha | £15 | 0.649 |
Cab Sec | Doha to Tokyo | £15 | 0.903 |
Officials x2 | Glasgow to Dubai | £30 | 1.4 |
Officials x2 | Dubai to Tokyo, | £30 | 1.7 |
Officials x2 | Tokyo to Dubai | £30 | 1.7 |
Officials x2 | Dubai to Glasgow | £30 | 1.4 |
| | | | |
Cab Sec | Tokyo to New York | £15 | 2.7 |
Cab Sec | New York to Glasgow | £15 | 1.7 |
Officials x2 | Edinburgh to New York | £30 | 1.2 |
Officials x2 | New York to Edinburgh | £30 | 1.2 |