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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-41098

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported staffing shortages in trading standards teams across Scotland, in light of reports that this is resulting in fewer than half of local authorities being able to participate in test purchase programmes to monitor the sales of tobacco and vapes to underage children.

The 2025-26 budget delivered record funding of over £15.1 billion for Local Government, a real terms increase of 5.5 per cent compared to 2024-2025. In line with the Verity House Agreement the Scottish Government does not ring-fence or direct local government funding.

Local Government have responsibility for ensuring local budget decisions deliver local and national priorities, including the enforcement of existing legislation, such as tackling underage sales

The Scottish Government works closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), including funding a National Coordinator, to support enforcement of Tobacco and Vaping legislation including checks on sales of tobacco and vapes to under 18s.

Question reference: S6W-41102

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Prison Service continuing its membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, in light of the decision by organisations such as Police Scotland and the Scottish Parliament to withdraw from the scheme.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service has a diverse workforce and is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive environment for all.

Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Scheme provides a range of support for individuals and employers in respect of the entire LGBTQI+ community.

SPS continues to champion the diverse nature of its workforce by recognising and celebrating their diversity and achievements through wider initiatives such as the Butler Trust and PRIDE.

Question reference: S6W-41312

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Independent
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding who has the ownership of the Musselburgh seawall; what responsibility Scottish Power has under the Musselburgh Agreement regarding it carrying out any repairs required to the wall; what its response is to concerns that Scottish Power might ask for public funds to be allocated to carry out such work and, in light of the ongoing Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme application process, how it will ensure that applications are thoroughly reviewed in response to any concerns regarding any potential misuse of such repair funds.

Local authorities are responsible for the development, design, consultation and delivery of flood protection schemes within their jurisdiction. This includes full assessment of all technical, environmental, financial and ownership-related considerations.

The Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme was formally notified to the Scottish Ministers by East Lothian Council on 24 October 2025 under Schedule 2, paragraph 5(5) of the Flood Risk Management Act. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment on the merits of specific aspects of the Scheme at this stage or pre-empting Scottish government decisions.

Question reference: S6W-41299

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any implications for delivering a just transition in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government on the working paper, Community benefits and shared ownership for low carbon energy infrastructure, which was published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in May 2025.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the UK Government on community benefit and shared ownership policy and continues to press for a mandatory scheme for mature onshore technologies, alongside a robust GB-wide voluntary framework for emerging technologies.

On 26 June 2025, I co-chaired a joint ministerial roundtable with the UK Minister for Energy to discuss the UK Government’s working paper and consider how policy can deliver fair outcomes for communities and build capacity while supporting investment in net zero. Officials continue to work closely with UK Government counterparts to ensure Scotland’s priorities are reflected and aligned with the refresh of our Good Practice Principles, to be published in the latter half of 2026.

Question reference: S6W-41147

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-40336 by Angela Constance on 16 September 2025, how many Drug Treatment and Testing Orders were (a) imposed by Edinburgh Sheriff Court and (b) successfully completed in (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24, also broken down by calendar month.

The information is provided in the following tables:

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders imposed by Edinburgh Sheriff Court in 2022-23 and 2023-24, broken down by calendar month [Note 1][Note 2]

Month	2022-23	2023-24
April	5	6
May	7	8
June	16	12
July	6	0
August	c	c
September	c	c
October	0	0
November	c	c
December	c	c
January	0	0
February	c	c
March	c	c
Total for year	38	29

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders from Edinburgh Sheriff Court which were successfully completed in 2022-23 and 2023-24, broken down by calendar month [Note 1][Note 3]

Month	2022-23	2023-24
April	5	4
May	7	5
June	c	8
July	6	c
August	c	5
September	9	6
October	6	c
November	c	c
December	8	c
January	5	c
February	c	c
March	c	c
Total for year	59	39

Notes

1. [c] in tables refers to values between 0 and 3, which may have been suppressed to prevent against the identification of individuals.

2. For some DTTOs imposed by Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the person may live outwith the City of Edinburgh council area.

3. Orders can be successfully completed in a different year to the one in which they were imposed. Persons included in these figures may live outwith the City of Edinburgh council area.

Question reference: S6W-41280

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there should be trade union representation on the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting strong trade unions in Scotland for the benefit of workers and our economy. The STUC is a member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board, of which the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council is a sub-group. Trade unions are represented on the UK Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) of which the Scottish Government is also a member. This is the most appropriate forum for trade unions to engage with government on reserved matters such as employment rights. The STUC also sat on the Offshore Wind Skills Short-Life Working Group convened by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-41371

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) monitors progress and (b) collects data on the Alcohol Brief Intervention programme.

Public Health Scotland collects data and monitors progress on the Alcohol Brief Intervention (ABI) programme. NHS Boards have the responsibility for collecting information and data on ABIs delivered and for providing PHS with this information. PHS publishes its data, which can be found at the link here.

Alcohol Brief Interventions - Search the datasets - National Datasets - National Data Catalogue - Health intelligence and data management - Resources and tools - Public Health Scotland

PHS published an evaluation of the ABI programme in October 2024 which included recommendations for a refreshed approach and paused its data collection in early 2025. The refreshed programme is being developed for inclusion in our forthcoming Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan.

Question reference: S6W-41258

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many requests for respite care have been declined due to a lack of staff availability in the last year.

Question reference: S6W-41059

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address high-value car thefts.

The investigation and prevention of high-value or keyless car theft is a matter for Police Scotland. To support policing capacity and capability, the Scottish Government has provided £1.64 billion in funding for the year 2025-26. This represents an increase of £90 million compared to 2024-25.

The Scottish Government does not hold information specific to high-value or keyless car thefts. However, statistics on motor vehicle theft more generally are published in our quarterly Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletin, available here.

Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, recorded crimes of Theft of a motor vehicle fell by 7%, from 5,090 to 4,753. Compared to 2006-07, this represents a 68% reduction. The standard data supplied by Police Scotland does not identify the type or value of vehicles stolen, nor does it capture specific items taken during housebreaking or robbery incidents where a vehicle may have been among the stolen property.

Police Scotland continues to tackle organised criminal activity through the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, which coordinates multi-agency efforts to disrupt networks involved in offences including vehicle theft.

The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Bill proposes new offences related to the possession of electronic devices used in vehicle theft, such as signal jammers and CAN bus exploit tools. The Scottish Government has lodged a Legislative Consent Memorandum recommending that these measures extend to Scotland, and is proposing that the offences be added to the list of Scottish Criminal Lifestyle Offences.

Question reference: S6W-41080

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are to increase funding for hospices in line with inflation, in light of reports that hospices in Edinburgh are reducing services due to a lack of funding increases.

Through the 2025-26 Scottish Budget the Scottish Government has provided £5 million for independent hospices. This is to help independent hospices achieve pay parity for staff supporting clinical care with NHS levels for 2025-26.

However, it is important to reflect that it remains the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to commission palliative care services, including independent hospices, to meet the needs of their local populations. As such, we expect Scottish hospices and IJBs to continue to engage on any matters that may impact on the delivery of local palliative care services.

Scottish Government officials continue to work with the chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group and Hospice UK to take forward work to help provide financial stability to independent hospices. This includes developing a new framework to support discussion between IJBs and independent hospices related to the commissioning of services.