- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to monitor and report on how well Scotland's seafood businesses adapt to the new EU traceability rules, including whether there is disruption to trade to the EU post-January 2026.
Answer
The changes being introduced by the EU are mandatory for all imports of fisheries products entering the EU from all third countries after 10 January 2026 so there is no alternative to compliance when trading.
We have been and will continue to engage closely with Scotland’s seafood exporters both as they prepare for these forthcoming EU changes and through the go-live period and beyond.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment, which was made in February 2021, to hold an inquiry into the malicious prosecutions relating to Rangers Football Club.
Answer
There is a commitment to a process of inquiry into the circumstances of the malicious prosecutions. This process of inquiry including the details of the inquiry process will be progressed once all related investigations and proceedings are concluded.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many units of affordable housing have been constructed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year since 2015, and how many were delivered compared with local delivery plans.
Answer
Statistics relating to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) by local authority are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of social and affordable homes, and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-quarterly-updates-on-approvals-site-starts-and-completions/
The homes provided through the AHSP comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.
The following table provides a breakdown of the number of homes completed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year between 2015-2016 and 2024-25:
Local Authority | Clacks | Fife | Perth and Kinross | Stirling |
2015-2016 | 50 | 386 | 318 | 164 |
2016-2017 | 72 | 611 | 251 | 118 |
2017-2018 | 117 | 960 | 446 | 68 |
2018-2019 | 63 | 547 | 465 | 98 |
2019-2020 | 90 | 500 | 486 | 73 |
2020-2021 | 78 | 495 | 235 | 231 |
2021-2022 | 118 | 405 | 408 | 171 |
2022-2023 | 98 | 721 | 294 | 103 |
2023-2024 | 60 | 524 | 260 | 77 |
2024-2025 | 28 | 414 | 262 | 119 |
TOTAL | 774 | 5563 | 3425 | 1222 |
Local authorities, as the strategic housing and, in most cases, planning authority are responsible for assessing housing need and demand in their area and setting out their investment priorities in their annual Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs).
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the definition of “processing” being expanded under the new EU traceability regime, which takes effect on 10 January 2026, and that only seafood “frozen and/or packed without further processing” is exempt, how many businesses in Scotland it estimates will be subject to the new documentation requirements.
Answer
The requirement for processing statements currently only applies to seafood caught by non-UK vessels and processed in the UK prior to export. Rather than the definition being “expanded”, from 10 January 2026, the requirement for a Processing Statement will also apply to seafood caught by UK vessels and processed in the UK before export to the EU.
The EU have confirmed that where fish has only been subject to freezing and/or packed after landing and prior to export, they will not require a Statement.
Given the complexity of the seafood export supply chain, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of businesses impacted. However, given many of our exporters undertake processing that will be captured by the new requirement, we expect a significant number of Scottish businesses to be impacted.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the number of court cases that fail or are discontinued because witnesses do not appear for rescheduled hearings due to delays.
Answer
The Scottish Government publishes statistics on people prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts as Criminal Proceedings in Scotland. Although this includes instances of “Plea not guilty accepted” and “Deserted simpliciter” it does not include specific reasons for these outcomes.
- Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Angus Robertson on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to a review of Creative Scotland.
Answer
The Chair of the independent Review of Creative Scotland, Angela Leitch CBE, has today published her report. This sets out 36 recommendations for how a strong national arts body should support the arts, culture and creative sectors. I will consider these in full before setting out a full response. The recommendations and report are available here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781806433643
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 November 2025
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Angus Robertson on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the publication costs were for the recent paper, Your Right to Decide.
Answer
The publication costs for Your Right to Decide were £2,179.92 including VAT. A full breakdown can be found in the following table.
Formatting, design and publication | VAT % | VAT £ | Net Price £ |
Total | 20.00 | 363.32 | 1,816.60 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many controlled
parking zones have been introduced by each local authority in each year since
1999, also broken down by how many parking permits have been sold for these
each year, and how much has been raised by these sales.
Answer
Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and this includes the introduction of controlled parking zones. The Scottish Government does not monitor how many of these zones have been introduced, or the revenue from parking permit sales. This information would only be available from the local authorities directly.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many board meetings of Architecture & Design Scotland the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has attended since May 2021, and on what dates.
Answer
Scottish Ministers do not routinely attend Architecture & Design Scotland board meetings and I have not attended any board meetings of the body since May 2021. Most recently, I met with the Architecture & Design Scotland Chair and Chief Executive in November 2024. A senior official in the sponsor directorate attends the Architecture & Design Scotland AGM on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Officials also regularly attend A&DS board meetings as requested as an observer.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 25 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what programmes are currently in place to prevent prisoners from developing new drug dependencies while in custody.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
SPS work collaboratively with key partners such as Scottish Drugs Forum, Crew 2000 and Scottish Recovery Consortium to enhance and develop approaches to deliver consistent recovery pathways and diversionary activities that support integration back into our communities.
The SPS Alcohol & Drug Strategy, published in January 2025, provides a framework for improving outcomes for those living in prison through the prevention and reduction of alcohol and drug related harm to inspire positive change.
Furthermore, NHS and SPS Staff continue to work together to promote and support access to the Prison to Rehab Pathway, ensuring that people in our care are aware of innovative projects and structured programmes designed to support them on their recovery journey.