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Good morning. The first item of business is general question time. As it is the shortest question session that we have in the week, concise questions and responses would be appreciated.
For question 1, I call Richard Leonard.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Modernisation)
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I hope that you were not getting at me.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the modernisation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. (S6O-05074)
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has conducted a public consultation on its service delivery review to consider how its services should best be configured to ensure that firefighters are in the right place at the right time. The responses are being independently analysed and will inform final decisions of the SFRS board.
The SFRS plans to redeploy resources that are freed up by any changes that it makes to provide a greater resource to its prevention and protection function, and to boost training provision to ensure firefighters can continue to keep all our communities safe from the changing risks that they need to respond to, while also investing in fire station facilities.
Two years ago, the minister admitted to me that the Scottish Government had handed over £1.7 million of public money to the French company Systel to set up a single command and control system, but it was botched. Now, Motorola, which was given the contract 12 months ago, is already running behind and, within six months, was £10 million over budget.
When will the minister get a grip of this latest information technology disaster at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, instead of threatening to cut the number of fire appliances, cut the number of front-line firefighters and cut fire and safety emergency cover at fire stations and in communities across Scotland?
I have to be clear that the primary driver for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s proposed changes is not financial. The chief fire officer has said publicly that, if he had all the resources that he needed, he would still be considering the changes.
I met Mr Leonard in 2023 to discuss these issues. I will ask for an update on the situation, and I am happy to meet him again to discuss the IT issues.
Although it is welcome that house fires have decreased by 20 per cent over the past 10 years, we have witnessed an emergence of new threats, such as the rise in wildfires. Can the minister say something about the importance of the fire service’s ability to adapt to those new risks?
It is welcome that dwelling fires have reduced, as have non-fatal fire casualties—by 33 per cent—and that fatal fire casualties reduced by 32 per cent between 2009-10 and 2023-24. That shows the value of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s prevention activities over the years.
The rationale behind the service delivery review is to ensure that the SFRS can better focus its resources where they are needed most—for example, on training and prevention—so that our firefighters are better located and prepared to deal with current and future risks, such as the record number of wildfire warning periods that we have seen this year.
I appreciate that service changes will always be a matter of concern for people in the immediate vicinity of the impacted fire station, but it is for the SFRS, as the expert in its field, to decide the best changes that can be made over time to ensure that firefighters are in the right place at the right time to deal with incidents when they occur.
NHS Boards (Winter Resilience)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with national health service boards regarding their winter resilience plans. (S6O-05075)
The Scottish Government continues to engage with NHS boards regarding winter resilience planning. Boards have been asked to provide assurance that robust plans are in place to manage system pressures. Those discussions focus on ensuring safe, effective services and maintaining system resilience during periods of pressure.
The forthcoming national planning priorities and principles will set out expectations and provide a consistent national approach, and boards are expected to align their local plans accordingly. That process supports co-ordinated planning across health and social care and ensures readiness to respond to increased demand over the winter period.
NHS Grampian will be nearly £50 million over budget by the end of the financial year, and the Scottish Government has said that it will be allowed to go only £45 million over. KPMG has said that increases in staffing levels do not align with a decrease in the total number of beds. As we head into winter, there will be increased pressures on Aberdeen royal infirmary at a time when services are already stretched. NHS Grampian still has the lowest bed base in Scotland per head of population, and ambulance stacking is a major issue.
There are no beds and no money. Does the cabinet secretary have any solution for my constituents and NHS Grampian as we enter winter?
I had a productive meeting with the chair and the chief executive of NHS Grampian a couple of weeks ago, as well as visiting ARI’s emergency department and other parts of the hospital. I believe that they are bringing forward measures that will help to improve resilience and performance, as well as the financial picture.
However, I stress that the work that has been done through the assurance board, which has been delivered as a result of NHS Grampian’s escalation, is, first and foremost, about improving performance and then the financial picture. We have put more money into NHS Grampian to assist with its unscheduled care pathway and emergency pathways, and I expect that to bear fruit in the coming period.
The Scottish Government has tightened its criteria for Covid vaccinations in the NHS, which means that boosters will no longer be offered to adults who are under 75. I understand that that decision follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. However, as winter approaches, many people are concerned.
What reassurance can the Scottish Government offer those who are no longer eligible for the Covid booster? Is it not concerned that removing the booster from under-75s might lead to an increase in Covid cases, which will put pressure on services as we head into winter?
As Ms Mochan has set out, we are guided in our vaccination programmes by the advice of the independent expert Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Its advice is that the groups that are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination this winter—not just in Scotland but elsewhere in the United Kingdom—are residents in care homes for older adults, those aged 75 and over, and those aged six months and over who have a weakened immune system.
I understand that the groups that are no longer eligible, which include the 65-to-74 cohort, those who are at wider clinical risk and front-line health workers, might feel anxious. To them, I say that the overall threat of Covid has, thankfully, diminished over time, due to high levels of vaccine-based immunity and naturally acquired immunity from infection.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (Service Delivery Review)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s service delivery review, following the public consultation, which closed on 17 September 2025. (S6O-05076)
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service received more than 3,500 responses to its review consultation and held more than 40 public meetings. The review was in reaction to the changing nature of emergencies that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service responds to. For example, as I have already noted, dwelling fires have reduced by 20 per cent since 2013, and incidents such as flooding and wildfires have increased significantly. Therefore, it is right for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to carefully consider how to adapt to the changing risks, in order to remain effective and efficient, with firefighters in the right place at the right time.
In fact, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has refused to confirm whether, given the overwhelming support in local consultation responses for the retention of two appliances at Lochgelly fire station, it will act accordingly and keep both appliances. Therefore, for the benefit of my constituents and the chamber, can the minister clarify the purpose of the consultation? Surely such equivocation risks the entire process being viewed simply as a sham.
As I have said, I believe that it is for the chief fire officer and his commanders across the service to make the decisions that are best for the service, in order to protect communities across the country and respond to the changing nature of risk. This is not a decision for the Scottish Government, and it is appropriate that decisions on fire appliances are best placed with the service.
As I have outlined, an independent analysis of the responses to the consultation will inform the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s final decisions. Any changes that the service introduces will be made over the next five years. I meet the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service frequently, and it has confirmed to me that no decisions have been made.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s consultation proposes closing eight fire stations and changing several others from 24-hour, whole-time cover to day shift only. The minister says that that will put officers in the right place at the right time. However, given that the service’s median emergency response time is the slowest for more than a decade, how does the Government expect those changes to improve response times or enhance public safety?
Regarding the response time that the member mentioned, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continues to respond to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resources. Its targeted approach to risk and the allocation of resources overtook the focus on response times some years ago, and I would also point out that we have seen an increase in response times across the whole of the United Kingdom.
The safety of our firefighters is of utmost importance, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has in place strict health and safety policies that have evolved over the years. For example, changes to operational procedures to stop firefighters travelling under blue-light conditions while putting on personal protective equipment have added to response times in recent years. That is an essential change to protect firefighter safety.
Social Care (Fife)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported rises in waiting times for social care assessments and packages in Fife. (S6O-05077)
The Scottish Government acknowledges that there is a reported rise in waiting times for social care assessments. It has protected and prioritised additional investment in social care, despite an extremely challenging budget settlement. That includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration, which exceeds by almost £350 million our commitment to increase funding.
Under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, local authorities and health and social care partnerships have a duty to assess the social care support needs of people and give due consideration to those assessments in order to arrange suitable and timely services when required.
In Fife, over the past year, there has been a steady increase of 60 per cent in the number of people waiting for assessments. The number of people who have been assessed and need a care package has increased over the past year by 127 per cent. We talk about percentages, but those numbers relate to real people.
Does the minister accept that, unless we tackle that issue, we will not tackle the massive problems in acute care in our hospitals? Will he agree to look specifically at the issue in Fife, given that those sustained increases are causing major problems for the elderly and vulnerable across the area?
I thank Alex Rowley for the typically constructive spirit in which he raises the issue. I met senior leadership at Fife health and social care partnership yesterday, and I will follow that up. I recognise the excellent and innovative work that is taking place in Fife. I assure Alex Rowley that the Government absolutely recognises the importance of timely assessment and delivery of social care packages, including how that relates to the wider pressures that we face across health and social care.
A significant amount of work has been undertaken collaboratively, which has been led by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, and we continue to engage closely. I will follow up on the engagement with Fife health and social care partnership, and I am more than happy to keep Alex Rowley informed of any developments.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what issues were discussed. (S6O-05078)
Both ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet representatives of all national health service boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to discuss matters of importance to local people. My most recent engagement with the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was on Tuesday at Bute house, when we discussed, among other things, the fact that Scotland has falling waiting times, reduced waiting lists and higher planned care activity.
The Scottish Government is well aware of the concerns that Unison representatives and I have about the impact on vulnerable older adults of the looming closure of ward 36 at the Royal Alexandra hospital. With winter coming up, now is clearly not the time to be cutting beds. In fact, I am told that Scottish Government money for winter pressures has been used to accommodate vulnerable adults in other parts of the hospital, while ward 36 admissions are limited. That is exactly what staff at the RAH warned would happen, and it is coming to pass, despite a petition with more than 7,000 signatures.
First, the Scottish National Party Government came for the children’s ward at the RAH and closed it. Will it now let the ward for our older folk close too, and ignore the views of hard-working NHS staff and patients yet again?
I remain of the view that such changes should be carefully considered and decided locally in a way that is consistent with national policy while being meaningfully informed by the views of local stakeholders, including staff and patients. As I have said when I have met and corresponded with Mr Bibby and Unison on the matter, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been clear that the changes are about providing appropriate, high-quality, safe and sustainable services for older adults in Renfrewshire. Ward 36 has, for some time, been used for patients awaiting home care or a care-home placement who are otherwise medically fit for discharge. In line with national policy on shifting the balance of care and minimising delayed discharge, the health board has been directing those resources to support local hospital-at-home services.
Creative Scotland (Funding Awards)
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns raised by the Scottish Music Industry Association about delays in and sufficiency of funding awards, how it will ensure that the additional £20 million allocated to Creative Scotland for its multiyear funding programme in 2025-26 effectively supports the growing number of music-specific organisations. (S6O-05079)
The Scottish Government has increased Creative Scotland’s multiyear funding by £20 million this year, providing a major boost to Scotland’s culture sector. That investment provides stability for organisations to plan and deliver high-quality programmes in theatre, visual arts, literature and music. Forty-six music organisations now receive multiyear support, which is more than double the previous number, and support for three more is potentially in development for 2026-27. Many multidisciplinary groups also include music, further strengthening the impact of our support.
In the recent independent review of Creative Scotland, UK Music highlighted that Scotland’s music sector generates more than £857 million and sustains more than 7,000 jobs. However, UK Music stressed that funding volatility threatens grass-roots talent, touring and economic sustainability.
I appreciate and understand budgetary pressures. However, how will the cabinet secretary ensure that Creative Scotland delivers strategic, predictable and resilient investment, in particular for emerging artists, self-releasing labels and rural organisations, through 2025-26 and beyond?
The good news for Michelle Thomson and the music sector is that the introduction of multi-annual funding puts an end to the volatility that many organisations have previously had to put up with. No other part of the United Kingdom has multi-annual funding such as this Government has introduced for the Scottish culture sector, and such funding has an important impact on the music sector.
If the member has specific examples of funding volatility at present, I would be grateful if she let me know. The new system has been introduced, so that should not be the case.
Local Cultural Activities and Festivals
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local cultural activities and festivals to encourage economic development and tourism. (S6O-05080)
The Scottish Government is investing an additional £34 million in Scotland’s culture sector this year, which is moving us closer to fulfilling the First Minister’s pledge to invest at least £100 million more annually by 2028-29.
The uplift strengthens Creative Scotland’s multiyear funding programme, which supports 251 organisations across 27 local authority areas, and expands flagship initiatives such as the Culture Collective and creative communities Scotland. That investment boosts participation, supports jobs and drives cultural and economic growth nationwide. VisitScotland’s latest survey shows that history and culture are one of the biggest attractions for visitors and help to secure Scotland’s place as a world-class cultural destination.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that, over the past weekend, Paisley had its annual Halloween festival, which is the largest of its kind in Scotland. It ensured that thousands of buddies were in Paisley town centre on Friday and Saturday night. During the same weekend, Paisley received the award of Scotland’s town of the year. Is Paisley leading the way as the perfect example of how cultural investment is an important part of town centre regeneration?
I am grateful to Mr Adam for highlighting the range of interventions and events that are taking place in Paisley. He underlines the fact that the Government is committed to supporting cultural and arts events right across Scotland. Paisley is a really important part of Scotland’s cultural landscape, and I am grateful to him for highlighting the many great events that take place there.
That concludes general question time.