- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
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Current Status:
Holding Answer by Ivan McKee on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many offers of suitable alternative employment have been declined by core civil servants awaiting redeployment in each financial year from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Answer
Holding Answer by Ivan McKee on 10 November 2026
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-03019 by Jim Fairlie on 22 September 2026, whether the Minister plans to meet the National Trust for Scotland to discuss the paper by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, Report on the welfare of isolated populations of feral animals, and, if so, whether it will publish the outcomes of any such discussions.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains willing to engage and work closely with the National Trust for Scotland on this matter. The Trust is currently completing its own review of the situation so there are no immediate plans for a meeting.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Flynn on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reasons for the contraction in monthly GDP estimates in July and August 2026, and what actions it is taking in response.
Answer
Month on month GDP data can be volatile. Although Scotland’s GDP fell 0.3% in July 2026 and 0.1% in August 2026, it grew 0.3% over the last three months and has grown 1.3% over the last year. As set out in the GDP publication, at a sector level, the fall in GDP in July reflected a fall in services and construction output partially offset by an increase in production output. The fall in GDP in August reflected an increase in services output offset by a fall in production and construction output.
Scotland’s economic growth has been resilient in 2026 in the face of significant global economic headwinds. The Scottish Government continues to grow the economy through the Programme for Government. This includes establishing a Major Projects Office to unblock investment, a High Growth Unit to help businesses scale in Scotland, a Scottish Innovation Fund with the Scottish National Investment Bank to support university spin-outs, and we are also strengthening export support to attract investment and create better-paid jobs.
- Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the Whizz Kidz Youth Board's report entitled, Mobility Matters: A Youth Perspective on NHS Wheelchair Services, published on 26 June 2026, what assessment it has made of the merits of commissioning a paediatric wheelchair service.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that wheelchair services are responsive to the needs of children and young people. We want everyone in Scotland to receive care and support that is safe, effective and person-centred, and recognise that appropriate wheelchair provision can make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life, health and wellbeing of people with mobility and/or postural needs.
In Scotland, five NHS Regional Wheelchair Services are responsible for assessing individuals' mobility needs and providing wheelchairs. These services are supported by the National Eligibility Criteria for the Provision of Wheelchairs, which set out a framework for delivering a safe, fair, consistent and equitable service across Scotland. The criteria are issued by the Scottish Government and are intended to support Regional Wheelchair Services in meeting the long-term mobility needs of wheelchair users in a person-centred and consistent manner.
The Scottish Government has noted the findings and recommendations set out in the report produced by the Whizz Kidz Youth Board and has shared the report with the five Regional Wheelchair Services for further consideration.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-03799 by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 28 October 2026, whether it has assessed the risk that the construction of hyperscale artificial intelligence data centres could delay, reduce or increase the cost of housing delivery and, if no such assessment has been undertaken, whether it will commit to carrying one out, in light of the national housing emergency.
Answer
The planning system manages the development and use of land in the long-term public interest. Guided by National Planning Framework 4, the system coordinates delivery of the infrastructure and homes that Scotland needs.
The notification direction we issued during the summer enables strategic oversight and monitoring of data centre applications over 50MW power capacity, including the overall impacts and implications for wider infrastructure.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses have received the Fresh Start Relief in each year since 2023-24, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The estimated number of properties receiving any relief, including Fresh Start relief, is published annually in Non-domestic rates relief statistics. Where available, the Additional Tables document includes a breakdown of each relief by council area.
Figures for 2026 are expected to be published on 25 November 2026.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on developing a national workforce strategy for teaching.
Answer
The Scottish Government is developing its approach to strategic teacher workforce planning. This requires the Scottish Government to obtain and analyse up to date data from 32 different Councils as independent employers of teachers throughout Scotland. This is a key practical challenge. The key strategic challenge is ensuring teachers are being trained in the right subjects, are able to move to where need is greatest, and supporting the retention of the existing workforce.
Local vacancy and unmet workforce need data has been collected from councils and is being analysed to inform future workforce planning and action on recruitment challenges. Improving the sharing of local data is key to delivering change by providing the evidence base needed to develop effective policy interventions.
Following evaluation of local authority data, we will work with partners to develop and implement the changes required to address current and future workforce challenges. Addressing current and future workforce challenges will require a collaborative approach between Scottish Government, local government and key delivery partners.
- Asked by: Steven Bonnar, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported difficulties with NHS referrals, funding arrangements and access to specialist bereavement aftercare for families affected by baby loss, and how these issues will be considered as part of the independent review of maternity services chaired by Professor Christine McCourt.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting families who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss by delivering high-quality, sensitive bereavement care, and fund Sands to support all 14 NHS Boards in implementing the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) for pregnancy and baby loss in Scotland. All 14 NHS Boards have signed up to the NBCP, appointed a NBCP lead and are at different stages of implementation.
Women and their partners who experience mental health struggles following pregnancy or baby loss, are able to access support from their midwife, GP, psychological services in primary care and, in some areas, from specialist perinatal mental health services.
The Independent Review of Maternity Services will consider all stages of maternity care and the important interfaces with services including miscarriage care. While the review does not extend to a detailed review of bereavement care, it will take account of how services adjacent to maternity care interact with maternity services and influence outcomes and experiences for women and families.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Alyn Smith on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what targeted support is available to groups of young people with lower rates of participation in education, employment or training, broken down by specific group, and what evaluation it has undertaken of the effectiveness of that support in reducing inequalities by (a) ethnicity, (b) sex and (c) socioeconomic background.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to increasing participation in education, employment and training and reducing inequalities experienced by young people. Targeted support is delivered through No One Left Behind, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), Apprenticeships and specialist third sector provision.
Employability, careers and skills support can help people of all ages overcome barriers to participation, progression and sustained employment. Initiatives such as Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), careers services and apprenticeship programmes also support greater participation across sectors and occupations, helping to address under-representation and widen access to opportunities. Targeted employability support, mentoring and financial assistance can further help individuals access education, training and sustainable employment. Recognising that Scotland has many of the building blocks in place, including Skills Development Scotland's 16+ Participation Portal, which proactively engages young people up to age 19 who are not in a positive destination, targeting thosewho face the greatest barriers to participation, including people of any sex, from any ethnic minority communities and any socioeconomic background.
The Scottish Government monitors the effectiveness of support through a range of published statistics and evaluations, including No One Left Behind statistical summaries, the Annual Participation Measure, apprenticeship equality monitoring and destination statistics. These sources provide information on outcomes for different groups of young people, including by sex, ethnicity and area deprivation where data are available. While these data show positive outcomes for many participants, inequalities remain. The Scottish Government has not undertaken a single cross-programme evaluation of all targeted support by ethnicity, sex and socioeconomic background, but continues to use available evaluation evidence and performance data to inform policy development.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 November 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of secure mobile phone pouches in schools, including the extent to which pupils are able to bypass or open them without authorisation.
Answer
Our refreshed national guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in June, makes clear that headteachers and local authorities can take the steps that they consider appropriate to respond to the disruption caused by mobile phones, and supports schools to put in place approaches that best meet the needs of their pupils and communities.
Decisions on whether to introduce measures such as lockable pouches remain a matter for individual schools and local authorities. Where schools have opted to introduce pouches, there is limited evidence from recent trials in Edinburgh and in Northern Ireland that some pupils have been able to circumvent the locking mechanisms on pouches or place alternative devices in pouches in order to retain access. This would be a matter for schools to respond to using their relationships and behaviour policy. The use of lockable pouches is one option that can be considered by schools and local authorities as part of their wider engagement and assessment work.
The Scottish Government have committed to introducing legislation to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools and have published a consultation to gather views on proposed restrictions. The consultation will close on 17 November and the outcomes from the consultation will inform the development of our legislation.
