Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is currently working to support the delivery of a pilot drug checking service in Scotland, with local sites planned in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, supported by a National Testing and Research Laboratory at the University of Dundee. This pilot is intended to: provide evidence into the effectiveness of drug checking services in Scotland; improve understanding of substances circulating in Scotland’s drug supply; and support harm reduction responses to emerging drug threats.

Through our new Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan, we have committed to exploring options to expand access to drug checking. This could include alternative models but will be informed by local need and international best practice. Given the urgency of the challenge, following the establishment of the pilot programme we will not delay in exploring how to further expand access to drug checking, working closely with partners and learning from the pilot as it progresses.

The works referred to by the Member, which take place from Saturday 10 October until the morning of Wednesday 28 October 2026 , are necessary to deliver rail electrification to Fife passengers, and will represent a significant improvement to the rail network as a result of investment from the Scottish Government.

Although these works will cause disruption to commuters, they are necessary to deliver long-term benefits for passengers, freight operators, local communities and the wider economy. Network Rail has worked closely with rail industry partners to minimise disruption and the impacts on passengers. While it is for Network Rail to balance project costs, operational impacts, and the safety of railway workers when planning and delivering works on the railway, Transport Scotland expects all project partners to carefully manage impacts, maintain open communication with affected stakeholders, and implement mitigation measures, where practicable.

Separately from this, through the Scottish Government’s Control Period 7 (2024-29) High Level Output Specification, the Scottish Ministers are seeking to improve the resilience of Scotland’s rail network by requiring Network Rail to deliver a high-performing, reliable and climate-resilient railway.

This includes maintaining network capacity, improving operational performance, minimising unnecessary closures, and ensuring key passenger and freight services can continue to operate effectively during any unplanned disruption.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02818 of 11 September 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The information requested is not held centrally. The member may wish to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service directly.

Ministers established the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry to ensure families get the truth they deserve, and we are clear that changes to NHS structures will not impact on this. Our planned reforms to NHS structures are designed to improve NHS accountability, transparency and experiences for patients. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry held its final oral hearings in January 2026, and we now await Lord Brodie's final report. All evidence the Scottish Government has shared with the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry has been securely preserved and retained both by the Scottish Government and the Inquiry. This evidence remains accessible to the relevant investigatory and legal bodies, and the transition from 14 regional NHS boards to two strategic boards will not affect the existing secure preservation of this evidence.

Responsibility for ensuring and monitoring effective safeguarding practice rests with local Child Protection Committees, local authorities and their child protection partners, operating within the national child protection framework. The Scottish Government considers evidence from a range of existing assurance, inspection and review activity to inform understanding of safeguarding arrangements. This includes the recently published National Review of Group-based Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, which found that Chief Officers’ Groups reported confidence that education services had established policies, procedures, guidance and learning to identify children and young people at increased risk of significant harm.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is well prepared to deal with the range of risks present in communities across Scotland. SFRS responds to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resources.

This is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as an employer. The information requested is not held centrally. The member may wish to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service directly.

We remain committed to exploring any evidence-based harm reduction measure which will help us to reduce drug-related harms and save lives. If a local area identified an automated vending machine as a measure which would benefit their area, Scottish Government officials would be happy to work with them on the feasibility and logistics of implementing it.

Services across Scotland have already developed flexible and targeted approaches to supplying Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) equipment by introducing more mobile and more fluid approaches (such as IEP vans) that actively go out to areas where they know people will use them.

The NHS complaints handling procedure, which applies to independent contractors and NHS Board managed GP practices, allows people to raise complaints about primary care services with the relevant NHS Board. However, GP practices should take every opportunity to resolve complaints quickly and locally, and at the point of contact wherever possible.

If an NHS Board recognises that it would not be appropriate, or possible, for a person to complain directly to a Primary Care service provider, they will contact the provider to agree the way in which the complaint will be managed. Where agreement cannot be reached, it is for the NHS Board to determine how the complaint is managed. The person making the complaint must be kept informed of the decision.