Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the seasonal dangers and damage associated with disposal barbeques.

I welcome the steps the UK Government took to temporarily restrict the sale of disposable barbeques across the England, Scotland and Wales given the risks they can pose to the environment, local communities and agricultural land, particularly during periods of warm and dry weather when the risk of wildfire is heightened.

I believe there needs to be consideration of this issue on a more permanent basis when there is a high risk of wildfires and a more permanent approach would provide greater protection for communities and the environment. This is therefore an issue I will look to raise with the UK Government in early course.

In Scotland, local authorities have powers to ban the use of disposable barbeques within relevant spaces. Whilst it is for Scottish Ministers to approve byelaws proposed by local authorities, it is a matter for each council to decide how to manage its day-to-day business, including whether there is a need to introduce byelaws within their local areas to implement a ban on the use of barbeques at times of high risk.

This includes new wildfire prevention byelaws that came into effect in the Cairngorms National Park. This means that fires and barbecues are banned in public places within the National Park between 1 April and 30 September every year unless there is a lawful authority to do so.

The second recommendation contained in 'Misogyny – A Human Rights Issue'; the report published by the Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice' was:

2. The Working Group concluded too that legislative change is essential but insufficient to address the insidious problem of misogyny in Scotland. In addition, therefore, to the creation of a Misogyny Act, the Working Group recommends that the Scottish Government:

i. Involves all relevant stakeholders (including women’s groups and the Police Scotland) in implementation of the Misogyny Act.

ii. Provides sufficient resources for:

a. Education and training within the criminal justice system and for multi-agency support and awareness (medics, dentists, social services, educators) as well as the development of any new interventions such as awareness training required for diversions to social workers from the Procurator Fiscal).

b. Resourcing social work and other interventions, as required by prosecution policy.

c. Technology capability and police officer capacity for recording and reporting.

d. Campaigning and awareness – within public institutions, workplaces, education.

e. Learning from projects and good practice in other places and jurisdictions – e.g. Nottingham, Washington DC, France"

Many of these recommendations relate to the implementation of the proposed Misogyny Act. As such, they will be matters for consideration during the implementation of the legislation, should it be passed by Parliament.

We also recognise the importance of campaigning and awareness-raising to address misogyny more broadly. Earlier this year, we delivered a campaign aimed at boys aged 11 to 18, as well as parents and carers, to raise awareness of the scale and impact of misogyny and to encourage positive behaviours and support for those affected. Our Programme for Government includes a sustained, multi-year public health campaign to address misogynistic attitudes and violence against women and girls, alongside a range of wider measures to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours.

We have also published a national framework for schools to support action to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Misogynistic behaviour was identified as an emerging concern in the 2023 Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research report. The publication of the Gender Based Violence in Schools Framework, developed by a working group jointly chaired by us, Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance, demonstrates our commitment to responding to these concerns and ensuring that pupils and staff receive the support they need.

In addition, we remain committed to supporting the implementation and expansion of both the Time for Inclusive Education programme and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue's Digital Discourse Initiative in Scotland. Schools, teachers, trade unions and young people have highlighted the value of the Digital Discourse Initiative in helping educate young people about online hate and disinformation. Zero Tolerance has also contributed to the programme by supporting the development of content and case studies on misogyny and the so-called "manosphere.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, (SFRS) received no aerial firefighting assets from the Ministry of Defence, (MoD) during the Cairngorms wildfire in July.

Although a request was made to the MoD regarding availability of specific aerial firefighting support, the Scottish Government was advised that the MoD does not possess the requested aerial firefighting assets stationed within the UK.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has published its analysis of its public consultation on the changes proposed in the Service Delivery Review. This is available on the SFRS website.

His Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate is currently conducting a thematic review into the culture of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government will work closely with SFRS following that review to ensure any appropriate recommendations are implemented and that any suggested improvements are carefully considered.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board is operating effectively and the Scottish Government has no plans to reform its operation. All SFRS Board meetings take place in public with the papers published on the SFRS website in advance. In addition, the Scottish Government holds a public Annual Performance Review meeting each year in which stakeholders and members of the public can ask questions on the performance of the service over the preceding 12 months.

The Scottish Government allocates an annual capital budget to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The SFRS Board takes decisions on how that budget should be split between estate, fleet and equipment. The majority of assets such as appliances and equipment are used for multiple types of emergencies and are not limited to one type of incident. SFRS is rolling out a £1.6 million programme of investment at part of its Wildfire Strategy but the Scottish Government does not hold information on the expenditure on equipment specific to tackling wildfires over the last 10 years.

The data required to answer this question is not held or collected by the Scottish Government.

While Public Health Scotland holds data on adults admitted to psychiatric or general/acute hospitals for treatment, there is no information collected on those treated in other settings, including in outpatient and primary care settings. As a result, available data is likely to substantially undercount the number of adults that have received treatment for an eating disorder in Scotland over the period requested.

It would therefore be misleading to use the data currently available from Public Health Scotland to answer the question.

Decisions on how resources are deployed, including the operation of contact, command and control services, are matters for the Chief Constable, reflecting the operational independence of policing. Police Scotland has been very clear that 101 is a non-emergency number and callers are advised of other means by which they can contact the service while on hold.

This information is publicly available and can be obtained from table L2.1 in the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations publication. Please see the following link.

Supporting documents - Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 8: 2026 edition - gov.scot