Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S7O-00293

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it developed the four job families and pay scales for MSP staff, including the criteria used to weigh different functions within and between families, and when these will next be reviewed.

Question reference: S7O-00298

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it considers it equitable that staff employed by MSPs receive lower employer pension contributions than staff it and the Scottish Government directly employ, and what action it is taking to address any such disparity.

Question reference: S7W-02868

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the recent Cairngorms wildfire, what assessment it has made of whether best practice was adhered to in relation to cumulative exposure to toxic smoke, including guidance that firefighters should shower within one hour of such exposure.

Operational decision-making and decontamination procedures are matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

SFRS has established procedures and guidance to reduce firefighters' exposure to contaminants, including guidance that personnel should shower as soon as reasonably practicable following exposure. SFRS continues to review operational activity and learning from significant incidents to inform ongoing improvements to firefighter health, safety and wellbeing.

There will be a multi-agency debrief to examine the specific circumstances of the recent Cairngorms wildfire incident.

Question reference: S7W-02953

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's capital backlog.

The most recent available information on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s capital backlog is contained within the SFRS Risk Based Capital Investment Plan 2025.

Risk Based Capital Investment Plan 2025 | Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Audit Scotland and His Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland are currently carrying out a joint audit and inspection of SFRS’s management of estate, fleet and equipment. This report is expected to be published in March 2027.

Question reference: S7W-02958

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the average incident response time has been for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each year since its creation.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

SFRS publishes Fire Safety and Organisational statistics and Incident statistics on their website https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about/statistics/, the next edition of Incident statistics is expected on 30 October 2026. There are currently no official statistics on the average incident response times in Scotland.

SFRS continues to respond to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resources. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's (SFRS) Operations Control rooms dynamically mobilise fire appliances based on their real-time location and availability, rather than fixed station response areas. This approach ensures that the nearest available resource is always deployed to achieve the quickest possible response time.

Question reference: S7W-02920

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many times in each of the last 10 years each prison has had to operate under a restricted regime.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for the operation of prisons.

The information requested is not recorded by SPS.

As SPS continues to face significant overcrowding and population pressures, restricted regimes may be necessary at times to ensure the safe and effective operation of prisons.

SPS does not use fixed numerical thresholds when implementing restricted regimes. Decisions are taken locally, based on daily dynamic assessments of safety and operational capacity. Governors also consider the stability of the establishment and staffing levels to ensure that statutory rights and essential services are prioritised.

Where a full regime cannot be delivered safely, restrictions may be applied to purposeful activities to ensure that key legal entitlements, including access to open air, meals and visits, continue to be met.

Question reference: S7W-02867

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of decontamination facilities for firefighters operating in prolonged incident environments, including wildfires.

The provision of decontamination facilities is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

Scottish Government is aware that the SFRS has established decontamination arrangements to support firefighters operating at prolonged incidents, including wildfires. Where local facilities are unavailable, alternative arrangements are in place to support access to decontamination facilities.

Question reference: S7W-02869

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the recommendations of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Delivery Review adequately address the risks posed by climate change, including wildfires.

The Service Delivery Review was carried out to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to provide a high level of service by realigning service provision to meet risk and demand.

Climate related emergencies are an increasing and evolving threat and the Service Delivery Review will lead to redistribution of resources to support emerging priorities including the preventative measures needed to continue to support the increase in these emergencies, including wildfires.

Question reference: S7W-02891

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering any changes to the Scottish Prison Service recruitment process, including an end to the use of online interviews introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02922 on 17 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.

Question reference: S7W-02950

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide long-term funding certainty to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.