- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has withdrawn funding for community safety advocates from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and, if so, for what reason.
Answer
The Scottish Government provided funding of £412.2 million the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) for 2025-26. Decisions on how this funding is spent is a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer.
Prevention activities are carried out by personnel at a range of levels and across Scotland and are not restricted to the Community Safety Advocate role.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on which incineration facilities have reported increases in emissions of toxic pollutants such as arsenic, chromium, mercury, chlorine or dioxins since 2019, and what action has been taken in response.
Answer
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is the regulator for municipal waste incineration. SEPA already publishes summary data on pollutant releases via the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI), site-specific monitoring data on its public register and also requires operators to make up to date emissions information available to the public via their own websites.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have used the Hospital at Home service in each year since 2021, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
Published figures from Healthcare Improvement Scotland estimated that Hospital at Home services for Older and Acute Adults prevented 15,470 people being admitted to hospital in 2024-2025, reducing pressure on unscheduled care and delayed discharges.
Board level data for the Older Adults pathway is a matter for Healthcare Improvement Scotland who collate and manage this data collection.
Officials are working with PHS Scotland to develop a new national data set for Hospital at Home activity and related admission alternative services. Data collection is due to commence later this year and will be expanded to include other Hospital at Home pathways such as heart failure, respiratory, paediatrics and Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT). Public Health Scotland plan to publish figures as this develops during 2026.
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported recent fire incidents at recycling facilities, including one at S. Morton & Co recycling facility in Glasgow East, what safety regulations and enforcement measures are in place to protect public safety and nearby communities.
Answer
The following regulations apply to waste and recycling facilities in Scotland.
- Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004
- Building (Scotland) Act 2003 (and associated legislation)
- Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012
- Waste Management (Scotland) Regulations 2011
The following table covers the various organisations involved in authorising the creation and operation of waste and recycling sites, including their responsibilities and enforcement duties.
Organisation | Responsibilities |
Site operators (Dutyholder) | - Fire – There is a requirement under the Fire Scotland Act 2005 to ensure a competent fire risk assessment is carried out and dutyholders should ensure all actions and requirements of the Fire Risk Assessment are completed.
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SEPA | - Licence or permit waste management sites to mitigate the environmental and public health risks from waste activities, through the provision of Waste Management Licences and Waste Management Licence exemptions, or Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Permits.
- In making determinations on Waste Management Licences or PPC permit applications, will consider Site Management Plans, which could include storage conditions for example.
- Undertakes enforcement activities, including site inspections, to ensure relevant compliance with Waste Management Licence and PPC permit conditions and the conditions of waste management licence exemptions.
- Key Agency in the Land Use Planning system in Scotland, SEPA a consultee on applications for Environmental Impact Assessment development, and all National Developments.
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Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | - Provides fire safety advice when required to all relevant (non-domestic) sites (including waste sites).
- Where concerns are raised SFRS can provide fire safety advice and where the risk is deemed high a fire safety audit may be carried out.
- Following a fire incident, SFRS will carry out a post fire audit or investigation where required and may enforce any required actions from the audit. Relevant partners may be notified where necessary.
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Health & Safety Executive | - National Regulator for Health and Safety.
- Enforce the relevant health and safety regulations
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Local Authority (Planning departments) | - Determine planning applications for waste management facilities (land use suitability)
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Local Authority (Building standards) | - Responsible for administering and enforcing the Scottish building standards system.
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- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion, in its Delivering Real Growth manifesto, that any further divergence towards higher income tax rates in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK should be avoided.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the contribution of the Scottish Retail Consortium and other stakeholders to the debate on how best to support economic growth in Scotland.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total financial cost has been of staff absences related to stress, anxiety and depression in NHS Scotland since 1 January 2020.
Answer
The requested information on what the total financial cost has been of staff absences related to stress, anxiety and depression in NHS Scotland since 1 January 2020 is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33126 by Neil Gray on 17 January 2025, whether it will meet its target to achieve population-based coverage of access to rapid cancer diagnostic services by 2026.
Answer
Our sixth Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service for people with non-specific symptoms of cancer open in NHS Forth Valley in May.
The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is now working with Boards across Scotland to embed learning and work on non-specific symptoms pathways across Scotland.
In line with the publication of the recently revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Urgent Suspicion of Cancer in July this year, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery have confirmed that all NHS territorial Health Boards now have pathways in place for those presenting with non-specific symptoms of cancer.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress made to introduce a statutory cap on incineration capacity.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the value of a long term, evidenced-based indicative residual waste treatment cap to help inform planning and investment decisions as Scotland transitions towards a circular economy, as part of an overall strategic approach (Recommendation 5 of the Independent Review on the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy (the Review) published May 2022).
That is why, as set out in Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030, we have committed to develop an indicative cap through Scotland’s Residual Waste Plan (RWP), due for publication in 2027.
In line with the Review’s recommendation, any cap will be indicative and consider all residual waste capacity, including landfill and other treatment options. It should account for waste streams that must be incinerated by law, such as those containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and allow for sufficient contingency to account for uncertainties in the data, the trajectory of residual waste arisings, and policy development and delivery.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications to the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme there have been in each year since 2023, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, part of the Scottish Government’s Emerging Energy Technology Fund, was launched for project funding applications in June 2022 and closed in August 2022 for Stream 1 projects and in September 2022 for Stream 2 projects.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government who will provide any services that will no longer be provided by community safety advocates as a result of any reduction to their numbers, including preventative work in schools and home fire safety visits for vulnerable people.
Answer
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to employ permanent Community Safety Advocates across Scotland, who work alongside colleagues in local areas to undertake important community safety and prevention work.
SFRS continues to invest significantly in their prevention work, which is reflected in both the current Service Delivery Review and the recent publication of the SFRS Strategy 2025-2028 | Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
