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.

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Question reference: S6W-41698

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress it has made towards receiving annual updates from NHS boards to ensure that the appropriate healthcare standards and practices are in place for detainees in police custody.

In 2022, joint inspection arrangements between HMICS and HIS were established to ensure that healthcare aspects of custody centre operations are appropriately scrutinised by suitably qualified professionals. They work to ensure that individuals in custody receive equitable healthcare and support compared to the general population, within the constraints of the custody environment.

Following the development of an interim framework to inspect, and the HIS baseline review of healthcare provision in police custody in 2023, the framework to inspect was finalised in 2024. This has since underpinned the programme of joint inspections.

Scottish Government provides £180,000 annually to support the healthcare aspect of these inspections.

When issues are identified through inspections, be they systemic or specific to individual centres, it is for Police Scotland and the NHS to work alongside relevant partners to deliver the necessary improvements to align with recommendations made.

Relating specifically to obtaining Controlled Drug Licenses and implementing policies on access to prescribed medication, in March 2024 the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy committed to request annual updates from health boards to monitor progress. This followed the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s consideration of Petition PE1900.

The Scottish Government continues to oversee implementation across Scotland including a recently commissioned survey to all Health Boards to monitor compliance in each area. These steps demonstrate commitment to ensuring detainees in police custody across Scotland have access to prescribed medications, including methadone.

Question reference: S6W-41700

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what input its ministers have had into the development of Police Scotland’s Unacceptable Actions by Complainers Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 stipulates that the Chief Constable of Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference. This means the Scottish Government cannot interfere in operational policing matters, including their Standard Operating Procedures.

Question reference: S6O-05138

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting and improving the experience of victims of domestic abuse, particularly in situations where there are young children in the family.

Question reference: S6O-05105

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure comprehensive emotional, bereavement and practical support is accessible for people who have experienced baby loss.

Question reference: S6W-41468

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 October 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will give community energy projects priority access to sites on public land due for repowering, through measures such as updated guidance and enhancements to the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS).

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the transition to net zero delivers real and lasting benefits for communities, not just in terms of infrastructure, but in jobs, investment, and local opportunity. We know Scotland’s energy transition is not just about infrastructure, it’s about people. That is why we are taking action to give communities priority access to renewable energy assets on public land that are due for repowering.

This includes enhancements to the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS), which will now ensure communities receive early notification of in scope public land sites due for repowering and a dedicated 12-month window to apply before a commercial strategy is pursued.

We’re moving beyond the idea of communities as passive hosts of energy infrastructure. Our approach supports communities to become active partners, investing in, owning, and benefiting from the clean energy future.

Ten Forestry and Land Scotland onshore wind sites under 50 megawatts have been identified to pilot this approach. We are also working with public bodies to ensure communities have access to clear guidance through Local Energy Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland. Updated information on the enhanced CATS will be available online from both organisations today. In addition, communities hoping to utilise the enhanced CATS will benefit from advice available through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). This will ensure that communities are supported to play an active role in shaping their energy future, not just hosting developments, but helping to lead them.

Question reference: S6W-40858

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 September 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the next Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract (CHFS3) will commence.

I am pleased to confirm that the suite of CHFS3 documentation has been signed by all parties and the new arrangements will come into effect on 1 October 2025 for an initial duration of 10 years.

This is the culmination of a significant amount of work over a number of years including a robust due diligence exercise and extensive stakeholder engagement to inform the approach taken.

The new contract will fundamentally change the ethos of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services by moving from a commercial arrangement to a model which is more focused on the delivery of a public service, and which is fully engaged and responsive to the particular needs of the communities served.

The flexibility afforded under these new arrangements, along with our commitment to ongoing stakeholder engagement, will help deliver continual improvement throughout the duration of the contract.

Alongside the Scottish Government’s ongoing significant investment in new vessels and infrastructure, I fully expect CHFS3 to be a catalyst for positive change across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services network.

Question reference: S6O-04985

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Distress Brief Intervention programme.

Since November 2024, the Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme has been live in all 31 Health and Social Care Partnership areas across Scotland for those aged 16 and over.

We also have three national referral pathways to DBI - via NHS24; and via call handling centres operated by both the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland. These provide additional options for key services to refer people for DBI support.

As at the end of July 2025, over 95,000 people have been referred to DBI.

With our partners across a range of sectors, we will look to continue to embed and grow the DBI programme across Scotland, building on its considerable success to date.

Question reference: S6O-05004

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its approach to considering a hypermobility pathway for healthcare, in line with that being brought forward in Wales.

Question reference: S6O-04955

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill aims to give school pupils an independent right to opt in, but not opt out, of religious observance.

Question reference: S6W-40301

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Scotland's rent adjudication system has resulted in rents raised above that which was requested by landlords, what its position is on whether the system is working as intended, and whether there are any plans to revisit this policy.

Scotland already has some of the strongest rights in the UK for tenants, and we are taking forward measures in the Housing Bill that will strengthen these protections further including the introduction of rent control.

We recognise the concerns raised about how rent adjudication currently operates, particularly the potential for rents to be set at a level greater than that proposed by the landlord. We have taken action through the Housing Bill to ensure the Rent Officer, or Tribunal, cannot raise the rent above that requested by the landlord, should the Bill be passed by Parliament.