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-42974

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to children on CAMHS waiting lists who risk ageing out of being eligible for treatment prior to receiving a diagnosis.

We continue to see sustained progress on waiting times for CAMHS. The 18-week CAMHS standard has been met throughout the last year, with 91.5% of children and young people starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral, reflecting the commitment and hard work of the CAMHS workforce.

But we know there is more to do. Some young people and families are still waiting too long. We continue to work closely with all Boards, providing enhanced support where performance needs to improve, ensuring Boards have robust improvement plans in place to deliver results.

Our CAMHS Service specification, published in 2020, highlights that all children and young people should receive support that is appropriate to their individual needs. For many children and young people, such support is likely to be community based, and should be easily and quickly accessible.

That is why we continue to invest in community based mental health supports and services, including providing baselined funding of £15m per year in 2025-26. These services focus on prevention, early intervention, and promoting positive mental health, and offers an alternative to CAMHS where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-43210

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the programme to build three Fleet Solid Support (FFS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is facing early disruption due to a cash flow shortage at Liberty Steel Dalzell in Motherwell, which has left the company unable to purchase steel slab to start production, despite the order to supply 34,000 tonnes of rolled steel plates for the FSS programme, and whether it will engage with Sir David Murray about his reported interest in acquiring the Dalzell Plate Mill with government support.

Question reference: S6W-43076

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the development of an updated National Performance Framework.

We are making good progress on the National Performance Framework (NPF) reform project.

The most recent update to Parliament was 28 November 2025, in response to the Social Justice and Social Security committee’s request for evidence to stage 1 of the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill. [Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill].

We are currently concluding phase two which will make proposals for change and improvement. In phase three we intend to work with partners and stakeholders, up to the pre-election period, to develop these proposals further and we will write to Parliament with further details soon.

We aim to launch the reformed framework in the new parliamentary session following the 2026 Scottish election.

Question reference: S6W-42930

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress NHS Scotland has made to meet its target of using renewable heating systems for all NHS-owned buildings by 2038.

In March 2025, NHS Orkney became the first Health Board to complete the installation of renewable heating in all of its buildings.

The top 20 emitting NHS sites produced more than 60% of NHS Scotland’s total building energy emissions in 2024-25. NHS efforts are focussed on these highest emitting sites which have the potential to act as catalysts for the development of district heat networks.

Health boards are developing site specific decarbonisation plans for the most energy intensive acute hospital campuses. This includes the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, the Edinburgh Bioquarter and the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen. These three sites alone account for 22% of NHS heat and power emissions.

A Prior Information Notice (PIN) was published for the provision of a low/zero carbon Heat Purchase Agreement for the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and surrounding NHS facilities on 18 December 2025 and is available on the Public Contracts Scotland website.

Decarbonising the heating of NHS hospitals is likely to result in an increase in electricity demand (due to the use of heat pumps). Reducing electricity usage is a key enabling action to prepare for renewable heating as it reduces the need for local electricity grid enforcement and limits overall energy bills, making renewable heating more affordable. NHS electricity consumption decreased by 6.2% between 2020/21 and 2024/25 (452,413,000 kWh to 424,163,000 kWh).

A dynamic purchasing system for Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) was launched by NHS National Procurement on 1 August 2025. PINs covering private wire PPAs have also been issued by NHS National Procurement to assess the market’s ability to supply renewable electricity directly to major NHS sites through private connections. Securing PPAs will result in increased supplies of renewable electricity and reduce the costs of electrified heat which can be a barrier to moving to renewable heating.

Further information is available in the NHS Scotland - climate emergency and sustainability: annual report 2025 - gov.scot.

Question reference: S6W-43181

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42791 by Mairi Gougeon on 13 January 2026, (a) what its position is on whether (i) national security encompasses a wider scope than the matters reserved by Schedule 5, Section 9 of the Scotland Act 1998 and (ii) the recent Strategic Defence Review, in particular chapter 6 (Home Defence and Resilience: A Whole-of-Society Approach) and chapter 7.2 (Maritime Domain), affords significant scope for the Scottish Government to exempt its procurement of vessels under the provision of Section 45 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, and (b) whether it will agree to discuss this matter with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Defence.

Question reference: S6W-42844

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the overbridge that carried Gourlay Street over the railway at Cowlairs in Glasgow was removed without replacement in 2016 as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) electrification works, and whether it will instruct Network Rail Scotland to commission a replacement footbridge to reconnect Gourlay Street.

The overbridge at Gourlay Street in Cowlairs was removed by Network Rail, as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, as it did not have sufficient clearance for the installation of Overhead Line Electrical Equipment.

Network Rail sought the necessary consents to permit its removal. An alternative crossing point is available at Keppochhill Road overbridge, which crosses the railway approximately 100m south of the former Gourlay Street overbridge.

Transport Scotland has no plans to instruct a footbridge at Gourlay Street.

Question reference: S6W-42931

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to NHS Scotland in relation to utilising its greenspaces, parks and woodlands to improve patients' mental health through nature immersion.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting NHS Scotland to improve patients’ mental health through a range of different resources, including the utilisation of greenspaces.

We are supporting NHS Boards – in their role as ‘Anchor institutions’ within their communities - to increase use and disposal of their land and assets for community benefit, including the use of green space within their estates.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA published the Population Health Framework (PHF), which sets out a whole-system, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and reducing inequalities over the next decade. The Framework builds on existing action in Scottish Government, including the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Among the PHF’s 30 actions is the development of a National Social Prescribing Framework for Scotland. This includes the provision of referral links to health and wellbeing support in local communities, including a wide range of activities in nature. The Scottish Government has committed to strengthening access and ensured sustainability of good quality public and green spaces, green networks, recreational spaces, play and sports amenities. This supports improving physical and mental health, creates healthy and sustainable places by working in and with communities and supports our response to climate change.

Furthermore, we continue to engage with organisations such as Trellis, who provide therapeutic horticulture to improve physical and mental health, while offering a range of additional services including peer support, healthy living activities, community development, and independent advocacy.

Question reference: S6W-42749

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reasons for all-sector new housing completions and starts not having recovered to their pre-2007-08 financial crisis trend of around 25,000 homes per annum.

The Scottish Government works closely with the housing sector to monitor delivery on the ground and to overcome issues where they may arise. Brexit and inflation have had a significantly depressing effect on the economy as a whole and on housebuilding as part of this. Our response to the housing emergency takes a whole-system approach, maximising growth and investment, to alleviate pressures on households to build the capacity needed to deliver.

Our Housing Emergency Action Plan, launched in September sets out our ambition to increase all tenure housing delivery by 10% per annum over the next three years committing up to £4.9bn over the next four years to deliver around 36,000 affordable homes.

Question reference: S6W-42794

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will initiate discussions with Glasgow City Council on jointly acquiring the site of the former ABC venue on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow to facilitate the implementation of the Vision and Delivery Plan for the Golden Z prepared by Stantec, Threesixty Architecture and Kevin Murray Associates, which was approved by Glasgow City Council in August 2023 and proposes that the fire-damaged buildings on the site be cleared for a landscaped terrace, in light of reported concerns that the current planned redevelopment risks undermining the efforts to fully restore the Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Building.

Question reference: S6W-42925

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the 3-30-300 vision for tree coverage in Scotland, and whether this is a useful mechanism for cities to envisage increased tree coverage.

The Scottish Government welcomes visions that promote the appropriate expansion of tree and woodland coverage across Scotland. We recognise the value of the 3-30-300 rule, alongside other mechanisms for identifying urban areas with low tree cover, as a means to target planting where it can deliver the greatest benefits. This includes building more resilient communities and addressing the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Our commitment to increasing access to urban woodlands and trees is demonstrated through support for the Woodlands In and Around Towns grants under the Forestry Grant Scheme, and through funding partnerships such as the Forth, Clyde and Fife Climate Forests that are delivering projects to expand tree canopy cover across towns and cities in Central Scotland.