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: S7W-03393

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the UK Government and (b) employers regarding the potential impact on offshore workers of any maximum worker weight limits applied in the oil and gas industry.

Question reference: S7W-03394

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Scotland regarding the safe use of weight loss drugs in industries where workers are subject to a maximum weight limit.

Question reference: S7W-02961

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 how many of the recommendations contained in the University of Central Lancashire report, Minimising firefighters’ exposure to toxic fire effluents, have been implemented and how many remain outstanding.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has made substantial progress in implementing the recommendations contained within the University of Central Lancashire report, Minimising Firefighters' Exposure to Toxic Fire Effluents.

Measures implemented include the introduction of a dedicated Fire Contaminants Standard Operating Procedure, enhanced decontamination arrangements, improvements to PPE and laundering arrangements, exposure recording processes and investment in firefighter welfare measures.

The majority of recommendations have been implemented or incorporated into ongoing programmes of work.

Further work continues in longer-term areas including health surveillance, exposure monitoring, welfare infrastructure and future estate improvements. SFRS continues to review emerging evidence and participate in research to inform future developments.

Question reference: S7W-02952

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 extent to which the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's budget has fallen in real terms since its creation in 2013.

Question reference: S7W-02951

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 funding would have been allocated to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in the 2026-27 Budget had its funding had been increased in line with inflation in each year since its creation in 2013.

SFRS was formed in April 2013 and the Resource budget for its first year of operations in 2013-14 was £277.23 million. Adjusting that figure using the GDP deflators that are published by the OBR at UK fiscal events, means the equivalent annual budget for 2026-27 would be £399.99m.

The SFRS Capital budget for 2013-14 was £15.292m. Using the same adjustments means the equivalent annual budget for 2026-27 would be £22m.

The non-fiscal element of the SFRS budget has not been included for the comparison of the impact of inflation. For reference, this figure was £22.02 million in 2013-14. Whilst this element is included in the total budget allocated to SFRS each year, the amount is allocated on the basis of actual cost to SFRS to cover accounting elements such as depreciation. As such, this element of the SFRS budget is not subject to inflationary pressures.

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-02960

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 the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has taken to provide suitable alternative roles to firefighters who are below normal retirement age but are unable to continue in their operational role.

Question reference: S7W-02957

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 how many times, in each of the last 10 years, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service control rooms have operated below safe staffing levels.

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-02956

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 how many times, in each of the last 10 years, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has dispatched fire appliances with fewer firefighters than required to meet agreed safe crewing levels.