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-04057

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its paper Compulsory Purchase Reform in Scotland: The Way Forward, what further work it is undertaking to explore Compulsory Lease Orders and the potential impacts of leasing a property without its owner's consent, and when it expects this work to be completed.

Question reference: S7W-04058

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of questions regarding the compatibility of compulsory sales orders and compulsory purchase orders with the European Convention on Human Rights, whether it will introduce legislation to enable local authorities to use Compulsory Lease Orders to bring empty homes back into use more easily.

Question reference: S7W-04102

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it will put in place to ensure that community councils can participate meaningfully in the three-month consultation on local governance reform, which is due to end in early December.

Question reference: S7W-04056

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will use the opportunity of local government reform to enable local authorities to use Compulsory Sale Orders and Compulsory Lease Orders to bring empty homes back into use.

Question reference: S7W-03896

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Edinburgh Food Project provided 2,896 food parcels in the Edinburgh Central constituency between September 2025 and September 2026, whether it remains committed to ending the need for food banks in Scotland and, if so, what action it is taking to deliver this commitment.

Question reference: S7W-03899

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that 35% of crisis grant applications resulted in refusals in 2025-26, what assessment it has made of whether crisis grant eligibility rules contribute to reliance on food banks.

Question reference: S7W-03898

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government in light of reports that 8,870 of the 26,160 crisis grant decisions made in the City of Edinburgh resulted in refusals last year, representing 34% of all decisions, and that the average award was £125, whether it considers the level of crisis grant provision to be sufficient to meet applicants' needs.

Question reference: S7W-03897

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication by the Scottish Government and COSLA of the renewed delivery plan, Ending Destitution Together, what action it is taking to address food insecurity and reliance on food banks among people with no recourse to public funds.

Question reference: S7W-03900

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported rise in homelessness applications in Edinburgh, what action it is taking to ensure that people experiencing homelessness or living in temporary accommodation can access nutritious food.

Question reference: S7W-03402

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the planned reform of NHS boards and the existing delays to the implementation of the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway, when it expects the pathway to be delivered.

The Scottish Government intends to launch the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway on a phased basis from October 2026. This approach is intended to minimise disruption to services and service users, and to support the effective implementation of the pathway across Scotland. Existing provision in the NHS Board areas which currently offer Veterans First Point (V1P) services will continue until the end of this financial year (2026-27).

To support delivery of the Pathway, a full governance structure is being established to provide appropriate oversight, coordination and stakeholder engagement across national and local partners during the implementation phase. These arrangements will help ensure that any impacts arising from planned NHS reform are identified and managed appropriately, enabling progress towards delivery of the Pathway's key aims and outcomes.

This comprehensive governance – with the voice of veterans at its heart – will ensure that the Pathway is implemented in a sustainable manner, with full regard to the needs of veterans and service providers.