- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms exist to monitor compliance by local authorities with statutory duties relating to free personal and nursing care, particularly where payments are delayed due to financial pressures.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44036 on 10 March 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, what its position is on whether it is appropriate for the Lord Advocate to provide information on a live criminal case to ministers that is not in the public domain.
Answer
In dealing with recent Urgent Questions in Parliament (18 February and 25 February 2026), the Lord Advocate has advised the practice of providing updates to Scottish and UK governments pre-dates devolution in 1999. The Lord Advocate explained and provided examples of occasions on which this has been done, which involved prosecutors properly sharing information with the government which is not in the public domain at the time it is shared or will not be made public.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, what its position is on whether the head of the prosecution service should be reporting to the head of the executive in relation to the criminal case against Peter Murrell.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43803 on 5 March 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, whether (a) the First Minister has, (b) any other minister has and (c) any special advisers have ever asked the Lord Advocate for information about the criminal case against Peter Murrell, and, if so, when any such contact was made, and what information was sought.
Answer
No such information has been sought.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the Urgent Question and supplementary questions by Dorothy Bain on 18 February 2026, what its position is on whether it has been involved in any political interference in the criminal case against Peter Murrell.
Answer
There has been no political interference in the criminal case against Peter Murrell.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision to refuse on appeal the planning application for Flamingo Land, whether it will now end Scottish Enterprise’s exclusivity agreement with Lomond Banks.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise (SE) and as such I have asked Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of SE to write to you with a full response.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for foodshare projects.
Answer
In 2025-26 we allocated £315,000 to FareShare to redistribute high quality surplus food to community organisations with an emphasis on shared meals and promoting cash-first.
We also allocated a total of almost £200,000 to the four established regional community food networks in Scotland, which are Community Food Initiatives North East, Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership, Edinburgh Community Food and the Glasgow Community Food Network. This funding helps tackle food insecurity, promotes community food and supports improved health and wellbeing.
Through our Investing in Communities Fund, we have provided around £2.8 million of funding each year between 2023-26 to 32 organisations to enable them to provide holistic support services to address poverty and inequality, including activities to directly tackle food insecurity.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it is continuing the Investing in Communities Fund beyond March 2026.
Answer
Following the publication of the draft Scottish Budget, we have agreed funding to support an extension of the Investing in Communities Fund for the existing organisations supported by the Fund. This transition funding will provide support for 2026-27, and we are working with eligible organisations to assess their funding needs.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, following the pause to the publication of The Long Term Conditions Framework in December 2025, what progress has been made in establishing an advisory board for grouped long-term conditions, including myalgic enchephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and long COVID, and when the initial recommendations will be provided to the Scottish Government.
Answer
I opened an event with clinicians and third sector organisations on 25 February to set out the role and remit of the work on long term conditions going forward.
This work is a vital part of the Service Renewal Framework, Major Change One on the services that prevent disease, enable early detection and effectively manage chronic and long term conditions.
Advisory Groups led by clinicians and third sector organisations will now be set up with recommendations made to the new administration for consideration.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the UK Government's press release of 3 February 2026, Government to cover travel costs of children with cancer, which accepted the proposal by Young Lives vs Cancer for a £10 million travel fund to support the cost of the young people travelling for treatment, what (a) steps it will take to ensure parity for children and under-25s in Scotland who have cancer with those in England, (b) discussions it has held with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the fund, and whether these will inform any decisions about expanding the Young Patients Family Fund eligibility criteria to include all such young people, including those receiving treatment as day-patients, and (c) assessment it has carried out of any impact on reducing health inequalities of expanding the Young Patients Family Fund's eligibility criteria to include these young people.
Answer
The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) is designed to support the families of all babies, children and young people from birth to age 18 who require inpatient care in Scotland regardless of diagnosis.
Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available through the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts may reclaim reasonable travel costs associated with attending hospital appointments, subject to eligibility criteria and clinical requirements. These arrangements apply across Scotland and provide support to eligible young people and their families irrespective of condition.
Scottish Government officials met with counterparts in the UK Department of Health and Social Care in March 2025 as part of wider engagement on the development of their National Cancer Plan for England. During this meeting, officials shared learning on the implementation and administration of the Young Patients Family Fund.