- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 17 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what emergency support is available from it or the UK Government to any local authorities that are forced to use financial reserves due to the impact of any decisions that are outwith their control, such as asylum policy changes.
Answer
Local authorities must use the financial resources available to them as efficiently as possible to ensure the best possible value. How this is done is a matter for each council.
The Scottish government has provided local government in Scotland with record funding of over £15.1 billion, an increase of over £1 billion or 5.5 per cent in real terms compared to 2024-25. Decisions on the use of reserves for specific services are rightly the responsibility of councils to take where it is prudent and sustainable to do so.
The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with local government to address the challenges facing councils and ensure we are operating sustainable people centred public services that communities expect and deserve.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Crohn's & Colitis UK's new strategy, Transforming Understanding of Crohn’s & Colitis, which states that around one in seven people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) receive their diagnosis following an emergency admission, and how it plans to work with the charity to improve early diagnosis.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes Crohn’s & Colitis UK’s new strategy Transforming Understanding of Crohn’s & Colitis, and their strategic ambitions for 2026-2036. We recognise that timely diagnosis is essential to improving outcomes and reducing emergency admissions.
We expect all Boards to follow best practice and adhere to current guidelines and standards for people with suspected IBD. A national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland was published in January 2025: inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd-pathway.pdf. This pathway is intended to be used by primary and secondary care health care professionals who are concerned that a patient may have undiagnosed IBD.
We will continue to engage with third sector organisations including Crohn’s & Colitis UK as we remain committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with IBD are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 December 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Glasgow City Council and (b) the UK Government, regarding any impact of asylum policy decisions on the city's homelessness services.
Answer
Scottish Ministers and officials meet with Glasgow City Council counterparts on a regular basis to discuss the pressures on housing and homelessness services in the city. I have met councillors from Glasgow City Council on three occasions to discuss progress in response to the housing emergency, including, most recently, with Cllr Kelly, Cllr Casey and the Leader of the Council on 9 December. Glasgow City Council officers also provided the Housing to 2040 Board with an update at the 12 November meeting and the Minister for Equalities and I attended a roundtable hosted by the Scottish Refugee Council on 20 November to discuss refugee homelessness.
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice attended a Scottish Refugee Council roundtable on 7 April this year to discuss refugee homelessness in Glasgow alongside Glasgow City Council leaders and officials. The UK Government Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum was invited but did not attend and has not responded to our calls for engagement on these issues.
Scottish Ministers have been clear that there will not be a rolling back on the rights of any homeless household in Scotland. Instead we continue to call on the UK Government to provide adequate funding to local authorities to ensure they are able to provide support to meet the housing needs of newly recognised refugees. We have also made more resource and support available, including via our Housing Emergency Action Plan in September.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria will be used to evaluate its pilot programme for walk-in GP clinics, including whether stakeholders representing GPs and other health professionals will have been involved in defining these criteria.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2025
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it has given to staff employed within the Parliament as contractors and whether they should have the same employment terms and conditions as corporate and MSP staff.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2025
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39821 by Mairi McAllan on 1 September 2025, should the Scottish Law Commission conclude that compulsory owners’ associations can be established in law, what its position is on whether the current obligation on owners to insure under section 18 of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 should be updated to instead place the duty on owners’ associations to provide insurance under a single common policy.
Answer
As I stated in my previous response, Scottish Law Commission anticipate sending their Report to Scottish Government in Spring 2026.
The content of that Report will then be reviewed, considering any changes proposed by Scottish Law Commission.
Once we have had time to consider the Report, we will be in a better position to update Mr Harvie and the Parliament.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the SPCB) on 28 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to review its procurement contracts and practices, in light of motion S6M-18686 as amended on 3 September 2025 calling for the Scottish Government to "immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the State of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine".
Answer
When procuring and managing contracts Procurement Services ensures compliance with all legal requirements and the procurement principles including non-discrimination and equal treatment. Procurement Services will continue to monitor and comply with Scottish Procurement Policy notes from the Scottish Government and with UK Government advice relating to international embargos and sanctions.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) outwith sexual health services in (a) the NHS Grampian pilot area and (b) elsewhere in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to expand access to HIV PrEP, informed by engagement with stakeholders across sectors to develop inclusive models of care. The actions include funding NHS Grampian to undertake a project exploring the feasibility and acceptability of providing PrEP in primary care settings. This project is expected to conclude later this financial year and we will carefully consider its findings.
Elsewhere in Scotland, NHS Boards are exploring various outreach models for populations who have barriers to accessing sexual health services. These include a PrEP initiative for people who inject drugs in Glasgow, and an outreach sexual health clinic for trans and non-binary people in NHS Lothian. We are also funding an e-PrEP pilot which would reduce the frequency in which some individuals would need to attend clinic appointments.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to improving access to blood borne virus testing in NHS board areas where emergency department opt-out testing will not be available.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to blood borne virus (BBV) testing across all NHS Board areas as part of our BBV elimination efforts. While we are taking a phased approach to implementing emergency department opt-out testing – initially focusing on areas of higher prevalence - we will consider further expansion if evidence emerges to support this.
All NHS Boards and other relevant services are encouraged to adopt approaches to BBV testing which are appropriate to their local contexts. These include testing in primary care, drug and alcohol services, custodial settings, community pharmacies and through outreach initiatives. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Government has set targets for BBV testing in prisons and drug and alcohol services to encourage uptake.
In addition, work is underway to increase testing for patients who present with symptoms that may indicate a BBV. This includes the development of a national HIV indicator condition action plan and local adoption of tools such as intelligent liver function testing to support earlier diagnosis of hepatitis.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to committing to multi-year funding to combat any HIV stigma on (a) a national level and (b) in health and social care settings.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to build on the landmark national anti-stigma campaign launched in 2023, alongside targeted efforts to raise awareness and reduce HIV-related stigma within health and social care settings. As part of our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan we committed multi-year funding to NHS Education for Scotland to develop training resources for healthcare professionals in non-HIV specialist roles. This included the establishment of a specialist educator post to support provision of training across Scotland. That funding concludes during this financial year and we will consider future funding thereafter. We also recognise the crucial role of the voluntary sector in tackling stigma. To support this, we have provided funding to Waverley Care to lead a workforce education project aimed at reducing stigma in health and social care settings. We are currently working with Waverley Care to consider the next phase of this project.
