Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government committed through the Programme for Government 2023 – 24, published on 5 September 2023, to improving miscarriage care, including the provision of separate private spaces in hospitals with maternity wards for women experiencing pregnancy and baby loss.

The Delivery Framework for Miscarriage Care, published on 6 February 2025, sets out that those experiencing miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy should be seen in a separate private space appropriate for bereavement. This action carries a priority category of “N” which means this should be implemented within 6 months from 1 April 2025.

Improving access to Mental Health services is a priority for Scottish Government and whilst we recognise the ongoing pressures facing the NHS, we remain committed to supporting all Boards to achieve the standard that 90% of patents start treatment within 18 weeks of referral in CAMHS and PT.

As was announced last week we have seen transformational improvements in CAMHS waiting lists over the last year and this has continued during the latest quarter. For the first time ever, national performance against the 18-week CAMHS standard has been met, with 90.6% of children and young people starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral in the last quarter and 1 in 2 children referred to CAMHS start treatment within 4 weeks compared to 12 weeks pre-pandemic (quarter ending March 2019).

Latest publication of data (4 March 2025) shows Psychological Therapies (PT) services are responding well to demand, with one in two people referred starting treatment within three weeks of referral.

More detailed information, including breakdowns at NHS Board level, can be found on the Public Health Scotland website where the latest publication on both PT and CAMHS waiting time is available for quarter ending December 2024 published on 4 March 2025. Publications - Public Health Scotland

As set out in my answer to question S6W-32625 on 8 January 2025, Tier 3 and Tier 4 services are those secondary and specialist mental health services - including Community Mental Health Teams, Adult Acute Psychiatry, and specialist Perinatal Mental Health care, that usually require a referral from a GP or other health care professional. Data on this is not collected centrally by government. Decisions on access to those services are determined locally by NHS Boards.

To ensure access, we have directly allocated £123 million to NHS Boards and IJBs for a new Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework in 2024-25. The Framework focuses on embedding increased capacity around CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), the delivery of psychological therapies, eating disorder care, primary care and neurodevelopmental services, as well as ongoing innovation and service reform - but also brings together a number of other funding streams which includes Perinatal and Infant Mental Health.

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

Artificial grass pitches play an important role in the delivery of sport and physical activity across Scotland, helping the nation to lead more active, healthy lives. Well maintained artificial pitches allow for year-round, intensive use and can provide significantly more playing hours than traditional grass pitches.

sportscotland, our national agency for sport, are part of the UK Artificial Grass Pitch forum monitoring work on the long-term viability of these products. sportscotland continue to engage with educational bodies and key partners across the sporting sector in the development of synthetic pitches and surfaces.

Although it is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, sportscotland continue to engage with educational bodies and key partners in the development of synthetic pitches and surfaces.

Artificial grass pitches play an important role in the delivery of sport and physical activity across Scotland, helping the nation to lead more active, healthy lives. Well maintained artificial pitches allow for year-round, intensive use and can provide significantly more playing hours than traditional grass pitches.

sportscotland, our national agency for sport, are part of the UK Artificial Grass Pitch forum monitoring work on the long-term viability of these products. sportscotland, continue to engage with sporting bodies, educational bodies and key partners across the sporting sector in the development of synthetic pitches and surfaces.

There are already alternatives on the market such as cork, corn husks and olive pits amongst others. St Andrews University has already installed a full-size 3G pitch with cork infill, and there is research and development continuing across the industry with more products in the market. Glasgow Life is also planning to trial the use of biodegradable corn as an alternative to 3G rubber crumb on two five-a-side courts at Glasgow Green – with further developments potentially taking place across the city.

The Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies have provided £1,354,000 for the development of carbon capture and storage technology in 2025.

The Scottish Government has committed £2m of grant funding support to the National Gas Transmission SCO2T Connect Project and to date, £1,345,000 of this funding has been provided.

The Scottish Government remains wholly committed to supporting the development and deployment of CCUS, including the Acorn Project and the Scottish Cluster. Unfortunately, the UK Government continue to delay making a final decision on the Acorn Project which is risking billions of private sector investment and thousands of jobs.

As set within the answer to the question S6W-32198 on 12 December 2024, the Scottish Government will proceed with plans to reform the governance arrangements within the Glasgow and Lanarkshire college regions following consultation. Subject to the Parliamentary process, the new arrangements will be in place for the start of academic year 2025-26.

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

The expansion of offshore wind presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create thousands of high-quality jobs. While employment law is reserved, we will continue to use the levers at our disposal to promote fair work practices across the labour market in Scotland.

The STUC is a member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board and has also been invited to sit on the Offshore Wind Skills Short-Life Working Group being convened by the Scottish Government. This involvement ensures that the STUC can contribute to shaping the development of the offshore wind sector and its alignment with fair work and just transition principles.

We welcome this important research by the Scottish Trades Union Congress and will carefully consider its findings.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The contract for HMP Glasgow was awarded under a two-stage design and build contract using the “Scottish Building Contracts Committee (SBCC) Design and Build Contract for use in Scotland 2016 Edition” contract form.

Whilst this contract form does not include a formal Conflict Avoidance Process, it is designed to avoid unnecessary contractual disputes arising during contract delivery.

The standard clauses in the SBCC conditions contract already recognise that mediation should be utilised before resorting to Adjudication in the event of a dispute or disagreement arising. SPS has however also included a specific amendment which provides an explicit undertaking by directors or senior representatives of the parties to the contract to resolve any contractual differences within 5 business days of the matter arising before mediation is considered.

Scottish Government Ministers and Officials engage with major energy companies and employers on a regular basis as part of their duties.

As part of this engagement, Energy and Climate Change Directorate officials most recently met with Equinor in February 2025. The Marine Directorate also regularly engages with offshore oil and gas operators, including Equinor, as part of its chemical assessment contract with the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero; and with respect to Equinor’s floating offshore wind project Hywind. Ministers and officials also attend a range of industry events where developers and investors in offshore energy are present.