- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a number of local authorities are considering increases of around 10% to council tax in 2026-27, whether it will fund a council tax freeze or a cost of living cap.
Answer
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have exercised their powers to designate firework control zones, and which area each zone covers.
Answer
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many crimes have been recorded in each month since January 2024 involving male violence against women.
Answer
Answer expected on 6 November 2025
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 26 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) governance meetings its officials have attended in each of the last five years.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have attended four governance meetings between Scottish Ministers and senior NDA officials in the last five years. Scottish Ministers also have a role in approving governance documents such as the NDA Business Plan and NDA Strategy documents. This requirement is enshrined in the 2004 Energy Act.
The Scottish Government’s formal role in NDA governance is underpinned by a strong partnership approach to ensure NDA are implementing devolved policies and contributing their expertise to our future policy development. For example, Scottish Government Officials are also members of a number of UK wide networks that oversee key themes related to the NDA’s work.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what benefits it anticipates the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will deliver for rural and island communities, including in relation to breaking up concentrated land ownership and ensuring that land is used in the public interest and communities are not locked out of decision-making.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2025
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to prevent the closure of Marionville Fire Station in Edinburgh, and to ensure the continued provision of fire and rescue services in the area served by the station.
Answer
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has commissioned independent analysis of its public consultation concerning its Service Delivery Review (SDR) which closed on 17th September 2025. This analysis will inform considerations by the SFRS Board when it takes decisions on which of the 23 options for change to pursue at the December meeting of the Board.
The SFRS proposal impacting on Marionville fire station could see the appliance based there moving to the newly refurbished Newcraighall fire station. The level of resources to provide fire and rescue services in the east area of Edinburgh would therefore remain unchanged if SFRS take the decision to close Marionville fire station.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the reasons for the removal of commitments to openness and transparency, including the sharing of Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) risk registers with the Scottish Government, from the NDA’s 2024 Framework Document, compared with the 2021 version.
Answer
The NDA Framework document underwent routine three yearly revision in 2024 and text was updated throughout the document. On pages 36-38 of the updated 2024 Framework Document there is a commitment that the NDA will comply with a range of government guidance, documents and instructions. These set out a number of requirements for openness and transparency to ensure that NDA continues to embody these principles in its operation and engagement with Scottish Government. Information on key risks is included in the NDA Annual Report and Accounts which is provided to Scottish Government as well as being published and laid at the Scottish Parliament every year.
In addition, specific requirements relating to accountability of the NDA to Scottish Ministers for its operations in Scotland as well as provision of relevant information and other specific requirements pertinent to Scottish Government remain in the updated 2024 Framework document.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 3 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its public appointments guide, which states that “terms of appointment vary from role to role and are usually between one and five years” and that “the total period of appointment in one role on one board may not exceed eight years”, for what reason a member of the Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) Board, appointed on 1 July 2017, has reportedly had their term extended until 30 September 2025, in apparent breach of this guidance; what action is being taken in response to any such non-compliance by CHS with this appointments policy, and on what grounds the decision was made to exceed the maximum term permitted.
Answer
Under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, board members of Children’s Hearings Scotland are appointed through a public appointments process regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC). Appointments are typically made for a standard term of up to four years, with the possibility of reappointment for up to four more years. Where the legislation governing the body allows, and the ESC and the appointing minister are content, short-term extensions beyond the 8 years, such as the one specified here, can also be granted in exceptional circumstances. This is highlighted in The Code of Practice, under Section H.2:
In exceptional circumstances, the Scottish Ministers may make appropriate appointments (including reappointments or extensions), with the agreement of the Commissioner, to ensure the effective continuing governance of boards.
Due to a delay in the appointment process for new board members, an existing member of the Board had their appointment extended. This process was managed by the Scottish Government, with the agreement of CHS.
The news release announcing this extension states that it was regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner, and can be accessed publicly here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-appointment-member-appointment-extended-on-the-childrens-hearings-scotland-board/
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 29 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on whether an independent Scotland would seek to join the New Agenda Coalition.
Answer
In the event of Scotland becoming an independent country, decisions about membership of international organisations or groupings of countries would be a matter for the government of the time, elected by the people of Scotland.
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the Scottish
Ministers are currently not complying with any of their duties under the
Children (Scotland) Act 2020; which duties, if any, it considers the Scottish
Ministers are currently not complying with, and how many instances of failure
to comply with their duties under the Act have occurred to date.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and ensuring that Scottish Ministers are complying with their duties under the Act. The Act covers a wide range of areas, many of which involve complex implementation activity. On that basis, the Scottish Government has approached the commencement of provisions in the Act - and the duties on Scottish Ministers in those provisions - in stages.
A number of provisions are already in force: The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No. 1 and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2020.
- Section 13: promotion of contact between looked after children and siblings
- Section 14: duty to consider contact when making etc. compulsory supervision order
- Section 15: clarification of order-making power
- Section 23: funding for alternative dispute resolution (commenced to allow Scottish Ministers to make reports on progress with implementation)
- Section 24: pilot of mandatory information meetings on alternatives to court (commenced to allow Scottish Ministers to make reports on progress with implementation)
- Section 25: opportunity to participate in hearing
- Section 26: appeal against relevant person decision
- Sections 32, 33, 34, 35: final provisions
Sections 23 and 24 are not yet implemented for remaining purposes, but six progress reports on have been laid in the Scottish Parliament to date.
A number of provisions have been commenced for certain purposes in The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2021:
- Section 7(3) and (4): register of solicitors where person prohibited from conducting their own case [superseded by Part 3 of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill]
- Section 9: register of child welfare reporters – for purposes of making regulations
- Section 10(1) and (3): regulation of child contact services
- Section 17(1) and (3): register of curators ad litem – for purposes of making regulations
In terms of the duties contained in those provisions:
- Section 7 will be repealed and replaced by provisions in Part 3 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill and will be implemented following enactment of the Bill.
- An update on timings in relation to section 9 of the 2020 Act was provided to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on 24 June 2025 [see below]. Implementation of the register of curators ad litem under section 17 will be carried out at the same time.
- Scottish Ministers plan to lay secondary legislation to regulate child contact services in the coming weeks, but intend to use powers in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, rather than section 10 of the 2020 Act.
We made a further set of commencement Regulations on 22 May 2025: The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No. 3 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2025 covering:
- Section 1(2): on the views of the child being considered when parents are making major decisions.
- Section 30(1), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7): on delay in children’s hearings and adoption and permanence proceedings.
We plan to make a further set of commencement Regulations in October 2025 as committed to at a meeting of the Committee on unimplemented legislation on 24 June 2025: Official Report (see columns 10 to 14).
