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-04247

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to local authorities regarding the evidence that they should consider and the economic and social impact assessments that they should undertake before imposing or varying council tax premiums on second homes, and whether it plans to introduce further guidance to promote a consistent, proportionate and evidence-based approach across Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-04242

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how the £7.6 million that it has committed to local authorities to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions will be allocated, including how much each local authority will receive and the services that the funding is intended to support.

Question reference: S7W-04245

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to victims and survivors of sexual violence while waiting for criminal proceedings to conclude, and what assessment it has made of whether there are any gaps in support between discharge from specialist services and the accused appearing in court.

Question reference: S7W-04249

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of council tax premiums on second homes compared with alternative measures available to local authorities, including planning powers and other housing policy interventions, in addressing local housing shortages and increasing the supply of homes available for permanent occupation.

Question reference: S7W-04126

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to improve continuity of care for patients who are required to change psychiatrists, including when moving between NHS board areas, and to ensure that responsibility for the care of patients with complex mental health needs is clearly defined between NHS mental health services and primary care providers.

Question reference: S7W-04085

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00411 by Kirsten Oswald on 5 June 2026, which stated that it was "working at pace with Police Scotland...to effectively tackle the antisocial and criminal use of vehicles, including illegally modified e-bikes and e-scooters" and would "keep Parliament updated regarding all progress", whether it will provide an update on how it is working with Police Scotland to address the ongoing antisocial and criminal use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Question reference: S7W-03586

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, of all the applications for a crisis grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund that were declined in the last three years, what percentage were declined on the grounds that the applicant had previously received support and was assessed as not meeting the qualifying criteria for a further award.

In 2023-24, 27.8% (27,545) of declined Crisis Grant applications were recorded as Excluded as a result of previous application history. In 2024-25, the equivalent figure was 25.0% (22,950), and in 2025-26 it was 26.7% (23,980).

The category, Excluded as a result of previous application history, covers a range of circumstances related to an applicant's previous application history and is not limited to cases where a previous award was the reason for refusal. It is also possible that applications where previous support was a relevant factor may have been recorded under another category.

Question reference: S7W-03585

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for a crisis grant from the Scottish Welfare Fund were declined in each of the last three years.

In 2023-24, 99,050 of 259,865 Crisis Grant applications decided upon were declined.

In 2024-25, 91,845 of 245,315 Crisis Grant applications decided upon were declined.

In 2025-26, 89,980 of 257,980 Crisis Grant applications decided upon were declined.

Applications received and decisions made in a year do not always align, as some applications may be decided in a different financial year from that in which they were received.

Question reference: S7F-00060

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7W-03583

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent phase two delivery plan it has published with COSLA, Ending Destitution Together, whether it will provide further details regarding how it plans to address food insecurity and systematic reliance on food banks among people with no recourse to public funds.

The Ending Destitution Together strategy Phase 2 delivery plan was published on 24 August 2026. It includes an objective to maximise access to financial support for people with NRPF, where possible, within devolved competencies.

This work builds on the existing project with FairWay Scotland which provided casework support to 890 people and emergency cash support to over 200 people during 2025-26. The casework element helps people to exercise their rights to public funds, including housing, while the emergency cash payments help to tackle food insecurity and enable access to culturally appropriate food. This project has demonstrated that cash payments can reduce hunger, material deprivation and destitution rates.

In 2026-27, Scottish Government has invested £560,000 in Fair Way Scotland to continue this work but also to test a new model of enhanced support that local authorities can lawfully provide to people subject to NRPF. Over the course of the delivery plan, learning from this will be shared with local authorities across Scotland. A new Short Life Working Group on financial inclusion will also consider new approaches to providing essential support.

On 29 September 2026, we published the final evaluation of our Cash-First Programme, which aimed to improve urgent access to emergency income and reduce the need for food banks. We are currently considering the findings to help inform future policy decisions.

The Scottish Government will continue to do everything we can within devolved competence to support people subject to NRPF which includes continuing to call on the UK Government to remove NRPF for the most vulnerable and ensuring that harmful UK Government policies do not force people into destitution.