The Scottish Parliament

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.

Question reference: S7W-03948

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its decision not to proceed with the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill, what consideration it has given to concerns that a non-legislative approach may provide less statutory protection, legal clarity and accountability for neurodivergent people than legislation would have done.

Question reference: S7W-03949

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider its decision not to proceed with the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill, or will commit to introduce equivalent legislation, to provide statutory protections for people with learning disabilities, autism and other forms of neurodivergence and to establish appropriate training requirements for public sector staff.

Question reference: S7W-03584

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 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have applied to the Scottish Welfare Fund for a crisis grant in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S7W-03582

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 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is still committed to ending the need for food banks, and, if so, what actions it plans to take to deliver this commitment.

The Scottish Government’s ambition is for a Scotland without the need for food banks. No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials and people should have sufficient money to access these with dignity and choice.

To support this, across this Parliament we will go further to protect and expand our cost-of-living package. Putting more money into people’s pockets – through maximising the support they are entitled to or cutting everyday costs – is one of the most direct ways we can tackle poverty, protect people from the cost crisis and ensure they have the resources they need to thrive. That aim is built on a solid foundation, with Scotland having the most generous cost-of-living package anywhere in the UK.

Specifically in 2026-27, we will allocate around £3.5 billion to policies that tackle poverty and the cost of living, including maintaining our investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund at £41 million, funding free bus travel for over 2.4 million people and helping households save an estimated £450 a year on energy bills. We are also investing more than £18 million for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice.

Over the last 15 years, we have committed around £1.5 billion to mitigate the impacts of UK Government policy such as the bedroom tax and benefit cap, and we call on the UK Government to follow the Scottish Government’s lead to protect and enhance the social security safety.

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.

Question reference: S7W-03587

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 2 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the historically high numbers of people presenting as homeless and being housed in temporary accommodation for extended periods of time, what action it plans to take to ensure that people experiencing homelessness can eat well and maintain good nutrition during periods spent in temporary accommodation and while longer term ambitions to reduce the numbers of people housed in temporary accommodation are realised.

The legal duty for housing and homelessness services, including responsibility for the provision and management of temporary accommodation, rests with local authorities. Under The Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014, temporary accommodation provided to households must meet specified standards, including access to adequate cooking facilities. Access to suitable cooking facilities is important in enabling households to prepare meals and make their own choices about the food they eat while living in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government provides funding to regional community food networks to work with local authorities and health boards to help improve access to healthier food options and improve diets, including for people living in temporary accommodation.

Question reference: S7W-03810

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure consistent access to NHS prescribing and shared care for people with an appropriate private ADHD diagnosis, regardless of where they live in Scotland, while maintaining the necessary clinical safeguards.

Question reference: S7W-03809

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to any additional funding and specific timescales for reducing ADHD assessment and treatment waiting times across Scotland, and, if so, how much funding it will provide, what the timescale will be and what support will be available to people while they wait.

Question reference: S7F-00055

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2026

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S7W-03308

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh North Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 29 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of reports that NHS Lothian is unable to offer mammogram appointments in Edinburgh, and how it is working with NHS Lothian to ensure that local appointments for breast screening services can be offered to women in Edinburgh who require one.

The Scottish Government is aware that the NHS Lothian ‘Increased-Risk Breast Surveillance’ service for all eligible individuals has been relocated from Ardmillan House, Edinburgh to St John’s Hospital, Livingston.

Whilst this is an operational matter for NHS Lothian, the Scottish Government understand that this decision was driven by sustained growth in Edinburgh’s routine screening population (aged 50 to 70), which has increased by 10% since 2018 and exceeded the capacity Ardmillan House was originally designed to support. The Health Board undertook an assessment of patients booked in January 2026 which found that St John’s Hospital was more accessible for those travelling from Fife, West Lothian, South and West Edinburgh, and Midlothian, although longer public transport journeys were recognised for some residents of Central and North Edinburgh and East Lothian. As one of NHS Lothian’s three acute hospitals, St John’s provides a reasonable and equitable location for the service, with limited alternative options currently available.

The Scottish Government wants everyone accessing health services to be treated as close to home as clinically appropriate. Where travel is necessary, the Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to work collaboratively with transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment and services can be provided in a patient-centred way.

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