Chamber and committees

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 already provides the statutory framework concerning preventing, planning for and responding to emergencies in Scotland, including wildfires. To strengthen preparedness for wildfire specifically, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have developed a multi-agency Wildfire Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for consideration by the Scottish Resilience Partnership. It promotes a greater emphasis on prevention, risk reduction, readiness and multi-agency coordination, alongside operational response.

The Scottish Government’s Wildfire Strategic Action Plan sets out a coordinated approach to preventing, preparing for and responding to wildfires, and was published on 5 March 2026.

Decisions concerning deployment of firefighters and personnel regarding exposure to contaminants is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), who has a responsibility to ensure that firefighters, including volunteers, are not exposed to unacceptable levels of risk while supporting wildfire operations.

The Scottish Government is aware that the SFRS has established decontamination arrangements to support firefighters operating at prolonged incidents, including wildfires. Where local facilities are unavailable, alternative arrangements are in place to support access to decontamination facilities.

All firefighters deployed to wildfire incidents are provided with PPE which conforms to Health and Safety standards for the role they are undertaking and the risk assessment being applied by incident commanders.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the provision of social and affordable housing through our commitment to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% will be in our rural and island communities. This will be underpinned by investment of up to £4.9 billion, including a record £4.1 billion of public sector funding, to support delivery of 36,000 affordable homes and our wider all-tenure ambition over this Parliament.

As part of this we are have provided local authority partners with resource planning assumptions for the period 2026-27 to 2029-30 totalling a record £2.94 billion through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

This multi-year funding certainty will support local authorities and registered social landlords to plan future investment and delivery, helping to increase the supply of social and affordable homes for the benefit of communities across Scotland.

Since 2007 the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of 146,000 affordable homes – over 104,000 of which were for social rent, including more than 31,000 council homes.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements documentation includes the recording of any aliases. Sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

Last year, the Scottish Parliament agreed to a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) which recommended that the sex offender management provisions contained in the UK Crime and Policing Bill be extended to Scotland.

The Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026; however, none of the sex offender management provisions have yet been commenced by the UK Government.

In relation to the name change provision, full implementation is dependent on matters reserved to the UK Government, specifically the making of regulations relating to driving licence applications in a new name.

Operational delivery of primary and nursery school meals is a matter for local authorities however they must adhere to legislation that protects the quality of food provided.

In Scotland, all food, drink, and meals served in schools must meet the nutritional standards set out in the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020, regardless of whether the catering service is provided in-house or sub-contracted to an external provider. How those standards are achieved is a matter for each local authority taking into account local needs and circumstances.

Furthermore, under the provisions of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022, local authorities are under a statutory duty to consider the principles of sustainable development as they procure for school catering services, recognising the benefits of doing so to health, the environment and the local economy.

The Scottish Government has and continues to take a proactive approach to understand the prevalence and address concerns about reported spiking in Scotland.

We have recently consulted on further protections for women in the criminal law, including in relation to spiking, and the analysis of responses to that consultation is currently underway, and will inform our next steps. We always seek to learn from effective interventions in any jurisdiction, although it is important to understand how any approach in a different jurisdiction may or may not operate effectively in Scotland, alongside current routes to report in both health and criminal justice services.

A similar pilot, Project Alliance, has been sponsored by the UK Home Office. The evaluation of that pilot will provide useful intelligence as we develop our response to spiking.

The Safer Scotland webpage provides guidance on reporting and support available to victims of spiking. We would always encourage anyone who suspects they have been spiked or witnesses an incident to report this to Police Scotland, and security in any venue they witness the behaviour.

The Scottish Government recognises the wider considerations associated with GLP-1 weight loss medication use in relation to people with eating disorders.

The Scottish Government’s National Eating Disorders Network has committed to establish a short-life working group to consider potential issues relating to GLP-1 medication and eating disorders. With work expected to begin over the coming months, the group will bring together expertise to develop understanding of this evolving area and help inform appropriate next steps.

NHS inform provides information and advice on diabetes and weight loss medication, including advising people with an eating disorder to speak to a healthcare professional if they are considering taking weight loss medication.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) make clear that these medicines are prescription-only and should be prescribed by a registered healthcare professional and under appropriate medical supervision. Seeking appropriate clinical advice helps to ensure that treatment is suitable for an individual's circumstances and can be used safely.

It is important that prescription-only medicines are obtained from regulated sources, as medicines obtained through unregulated sources may not meet the required standards of safety and quality.

The Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026-2031 sets out the urgent action that is required to prepare for the period of surge that is expected in our hospitals over the winter.

The plan recognizes corridor care is unacceptable, and is best tackled through reducing overcrowding in hospitals. Reducing delayed discharge is one of the most effective actions available to increase capacity, reduce overcrowding, improve patient experience and prepare services for winter demand. That’s why the plan asks all Health Boards to make improving discharge and reducing delays in acute hospitals an immediate priority. By winter 2026-27, every Board is expected to have implemented the core principles of the Discharge Without Delay approach and established improvement trajectories for discharge performance and average length of stay.

Vaccination also remains a key part of our approach to winter preparedness. We are working with Health Boards and partners to strengthen this year's winter vaccination programme and maximise uptake among eligible groups. A national public information campaign will support this effort, encouraging people to come forward for vaccination when invited, helping to reduce serious illness.

The Scottish Government recognises the seasonal dangers and damage associated with disposal barbeques.

I welcome the steps the UK Government took to temporarily restrict the sale of disposable barbeques across the England, Scotland and Wales given the risks they can pose to the environment, local communities and agricultural land, particularly during periods of warm and dry weather when the risk of wildfire is heightened.

I believe there needs to be consideration of this issue on a more permanent basis when there is a high risk of wildfires and a more permanent approach would provide greater protection for communities and the environment. This is therefore an issue I will look to raise with the UK Government in early course.

In Scotland, local authorities have powers to ban the use of disposable barbeques within relevant spaces. Whilst it is for Scottish Ministers to approve byelaws proposed by local authorities, it is a matter for each council to decide how to manage its day-to-day business, including whether there is a need to introduce byelaws within their local areas to implement a ban on the use of barbeques at times of high risk.

This includes new wildfire prevention byelaws that came into effect in the Cairngorms National Park. This means that fires and barbecues are banned in public places within the National Park between 1 April and 30 September every year unless there is a lawful authority to do so.

The Scottish Government recognise the impact of digital exclusion on low income families, including families with a disabled child.

As part of our wider work to tackle child poverty, the Scottish Government has committed more than £870,000 in grant funding, since 2024, to support over 50 locally-delivered digital inclusion projects across Scotland. We also continue to work with Ofcom and delivery partners to raise awareness of affordable connectivity options, including social tariffs.

Our Sustainable Public Services Delivery Plan sets out how services will be designed around the needs of people and communities to be accessible and inclusive. Through our latest Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, we have also set out how we will enable whole family support which is responsive to the needs of families and connects them to the services and support they need to thrive.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a specific statutory duty on services to identify and respond to digital exclusion. However, we are developing a Digital Inclusion Delivery Plan to be published later this year. This will set out clear actions to address the wider barriers that prevent people from participating digitally and how we will work with partners, including local government, to achieve this.