- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Simita Kumar on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the arrangements for ministerial oversight of the work of the Anti-Racism Coalition.
Answer
A range of different stakeholder organisations are reflecting shared concerns about the nature and extent of protest activity, disorder and incidents of hate, prejudice and intimidation and their impact on faith communities, adversely racialised communities, people seeking asylum and refugees. This has been independent of government and there is not a formal or constituted body as such called the Anti-Racism Coalition.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Simita Kumar on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the terms of reference of the Anti-Racism Coalition to be agreed.
Answer
A range of different stakeholder organisations are reflecting shared concerns about the nature and extent of protest activity, disorder and incidents of hate, prejudice and intimidation and their impact on faith communities, adversely racialised communities, people seeking asylum and refugees. This is independent of government and there is not a formal or constituted body as such called the Anti-Racism Coalition.
- Asked by: Kate Nevens, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Alison Thewliss on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the findings of the report by Alzheimer Scotland, Better Care, Full Stop, including calls for (a) quicker diagnosis, (b) improvements to (i) post-diagnosis support, (ii) community-based support, such as specialist therapeutic and complex care day services, (iii) home care services, in particular, better training for care staff, (iv) palliative care and (v) residential care, (c) access to appropriate training in dementia care, peer support groups, professional counselling and psychological support for carers and supporters, (d) a care pathway comparable to other conditions such as cancer, (e) better co-ordination between health and other services involved in care of people with Alzheimer's, (f) more respite care, (g) annual health checks and (h) access to self-directed support budgets.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to improving outcomes for people living with dementia, their families and carers through Dementia in Scotland: Everyone's Story, Scotland’s Dementia Strategy.
The initial two-year Delivery Plan(2024-2026) prioritised prevention, early intervention, community-support, diagnosis, post-diagnosis support and treatment.
Key actions taken include:
- Allocated £2.35m since 2024-25, via the Resilient Communities Programme ,to support and sustain community-led activities
- Continued our additional investment of £3.5m a year to enhance access to our world leading commitment to 12 months dementia post diagnostic support
- Commissioned an independent evaluation of Scotland’s Post Diagnostic Support (PDS) policy and delivery to inform future improvement
- Developed a national Dementia Index and road map of the dementia workforce to allow us to better target future interventions
- Funded Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland), formerly NHS Education for Scotland (NES),to undertake a national scoping exercise on the dementia workforce, learning needs and existing education and training provision. Resulting In an evidence base to inform future dementia workforce planning and delivery
The strategy also highlights ways to educate the workforce and unpaid carers and make better use of the wide variety of tools available such as the Promoting Excellence framework for all health and social services staff working with people with dementia, their families and carers to support the strategy and implementation of Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland.
The Scottish Government also recognises the invaluable roles of care partners and unpaid carer’s, including those supporting people with dementia. The right to breaks provisions in the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 will make changes to the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 to deliver a right to personalised short breaks support for carers who can’t currently access sufficient breaks from caring.
We will continue to consider the findings of the Better Care, Full Stop report as we take forward delivery of the Dementia Strategy and work with partners, including Alzheimer Scotland, to improve diagnosis, care, support and outcomes for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, ahead of summer 2026, how it is monitoring the effectiveness of the wildfire prevention by-laws of the Cairngorm National Park Authority, and how it will share with other bodies any best practice identified.
Answer
In April 2026, new wildfire prevention byelaws came into force in the Cairngorms National Park to help address the increasing risk of wildfires.
The Scottish Government meets regularly with the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) to discuss the implementation of the byelaws and the arrangements in place to monitor their effectiveness.
One of the principal ways in which the CNPA is assessing the effectiveness of the byelaws is through monitoring its communications and public awareness campaign, aimed at increasing awareness of wildfire risk and preventing fires from being lit in the first place.
The campaign includes a range of activities across digital channels, social media, printed materials, press coverage, and roadside and site-based signage. The use of digital channels allows the CNPA to monitor reach and engagement in real time and to target specific audiences and locations where appropriate.
To date, the campaign has reached approximately 1.8 million people, indicating strong public engagement with the messaging.
The CNPA is also undertaking pre- and post-byelaw surveys involving 400 visitors and 100 residents to assess awareness of the campaign and the extent to which it has influenced behaviour.
The CNPA also monitors the effectiveness of the byelaws through data collected by Park Authority rangers and partner ranger services on actual fire activity encountered within the National Park, including the number of live fires found.
As this data has been collected over several years, it can be used to assess trends and any changes following the introduction of the byelaws. The CNPA is reviewing this alongside Procurator Fiscal referral data to identify emerging trends.
As the byelaws were only recently introduced, it is too early to draw firm conclusions from ranger data. However, the CNPA is already sharing learning from its communications and public awareness activities through national networks, including the National Visitor Management Communications Group and the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Communications Group.
The CNPA is also working closely with Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, whose review of camping byelaws coincides with the implementation of the Cairngorms wildfire prevention byelaws, providing valuable opportunities to share experience and learning.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether any Barnett consequential funding has arisen from the introduction of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund in England, which replaced the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Scheme.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not identified any Barnett consequential funding specifically linked to the introduction of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund in England.
Under the Barnett formula, changes to the Scottish Government’s funding are calculated at the level of overall UK Government departmental spending, rather than individual programmes or schemes. UK Government ministers have confirmed that the funding for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund is included within the wider Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) settlement, and that Barnett consequentials are applied to the total departmental allocation rather than to specific funding lines.
Decisions on how to allocate funding received through the block grant are a matter for the Scottish Government, in line with devolved responsibilities.
The final decision to end the UK-wide scheme was also only confirmed to the Scottish Government after the 2026-27 Scottish Budget was set, further limiting Scottish Ministers' options. However, Ministers will continue to seek options.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Alison Thewliss on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has an agreed definition of relational care, if so, (a) whether it will set this out and (b) how it will promote and support its approach to the provision of such care.
Answer
Relational care, or relational continuity aims to ensure the same healthcare professional provides treatment and care for a person over time, allowing development of trust and understanding.
Relational continuity is discussed in more detail in the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland's 2024-25 Annual Report Realistic Medicine: Critical Connections.
The Chief Medical Officer has again promoted the need for greater relational continuity of care in his latest annual report Our Path Ahead.
We are exploring options to increase the focus on relational continuity of care as part of this year's Frailty Directed Enhanced Service in general practice.
Our record investment package of £310 million over 3 years to expand the general practice workforce is supported by guidance which recognises the importance of relational continuity of care and advises practices to consider how best to assure GP capacity in ways that actively provide relational continuity of care for patients where this is in their interests.
- Asked by: David Linden, MSP for Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the total headcount of prison officers in the Scottish Prison Service in each year since 2015.
Answer
I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
The numbers of prison officers employed by SPS at the end of each financial year from 2015-16 to 2025-26 are set out in the following table:
Year | Number of Prison Officers employed by SPS |
2015-16 | 3361 |
2016-17 | 3370 |
2017-18 | 3342 |
2018-19 | 3294 |
2019-20 | 3242 |
2020-21 | 3302 |
2021-22 | 3381 |
2022-23 | 3331 |
2023-24 | 3420 |
2024-25 | 3784 |
2025-26 | 3804 |
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Stephen Gethins on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of further delays to the finalisation of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy on consenting decisions for offshore wind projects that are currently at planning stage.
Answer
All consenting decisions are made on a case-by-case basis in line with the planning, consenting and assessment framework available at the time. No delays to individual project determinations have occurred because of the development timeline of the Updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy, which remains on track for adoption in Summer 2026. Due to the conclusions of the plan-level Appropriate Assessment, adoption of the Updated Sectoral Marine Plan is contingent on UK Ministerial agreement.
- Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is being given to ensuring that local authorities that have already implemented bans on mobile phones in schools do not incur additional costs when any national guidance is introduced.
Answer
As I set out in my statement to Parliament on 2 June, we will launch our consultation on a legislative approach to restrictions on mobile phones in schools within the first 100 days of this government. Further development of the legislative approach will be informed by the outcomes of this consultation, including the views of local authorities who have implemented restrictions.
- Asked by: Donald MacKinnon, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the implementation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, whether it will provide a timetable and a date by which it anticipates that all aspects of the legislation to be operational.
Answer
Implementation of many measures in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 require secondary legislation and guidance, and will therefore be subject to Parliamentary business and timetabling. The timetable for implementation of the measures is being developed. I intend to write to the Convener of the Rural Affairs Committee to set out the planned timetable for implementation.
