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: S6O-04908

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 September 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of children currently waiting for an ADHD assessment and the median length of wait.

Question reference: S6W-40030

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) care homes and (b) care home places there (i) were in 2015 and (ii) currently are, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-40031

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of residents being placed in care homes more than two hours from family and wider support networks.

Although we have overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning, providing appropriate social care capacity at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and integrated Health and Social Care Partnerships.

It is, therefore, vital that these local authorities assess local population needs and target their investment where it’s needed to improve the social care infrastructure and access to care within their relevant area for current and future population needs.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that care is delivered as close to home as possible, recognising that strong family and community connections are vital to individuals’ health and wellbeing. Local authorities should take this into account when planning and commissioning care packages, prioritising arrangements that support proximity to loved ones and familiar environments.

We are committed to developing a sustainable health and social care system in Scotland that ensures people get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Question reference: S6W-40007

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of dog thefts reported in each or the last five years, and how many of those dogs reported stolen were reunited with their owners.

Information is not held centrally on the number of dog thefts in Scotland. When the theft of a dog is reported to the police, it may be recorded under a number of crimes, depending on the circumstances (for example theft, housebreaking or robbery). The data the Scottish Government receive from Police Scotland on recorded crime is a simple count of recorded crimes by crime type and does not contain any detail on the specifics of each crime e.g. the type of item stolen.

Question reference: S6W-39996

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, whether it will list the criteria underpinning Crown Estate Scotland’s assessment process in administering seabed leasing for (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.

The assessment process for seabed leasing for offshore wind and other marine renewable developments and the criteria that underpins that process, is a matter for Crown Estate Scotland.

The criteria underpinning the awarding of seabed option agreements by Crown Estate Scotland varies by leasing round and sector. In general, the awards process focuses on ensuring the organisation applying for the agreement has the experience and resources necessary to take the project through to completion. In competitive processes, this information will also be used as the basis for choosing between applications for the same area of seabed.

As an example, the ScotWind Leasing process required provision of the following categories of information from applicants:

i. Project Concept and Feasibility

ii. Project Delivery Plans

iii. Experience and capability of the Lead applicant and Project Partners

iv. Development budget

v. Financial strength

vi. Commitment and preparedness

In addition, Crown Estate Scotland requires confirmation that the applicant is not in breach of any laws or sanctions regimes, with that confirmation being provided by a Statement of Commitment signed by a duly authorised officer of the company.

Crown Estate Scotland is committed to the Fair Work Framework and its underlying principles. With regard to seabed leasing, they require a Statement of Commitment and, for the most recent leasing round (INTOG), the Statement of Commitment required inclusion of a commitment to adopting Fair Work First practices.

Crown Estate Scotland has confirmed that similar commitments will be a requirement of future leasing activities on both offshore wind and marine energy award processes.

Question reference: S6W-40000

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether the King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) will publish a list of all the ownerless property that it currently holds within the Glasgow City Council area by virtue of (a) ultimus haeres (estates of people who died without heirs or a will) and (b) bona vacantia (property last owned by dissolved companies).

The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) has an administrative function only and he does not hold or own property which has fallen to him as bona vacantia or ultimus haeres.

The KLTR already publishes a list of properties which have fallen to the Crown as bona vacantia which are (or were) suitable for consideration through the KLTR’s Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS). These properties, including those currently under consideration within the Glasgow City Council area, can be viewed on the KLTR’s website at: Cases | KLTR.

The OPTS was launched in March 2024. During this process, the KLTR circulates information on properties to public bodies, local authorities and communities to ascertain if there is a local interest in taking ownership. The OPTS then provides for the property to be transferred to the applicant at a nominal value where there is a public interest in doing so. OPTS Guidance can be viewed on the KLTR’s website at: OPTS Guidance | KLTR

The KLTR’s website also includes a list of estates which the KLTR has administered (or is presently administering) which appear to have fallen to the Crown as ultimus haeres in the absence of a will or identifiable heirs. This can be viewed at Find an estate | KLTR

Question reference: S6W-39994

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many workers made redundant by the closure of the Petroineos refinery in Grangemouth have received skills support from Forth Valley College.

The Scottish Government is working with Forth Valley College, UK Government, Skills Development Scotland and Petroineos as part of the Refinery Skills Intervention, which is currently ongoing.

To date the skills intervention targeted at Petroineos workers has had a high uptake. As of 20 August, 306 workers have enrolled in the reskilling programme and over 200 workers have either completed training or are actively undergoing retraining. The remaining individuals who are registered for training will commence according to redundancy schedule and personal preference.

Question reference: S6W-39997

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39428 by Gillian Martin on 28 July 2025, what obligations Crown Estate Scotland has under the Fair Work Framework in administering seabed leasing for (a) offshore wind development and (b) other marine renewable energy developments.

Question reference: S6W-40307

Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what further publications it has planned in connection with its policy on giving people in Scotland the right to decide their constitutional future.

On 4 September 2025, the Scottish Government will publish a new paper which evidences and updates the right of people in Scotland to decide their future.

Your Right to Decide demonstrates that the right to decide has been accepted across the political spectrum, including by former UK Prime Ministers and calls on the current UK Government to respect this key democratic principle.

Your Right To Decide will be available to view on the Scottish Government website from 4 September 2025 at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781806430321.

Question reference: S6W-40126

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether any formal requirement is placed on NHS boards to record the age of all GP premises in their geographical regions as part of preparing property strategies for investment prioritisation and for this information to be directly communicated to ministers.