Chamber and committees

Decisions on the location and configuration of fire stations are a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Board and Chief Officer. SFRS conducted a full public consultation on the 23 options for change contained in its Service Delivery Review (SDR) and the responses to the consultation have been independently analysed. The SFRS Board will take decisions before the end of June 2026 on which of the Service Delivery Review options should be taken forward for implementation over the next 5 years. These decisions will be based on the SFRS evidence for change along with the responses to the consultation.

Since the lodging of the members question, NatureScot have now received a licence application to permit the taking of gannets on Sula Sgeir.

In determining an application for a licence, NatureScot must consider whether the hunt is sustainable, in that it would not have an adverse effect on the conservation status of the species concerned.

NatureScot will assess the application in accordance with existing legal frameworks, including provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the obligations set out in the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) Regulations 1994 (‘the Habitats Regulations’), which provide protection to the qualifying features of North Rona and Sula Sgeir Special Protection Area (SPA).

The assessment undertaken by NatureScot will be informed by the latest scientific evidence including an updated population viability analysis model.

As the recruitment and deployment of police officers are matters for the Chief Constable, it for her to determine the minimum establishment number of police officers. The Chief Constable has indicated that the current establishment model is based around 16,500 police officers.

The Scottish Government is investing a record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total increase of £81.5 million compared to the 2025-26 budget. The Chief Constable has confirmed that this allows her to maintain the establishment figure of around 16,500 police officers.

Should approval be received from the Lord Justice General, Scottish Ministers will publish a report on the findings as soon as reasonably practicable after the research is carried out, as required by section 68(2) of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.

This would include details of the methodology used as well as reflection on the limitations of the research.

I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00115 on 28 May 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor and consider a range of evidence in relation to the energy sector.

As part of this, we commissioned and published independent analysis on Scotland’s Energy System and Just Transition in 2023. An update, published in 2025, to the baseline data for this analysis found that the oil and gas sector supported an estimated 53,000 direct and indirect jobs in Scotland in 2022.

The research design and approach will only be finalised if approval from the Lord Justice General is provided.

Ensuring the research is undertaken in an ethically appropriate manner will of course be a key priority. Juror confidentiality, complainer anonymity, accused persons’ rights, data protection, appeals and the integrity of criminal proceedings in relation to the research have all been considered extensively during the drafting of the research specification, the evaluation of the bids received and, most recently, by the project’s Ethics Panel. Specific safeguards will be finalised when the research design is confirmed.

Local authorities hold statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining their school estate, and we expect them to provide safe environments for all school users.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of schools with panic alarm or emergency alert systems centrally. Local authorities may hold this information.

The Scottish Government is committed to providing support to the City of Glasgow to complete the refurbishment of the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens to see them reopened to the public. We are currently awaiting an update regarding the restoration project which will inform a decision on what support is needed, as well as a revised timescales for reopening.