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: S6W-42541

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost will be of the proposed role expansion for firefighters in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Question reference: S6W-42523

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what policy, criteria and decision-making processes have governed the automatic rollover of Equality and Human Rights Fund awards in the last five years, and whether an automatic rollover will be implemented again for the next funding year.

Question reference: S6W-42536

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential effect of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties' accommodation availability during peak and shoulder seasons in (a) rural and (b) island areas.

Question reference: S6W-42534

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that all eligible recipients of the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will receive payments in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-42538

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will assess any potential knock-on effects on local supply chains, including (a) housekeeping, (b) tradespeople and (c) food producers, should a proportion of self-catering businesses become unviable as a result of the draft 2026 revaluation of non-domestic rates on self-catering properties.

Question reference: S6W-42520

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Independent
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations have received support from the Equality and Human Rights Fund in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) the amount awarded, (b) the duration of the funding and (c) whether the award was (i) a new allocation or (ii) the continuation of an existing funding arrangement.

Question reference: S6W-42296

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it is giving to key workers in the health sector who will have to work over the Christmas period.

We want to express our sincere thanks to all health and social care sector staff for the incredible work they do every day, and we also recognise those who will continue to provide care throughout the festive season. We know winter brings extra challenges and pressures, and the commitment to delivering high-quality care during this time is truly appreciated and makes a real difference to patients and communities.

Our Surge and Winter Preparedness in Health and Social Care Services National Planning Priorities and Principles, published last month, emphasises the importance of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the health and social care workforce, improving capacity and retention, and supporting unpaid carers. This includes meeting the requirements of the Health & Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 and ensuring appropriate staffing levels across services to enable safe, high-quality care and better outcomes for service users.

The wellbeing of our health, social work and care workforce remains a central priority during the winter period.

Question reference: S6W-42297

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the value was of its contract with Stantec for the Community Needs Assessment Methodology, which was published by Transport Scotland on 24 September 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42305

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing publicly accessible bleed control kits in high-footfall locations, as is done with defibrillators, to help save the lives of victims of knife crime or other traumatic injuries.

We do not currently have a plan to make bleed kits available nationally across Scotland but we encourage the public to focus on calling the emergency services for assistance in the case of an emergency and encourage members of the public, including young people themselves, to learn the basic first aid skills which could be vital in saving a life.

Whilst our approach to tackling knife crime is to prevent young people from picking up a knife in the first instance, it is important that bystanders are given the best advice on how to provide direct pressure to a bleeding wound using readily available items such as dry towels or clothing. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) call handlers are well trained to provide first aid advice to bystanders before an ambulance arrives.

SAS is following the position of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, which is supported by a number of UK organisations such as the London Ambulance Service and the NHS England London Violence Reduction Programme, in promoting bystander first aid but not the general role out of commercially available bleed kits. The SAS major trauma team regularly reviews how best to treat patients experiencing significant bleeding, which includes reviewing and taking part in guidance and research.

Question reference: S6W-42273

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent publication of the report by Carers Scotland, State of Caring, The cost of caring in Scotland 2025, which found that 62% of parent carers with a disabled child were cutting back on essentials such as heating and food to make ends meet, what action it is taking to address poverty amongst carers, and whether the upcoming Scottish Budget will consider carer poverty, including amongst parent carers of disabled children.

Social Security Scotland provides three benefits specifically for unpaid carers, including Carer’s Allowance Supplement which provides extra support only available in Scotland. Carer’s Allowance Supplement is worth £587 in 2025/26 with eligible carers receiving the most recent payment of £293.50 from the 4th of December. From March 2026 we will make further improvements to support for unpaid carers, including new extra support for carers getting Carer Support Payment and caring for more than one person – a Carer Additional Person Payment worth £520 a year for each additional person being cared for.

Parents of disabled children can also benefit from support through Child Disability Payment, Child Winter Heating Payment, and our five family payments, including Scottish Child Payment. We are committed to uprating all forms of assistance delivered under the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 so that they retain their value as costs rise.

Beyond social security, parents across Scotland can benefit from a range of support under our cost-of-living guarantee, including free school meals and funded childcare hours.

Scottish Ministers are considering the Scottish budget for 2026-27, and this will be announced on 13 January 2026.