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-42543

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the capacity to make decisions about Do Not Attempt Cardiovascular Resuscitation (DNACPR), what safeguarding measures are in place for patients who may not have capacity and to ensure consent is always gained from either the person themselves or their power of attorney before a DNACPR is applied to a person's medical record.

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-42532

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding staff pay for offshore regulators, when it last discussed the funding of the Health and Safety Executive with the UK Government.

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-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-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-42549

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answer expected on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on hosting the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ.

Question reference: S6W-42518

Asked by: Clare Adamson, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Wales.

I attended the 44^th British-Irish Council meeting held in the Vale Resort, Cardiff, Wales on 5 December.

The summit was hosted by the First Minister of Wales and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The Prime Minister attended, as did the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The theme of this year’s summit was a creative future: unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these islands.

The main summit plenary provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of Scotland’s creative industries as well as outline the Scottish Government support extended to our creative sector.

During the main plenary discussion on latest political developments, I took the opportunity to restate the Scottish Government’s ongoing concerns over the intolerable situation in Gaza.

I also welcomed the UK government’s headline agreement with the European Union, while making clear that further progress was required to address trade barriers and promote freedom of movement.

Ahead of the main summit I held bilateral meetings with the Tánaiste and Irish Trade Minister (Helen McEntee).

We discussed the close relationship between Scotland and Ireland; whisky tariffs and the United Kingdom’s new approach to the European Union.

I also held a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister, during which I raised the impact of the UK Budget on Scotland’s oil and gas and renewables sectors and pressed for immediate action on the Energy Profits Levy.

I also discussed the future key economic infrastructure including Grangemouth and Mossmorran, and pressed for an update on UK-US Trade negotiations including the tariff on whisky.

Finally, I welcomed the recent UK Government announcement on the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, noting that this would allow the Scottish Government to further deliver on our commitment to address child poverty.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: www.britishirishcouncil.org/resources/

44th British-Irish Council Summit

Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

5 December 2025

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 44th Summit meeting today, Friday 5 December 2025, hosted by the Welsh Government in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

The theme of the Summit was A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands. The meeting was chaired by the Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS, Prif Weinidog Cymru (First Minister), Welsh Government.

A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands.

The Summit plenary focussed on Member Administrations’ respective screen sectors. Leaders discussed the importance of the sector to the Creative Industries, both culturally and economically, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, and efforts by administrations to support the industry and those working within it.

Latest Political Developments

Council members reflected on significant recent developments within their administrations and discussed a number of domestic and international topics of mutual interest.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the Government of Guernsey in summer 2026.

BIC Secretariat

5 December 2025

Plenary Participants

Government of Guernsey
Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez	Chief Minister

Government of Ireland
Micheál Martin TD	Taoiseach
Simon Harris TD	Tánaiste and Minister for Finance
Helen McEntee TD	Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Defence

Isle of Man Government
Hon Alfred Cannan MHK	Chief Minister

Government of Jersey
Deputy Lyndon Farnham	Chief Minister

Northern Ireland Executive
Michelle O’Neill MLA	First Minister
Emma Little-Pengelly MLA	Deputy First Minister

Scottish Government
Rt Hon John Swinney MSP	First Minister

UK Government
Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP	Prime Minister
Rt Hon Darren Jones MP	Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations

Welsh Government
Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS	Prif Weinidog Cymru/First Minister
Jack Sargeant MS	Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
Rebecca Evans MS	Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

Question reference: S6W-42527

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Kate Forbes on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a final update regarding Scottish Enterprise’s improvements to its human rights due diligence procedures, as outlined to Parliament by the Deputy First Minister on 25 June 2025.

Following a parliamentary debate on 26 February, a Motion (S6M-16571) was passed calling on Scottish Enterprise to review its human rights due diligence checks.

I updated Parliament (S6W-38968) on Scottish Enterprise’s review on 25 June. I confirmed that Scottish Enterprise had identified opportunities for improvements, which it committed to rolling out incrementally, over 2025-26.

I committed to providing a further update to Parliament, once Scottish Enterprise had developed its revised and detailed operational guidance, and asked that Scottish Government officials be kept abreast of that work.

On 28 November, Scottish Government officials received a formal update from Scottish Enterprise confirming that its updated human rights due diligence policy and procedure had been substantially finalised. Operationalisation of the revised human rights due diligence checks will now begin, on a phased basis. During the period of early implementation, these checks will be subject to further refinement. Scottish Enterprise outlined further detail of its improvements, which includes provisions to ensure human rights due diligence checks effectively address and adapt to emerging risks associated with customer relationships through:

An increase in the frequency of human rights due diligence checks, to every 12 months to maintain ongoing vigilance and responsiveness.
Removal of previous exemptions and broadening of the scope of human rights due diligence checks.
Enhanced online screening, supplemented by follow-up engagement with customers as necessary.
Introduction of targeted customer checks, including the requirement for a customer statement specifically addressing items and activities governed by the UK Strategic Export Controls regime.

Scottish Enterprise has indicated that work is continuing on the development of a new digital platform for customer onboarding, which is to be rolled out in 2026. This will provide a more comprehensive customer journey and workflow for managing and recording customer interactions and due diligence checks, including human rights due diligence checks.

Scottish Enterprise’s letter also confirmed that its internal Senior Review Group, established following its review, is now fully constituted and meeting weekly. The Group will provide strategic input and support operational decision-making.

I thank Scottish Enterprise for its work on developing these enhanced procedures, and towards implementing them fully in 2026.

Question reference: S6W-42502

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Neil Gray on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its findings on the Future Medical Workforce project.

I am pleased to announce that today we have published our Phase 1 report on the Future Medical Workforce Project. You can access the report here.

The report follows an extensive exploratory process to understand the challenges and opportunities for Scotland’s medical workforce over the next 15 to 20 years.

Over the past six months, we have engaged widely with the profession, we have listened to over 2,000 doctors through a national survey and 40 focus groups.

The report reflects these candid views and explores how technology, service redesign, and cultural change can help create a better future for the profession, enabling high-quality care in a rapidly changing health system. It also makes the case for meaningful change.

Phase 2 of the project will begin in January 2026 and will focus on designing solutions in partnership with the profession. This will include workstreams on training reform, workforce planning, and service redesign.

A letter will be sent to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to provide an update on the report and to invite them, along with key stakeholders, to a cross-party discussion in the new year to review the findings and consider how best to take forward Phase 2 of the project.