Chamber and committees

As set out in my answer to question S7W-02908 on 15 September 2026, while decisions on the scheduling of individual criminal cases are a matter for the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, the long-standing statutory time limits at section 65 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 require the prioritisation of cases where an accused person has been remanded in custody prior to trial. This approach relates to an accused person having the presumption of innocence and the importance of seeking to minimise the length of time they are held in custody prior to trial.

It is important that delays in the criminal justice system are minimised insofar as possible and the statutory time limits exist to prevent unnecessary delays in criminal cases coming to trial and help the judiciary to effectively manage the progress of cases. This is particularly important in trials for offences of rape, serious sexual assault and domestic abuse where delays can impact on complainers.

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.

Scottish Ministers welcomed the Competition and Market Authority's 2024 house building market study and considered its recommendations.

It is for Health Boards to manage the delivery of their services, including the consideration of how they allocate treatment to patients. As such we would expect health boards to consider the potential equalities and other impacts as part of implementing their weight management services based on the local eligibility criteria.

The Scottish Government support Scottish Curling’s strategy ‘Sweeping Change: The Future of Curling 2023-2027’. The strategy aims to create a nationwide network of thriving curling communities by increasing participation, strengthening clubs and facilities, developing coaches and volunteers, supporting athlete pathways, improving engagement, and embedding sustainability across the sport.

The Scottish Government, through sportscotland, works in partnership with, and invests in, Scottish Curling to support the delivery of these objectives.

On 22 September 2025, Scottish Ministers met with Vincent Bryson, Chief Executive of Scottish Curling, and Richard Lochhead MSP to discuss issues affecting curling and ice sports in Scotland. Discussions were centred on the sustainability of ice rinks, the impact of rising energy costs on facilities, investment in sport, and opportunities to host major events.

The Scottish Government remain engaged with Scottish Curling directly and through our national agency sportscotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the role that philanthropy can play in supporting our third sector and communities across Scotland. As part of our policy development with respect to the third sector, Scottish Government engages with independent funders, philanthropic foundations and academics. We recognise the funding pressures that third sector organisations are facing and we will continue to engage and explore opportunities which would support a sustainable and resilient third sector.

Through Scotland’s Rare Disease Action Plan, we are taking forward actions to improve support for people with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD). This includes work to improve healthcare professionals’ education and awareness. The Rare Disease Action Plan Progress Report, published on 27 February 2026, provides an update on progress to date.

The cervical screening HPV self-sampling pilot was launched on 23 March 2026 in GP practices serving some of the most deprived communities across four NHS Boards in Scotland. The pilot is scheduled to run until summer 2027, after which a formal evaluation will be undertaken to provide meaningful insights and evidence to inform future phases of HPV self-sampling implementation.

NHS Highland's Valuing Service Award is a local employer recognition scheme and decisions on eligibility are therefore matters for the Board. While arrangements for recognising service vary across NHS boards, workforce policies and staff terms and conditions are regularly considered through established national partnership arrangements. Scottish Government will continue to monitor issues raised by staff and trade unions through these channels, while respecting boards' responsibilities for local schemes.

The Scottish Government recognises the distress caused when cats are involved in road traffic collisions.

The requirement to report collisions involving animals is set out in the Road Traffic Act 1988, which is reserved to the UK Government. As such, the Scottish Government has no current plans to add cats to the list of animals that must be reported to the police following a road traffic collision. We remain willing to consider opportunities to work with the other GB administrations on measures that improve the welfare of animals in Scotland.