- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 14 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to communities to help them develop local place plans.
Answer
Answer expected on 14 November 2025
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported reduction in the Mental Health Services budget line in the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision to £133.9 million, to include a £120 million internal transfer to local government for the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, whether the subsequent £16 million shortfall from the original £270 million allocation constitutes a reduction to the mental health budget and, if so, (a) what its reasoning is for this and (b) which programmes, services or projects will be affected, and how this will aligns with the ambitions of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Answer
The 2025-26 direct mental health programme budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million. There is no reduction to that budget. In keeping with normal practice, some of this budget is transferred to other portfolios for mental health projects and, for example, to NHS Boards to support improvement activity and local mental health provision. However, the reference to a £120 million internal transfer to Local Government is a transfer from another budget which supports a wide range of social care activity and bears no relation to the mental health services direct programme budget.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the apparent reduction in the Mental Health Services budget line to £133.9 million in the 2025 26 Autumn Budget Revision, given that this figure includes a £120 million internal transfer to local government for the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan, and whether it will confirm (a) whether the remaining £16 million shortfall from the original £270 million allocation constitutes a reduction to the mental health budget, (b) the rationale for any such reduction and (c) which programmes, services or projects will be affected, and how this aligns with the ambitions of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Answer
The 2025-26 direct mental health programme budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million. There is no reduction to that budget. In keeping with normal practice, some of this budget is transferred to other portfolios for mental health projects and, for example, to NHS Boards to support improvement activity and local mental health provision. However, the reference to a £120 million internal transfer to Local Government is a transfer from another budget which supports a wide range of social care activity and bears no relation to the mental health services direct programme budget.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the permitted development rights are of (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords in relation to social house-building, and what its position is on the greater use of these powers.
Answer
Under Class 33 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, local authorities have permitted development rights (PDR) to carry out works for the erection of dwellings, provided that such works conform with the adopted local development plan. Use of the PDR is a matter for individual local authorities. There are no PDR specifically for registered social landlords.
The Scottish Government is exploring whether PDR can play a greater role in helping to address the housing emergency. The recent public consultation on Permitted development rights to support provision of new homes sought views on simplifying planning processes to encourage the provision of new homes in rural areas and town and city centres. The consultation closed on 27 October and feedback from respondents will help inform the formation and refinement of any proposals for new or amended PDR.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers have appealed decisions regarding financial support in the last 12 months.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect data on the total number of appeal decisions made by kinship carers regarding financial assistance.
Decisions regarding financial support, including any appeals, are managed by individual local authorities in accordance with their statutory duties. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is the final stage for complaints about public service organisations, and it publishes the outcome of complaints, including appeals on kinship care, at Decision Reports | SPSO.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a paid expedited Protecting Vulnerable Groups application service under Disclosure Scotland, in light of reported delays impacting businesses' and voluntary organisations' operations.
Answer
Disclosure Scotland’s fees are set by secondary legislation and do not provide for offering an expedited service at additional cost. This ensures that all customers receive the same level of service.
Disclosure Scotland’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) is to process 90% of applications within 14 days. For week commencing 6 October, the average processing time for all applications was 7.4 days with 97.46% of applications completed within 14 days.
Disclosure Scotland has historically exceeded its SLA of 90% of applications processed within 14 days. In 2023-2024, 95.3% of applications were completed within 14 days and in 2024-2025, 97.7% within 14 days.
A paid expedited service would not improve response times where applications are delayed due to further information being required from third parties.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for businesses and voluntary organisations impacted by the reported Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme processing delays.
Answer
I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:
Disclosure Scotland is currently performing back within its service level agreement to process 90% of applications within 14 days.
Improvements have been made to the employer dashboard so that accredited bodies can check the processing status of an application without the need to contact Disclosure Scotland directly.
Disclosure Scotland regularly engages with customers to support them in understanding their rights and responsibilities in relation to disclosure and the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. To stay up to date on changes at Disclosure Scotland, we encourage customers to sign up to our quarterly newsletter or read it on our website. We also provide workshops to assist organisations in understanding regulated roles, their duty to refer and the practical and legal processes involved in countersigning disclosure applications. Our dedicated Customer Engagement team is also available to provide one to one advice and support to organisations who need it.
In response to user feedback, Disclosure Scotland has improved its regulated roles guidance and developed specific guidance for parent-run groups, sports organisations and health services.
Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) are funded by the Scottish Government to help voluntary sector organisations process applications and provide advice, guidance and training.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) inpatient and (b) day case hospital admissions there have been with a diagnosis of a dog attack by either bite or strike, in each year since 2021.
Answer
The following table has been published by Public Health Scotland on 28 October 2025 and shows the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog bites or strikes was recorded, from 2021-22 to 2024-25, in Scotland.
The information is provided by financial year.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the long-term sustainability of the college estate, in light of the recent report by Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2025, which notes that estimated costs for maintenance and meeting net zero emission targets may approach £1 billion.
Answer
The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) College Infrastructure Strategy (CIS) sets out the SFC’s approach to determining future investment in Scotland’s college estate and other college infrastructure. The SFC has been engaging closely with the college sector to deliver the CIS. This Strategy sets out the collective approach between SFC and colleges to develop a 10 year College Infrastructure Investment Plan which is due to be published in autumn 2026.
That plan will consider the size and shape of the college estate, taking account of future ways of working, different delivery methods, opportunities for collaboration and changing curricula. It will also consider the net zero credentials and the digital infrastructure, as well as the fabric.
It will also identify investment needs, which includes investment for net zero, training equipment and digital needed for a sustainable college estate to deliver good outcomes for students, staff and communities.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 31 October 2025
To ask the Scottish Government where the liability lies for any repayment of planting grants given to the Kinrara Estate, near Aviemore, following the reported sale of the estate by Brewdog to Oxygen Conservation.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports new woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme. Forestry Grant Scheme grant recipients are responsible for the maintenance of their new woodland planting and recipients of funding agree to maintain their new woodland creation projects for a period of 20 years.
On the rare occasion a project fails to establish, grant recipients must repay the funds that were provided to create the new woodland.
If a land sale transfers ownership of a new woodland creation project that was supported by the Forestry Grant Scheme, the liability for grant repayment rests with the original grant recipient, unless the obligations are formally transferred to a new owner. This new owner would enter into their own grant contract with Scottish Forestry to maintain the newly created woodland through to establishment.
Scottish Forestry are in discussion with the new owners of the Lost Forest project at Kinrara Estate, and they are working through the process of transferring the grant obligations to the new owner. Once this transfer is agreed, the new owners will assume liability for any potential repayment of grants should the project fail to meet the Forestry Grant Scheme requirements. If no such transfer occurs, this responsibility will remain with the original grant recipient.
