- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many wrasse have been taken from Loch Sunart since the wrasse fishery was regulated.
Answer
ICES statistical rectangle is the finest spatial resolution data that the Scottish Government hold on the number of individual wrasse extracted from an area. ICES statistical rectangles are approximately 30 nautical miles by 30 nautical miles in size.
Loch Sunart is contained within ICES statistical rectangle 42E4 along with other areas of sea. Therefore, it is not possible to deduce the number of individual wrasse specifically taken from Loch Sunart.
Wild wrasse fishing activity is not currently authorised in Sunart Special Area of Conservation.
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported high levels of traffic and frequent congestion on routes leading to and from Glasgow Airport, what assessment it had made of the potential environmental impact of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, prior to the cancellation of the project.
Answer
The Environmental Statement for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link was published by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport in 2006.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Kidney Care UK’s recent report, Left to get on with it: The real impact of inadequate psychosocial support in kidney care, whether it plans to implement measures to train and upskill NHS kidney care teams, general practitioners and talking therapies professionals, to ensure timely referral and access to psychosocial support for people living with chronic kidney disease.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not currently have plans to introduce specific measures to train and upskill NHS kidney care teams in relation to psychosocial support.
NHS Boards are expected to follow current guidelines and best practice in delivering safe, effective, and person-centred care. Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023 sets out a long-term vision for improving mental health, supported by the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions and the new Mental Health Core Standards, introduced in September 2023. Workforce planning and training are led locally, aligned with national frameworks.
- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update its Fair Work First guidance to recognise that "Unions – not staff forums – are the legitimate voice of workers", as recommended in the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) report, Freelance and Forgotten.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the report and the (then) Minister for Employment and Investment held a roundtable meeting with the STUC and Creative Industries trade unions on 3 June, where a discussion on the report formed part of the agenda.
The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that trade unions play in providing effective worker voice and continues to highlight trade union recognition as a key example of good practice within the Fair Work First guidance.
Our Fair Work First policy has been designed to apply to, and be adaptable across, all organisations and sectors. It recognises the different mechanisms for achieving an effective voice will vary at collective and individual levels, and according to sectoral practices and worker choice. The guidance promotes trade union recognition as good practice, and also supports a range of worker voice mechanisms to reflect the diversity of workplaces across Scotland, and the different ways workers can choose to be represented.
There are no immediate plans to revise the Fair Work First guidance which was updated in November 2024 to streamline administrative processes and address points of clarity following consultation with key stakeholders, including the STUC.
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what alternative projects it has planned to improve direct connectivity between the city of Glasgow and Glasgow Airport, in light of the cancellation of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) proposal, and what the timelines are for the delivery of any such projects.
Answer
The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), which was published by the Scottish Government in December 2022 to inform future transport investment in Scotland, identifies the Clyde Metro as one of its recommendations.
The ongoing stage of development of Clyde Metro, known as the Case for Investment, is being led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), supported by Glasgow City Council leading various workstreams alongside SPT, with Transport Scotland providing a project assurance role.
This key stage of the development process includes consideration of access improvements to Glasgow Airport and will inform decisions around network selection, phasing and implementation. The Case for Investment stage is well underway and is currently anticipated to be complete by mid-2027.
Further details on the Case for Investment stage can be obtained by contacting SPT directly at [email protected].
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the (a) accessibility and (b) affordability of inter-island ferry travel for disabled passengers.
Answer
The recently published Strategic Approach of the Islands Connectivity Plan sets Accessibility as one of four priorities for future ferry services and identifies a number of actions to support the delivery of this priority, including development of a Ferries Accessibility Standard and reopening of the Ferries Accessibility Fund.
We have also invested significantly to keep ferry fares affordable for all, including on Road Equivalent Tariff and islander fares, as well as the Older and Disabled Persons Concessionary Travel Scheme. In addition, a number of local authorities already provide concessionary ferry travel for disabled people.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38293 by Angela Constance on 18 June 2025, how (a) much has been spent on compensation payments to prisoners and (b) many such payments have been made, in each of the last five years.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Since 2020 SPS has paid 753 compensation payments to prisoners, resulting in a total expenditure of £1,443,627, broken down as follows:
| Compensation Payments Made to Prisoners |
| 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
Number of payments | 149 | 140 | 154 | 164 | 146 |
Total Cost | 838,883 | 277,312 | 84,759 | 54,755 | 187,918 |
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the increase in employer national insurance contributions from April 2025, whether it will provide additional funding to Police Scotland in the financial year 2025-26 to mitigate the impact of this increase, and, if so, how much extra funding it will provide.
Answer
The UK Government’s failure to fully fund their increase to employer National Insurance contributions has left Scotland’s public services, including Police Scotland, with a total bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds which will undermine investment in the Scottish Government’s priorities.
Despite this, we are providing an additional £15.2 million in-year funding to support the impact on Police Scotland, as part of the record £1.64 billion investment in policing in 2025-26.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether Scotland's Railway will commission a project to extend mobile phone network coverage to the Cowlairs Tunnel.
Answer
The member might be aware that on Thursday 26 June 2025 the Secretary of State for Transport announced Project Reach deal signed to boost connectivity and remove mobile signal blackspots on the rail network. ScotRail has engaged with Network Rail to improve connectivity in some tunnels and areas of subsurface connectivity. The member may wish to contact ScotRail for further details.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) steps it has taken and (b) plans it has to report any contingent liability arising from the carbon contracts pilot.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-35362 and S6W-35361 on 24 June 2025. 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.