- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for reporting to the Parliament on the outcomes of its participation at the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, including any (a) new commitments, (b) financial pledges, (c) international initiatives or partnerships entered into and (d) follow-up workstreams agreed by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41890 on 1 December 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.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Independent
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether NatureScot is implementing the work that the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity announced it would commit to in his ministerial statement on 1 October 2025; what action he will take if NatureScot fails to implement the work, and whether he will exercise his power of direction to require NatureScot to deliver what he announced it would do.
Answer
NatureScot is implementing the work set-out in the statement the I made on 1 October 2025, as well as the issues that arose during the gull summit.
NatureScot is taking the following actions to find practical solutions to gull issues:
- NatureScot leading four further regional roundtable events across Scotland to continue to develop a partnership approach with those not able to attend the gull summit in Inverness; A new People and Gulls Forum will be established at a national level to ensure the longevity of summit efforts.
- Delivery of £100k funding to local authorities who face the more acute issues in order to develop their area wide gull management approach ahead of Spring next year;
- Leading a partnership, including with Zero Waste Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful, in developing a national awareness campaign to encourage people not to feed gulls and carry out proper waste management so that the food supply for gulls in towns and cities is minimised;
- Accelerating our understanding of gull populations nationally, with increased focus on improving survey techniques for gulls nesting in urban areas so that we can more fully understand the numbers and population dynamics involved;
- Lead best practice guidance to include waste management in urban areas to limit food availability to gulls and undertake survey techniques that assess local urban populations, movements, and high impact areas.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with travel by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy and accompanying officials to and from the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, and how this aligns with its policies on reducing emissions from ministerial and official international travel.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41890 on 1 December 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.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its priorities are for using its platform at the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, to contribute to international discussions on (a) climate finance, (b) climate justice and (c) the global debt crisis, and what specific outcomes it is seeking to achieve in each of these areas.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41890 on 1 December 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.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many board meetings of Creative Scotland the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has attended since May 2021, and on what dates.
Answer
I have attended one board meeting of Creative Scotland since May 2021 which took place on 27 September 2023.
However, as part of normal management relationships between Scottish Ministers and non-departmental public bodies, I have regular meetings on a quarterly basis with the Chief Executive and the Chair of Creative Scotland.
- Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it is taking to restrict youth access to (a) nicotine pouches and (b) other nicotine-related products, in light of the reported rise in the use of these among children and young people, and what further measures it plans to introduce to prevent these products being sold legally to under-18s in Scotland, while the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is being considered by the UK Parliament.
Answer
The UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill (the Bill), if passed, will introduce new restrictions on age of sale for all nicotine products and the advertising, sponsorship, free distribution and nominal pricing of vaping products and nicotine products across the 4 nations.
New powers in the Bill will also empower the Secretary of State to regulate (amongst other things) product features, packaging, ingredients and flavourings in relation to vaping products and nicotine products across the UK, with the consent of Scottish Ministers. The Bill will extend the Tobacco and Vapes retailer register in Scotland to cover all nicotine products and it will give the Scottish Ministers the power to impose restrictions in relation to the display of nicotine products in shops.
In the interim we continue to work closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) to support enforcement of existing legislation, including checks on sales of tobacco and vapes to under 18s, and advice to business. This is a key component in the Scottish Government’s Tobacco and Vaping Framework and helps ensure that young people’s access to harmful age-restricted products is minimised.
An update on implementation timescales for the Bill will be provided following Royal Assent.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of serious assault, as per the definition in the Scottish Crime Recording Standard: Crime Recording and Counting Rules, and received a (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentence, in each year since 2021.
Answer
The figures are provided in the following tables.
Custodial
How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of serious assault, and received a custodial sentence:
Details | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Serious assault - Total custodial | 338 | 461 | 553 |
Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database
Non-custodial
How many times a person has appeared in court on a charge of serious assault, and received a non-custodial sentence:
Details | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Serious assault – Total non-custodial | 286 | 473 | 619 |
Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what the primary reason for travel was for patients registered with GPs in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire who received care delivered by NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (ii) Lothian in each of the last five years.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for this information.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the percentage of ScotRail Inter7City trains that have operated their Inter7City cafe during their journey in each year since the introduction of the service in 2018.
Answer
This is an operational matter for ScotRail Trains Ltd. The member may wish to contact ScotRail Trains Ltd directly to obtain this information.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it issues to NHS boards regarding (a) arranging and (b) funding patient travel and accommodation for elective and planned care delivered in a different board area, and what datasets it collects from boards on such transfers of care.
Answer
Scottish Government guidance on the Patient Travelling Expenses Schemes can be found here: 1996-70.pdf. As set out, financial support for travel is available to eligible patients attending hospital appointments, and authorised escorts, and this can include travel where treatment is not available within their own health board area.
The Scottish Government does not collect or hold data on travel arranged – this is an operational matter for Boards. Boards are expected to support patients in identifying and accessing available support.