Chamber and committees

Statistics relating to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) by local authority are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website. These figures relate to the number of approvals, site starts, and completions of social and affordable homes, and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-quarterly-updates-on-approvals-site-starts-and-completions/

The homes provided through the AHSP comprise homes for social rent, for mid-market rent and for low cost home ownership. These homes take various forms including; new build homes, rehabilitation projects, conversions and off-the-shelf purchases of both new and second hand homes.

The following table provides a breakdown of the number of homes completed in the (a) Stirling, (b) Fife, (c) Perth and Kinross and (d) Clackmannanshire local authority areas in each year between 2015-2016 and 2024-25:

The requirement for processing statements currently only applies to seafood caught by non-UK vessels and processed in the UK prior to export. Rather than the definition being “expanded”, from 10 January 2026, the requirement for a Processing Statement will also apply to seafood caught by UK vessels and processed in the UK before export to the EU.

The EU have confirmed that where fish has only been subject to freezing and/or packed after landing and prior to export, they will not require a Statement.

Given the complexity of the seafood export supply chain, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of businesses impacted. However, given many of our exporters undertake processing that will be captured by the new requirement, we expect a significant number of Scottish businesses to be impacted.

The Scottish Government publishes statistics on people prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts as Criminal Proceedings in Scotland. Although this includes instances of “Plea not guilty accepted” and “Deserted simpliciter” it does not include specific reasons for these outcomes.

The Chair of the independent Review of Creative Scotland, Angela Leitch CBE, has today published her report. This sets out 36 recommendations for how a strong national arts body should support the arts, culture and creative sectors. I will consider these in full before setting out a full response. The recommendations and report are available here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781806433643

The publication costs for Your Right to Decide were £2,179.92 including VAT. A full breakdown can be found in the following table.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and this includes the introduction of controlled parking zones. The Scottish Government does not monitor how many of these zones have been introduced, or the revenue from parking permit sales. This information would only be available from the local authorities directly.

Scottish Ministers do not routinely attend Architecture & Design Scotland board meetings and I have not attended any board meetings of the body since May 2021. Most recently, I met with the Architecture & Design Scotland Chair and Chief Executive in November 2024. A senior official in the sponsor directorate attends the Architecture & Design Scotland AGM on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Officials also regularly attend A&DS board meetings as requested as an observer.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS work collaboratively with key partners such as Scottish Drugs Forum, Crew 2000 and Scottish Recovery Consortium to enhance and develop approaches to deliver consistent recovery pathways and diversionary activities that support integration back into our communities.

The SPS Alcohol & Drug Strategy, published in January 2025, provides a framework for improving outcomes for those living in prison through the prevention and reduction of alcohol and drug related harm to inspire positive change.

Furthermore, NHS and SPS Staff continue to work together to promote and support access to the Prison to Rehab Pathway, ensuring that people in our care are aware of innovative projects and structured programmes designed to support them on their recovery journey.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water Horizons drives sustainable growth by leveraging expertise and market position to maximise commercial, reputational, and carbon benefits. They support Scottish Water's strategic ambitions, contributing to Scotland’s prosperity by creating value from Scottish Water assets. Some examples include:

• Renewable energy (Solar, Hydroelectric, Wind) including large-scale battery energy storage schemes, which utilises Scottish Water’s land base.
• Heat recovery from sewers to help Scottish Water and other public sector organisations (e.g. NHS, Academia) to decarbonise their estate.
• Facilitating and delivering off site infrastructure (pipes & sewers) for Housing Developers.
• Commercial waste management, supporting business customers to dispose of their waste ethically via Scottish Water’s wastewater assets.

Scottish Water is not currently planning or exploring selling water for use in England as the bulk export of water is extremely expensive in terms of carbon and energy use. Additionally, climate change means that the availability of water in Scotland is changing, with periods of drought becoming more frequent and more prolonged as experienced in summer 2025. It is therefore important that water resources are managed carefully and more efficiently. As Scottish Water’s Long term strategy has noted, given the impacts of climate change, population growth and migration, the East of Scotland will face serious water deficits by 2050.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The healthcare provisions within Scottish Prisons have been the responsibility of NHS since 2011, this includes but is not limited to, the delivery of Alcohol and Drug services and all clinical assessments used to develop individual care plans or referrals. SPS are therefore unable to provide the information required.

SPS do however work collaboratively with key partners such as NHS, Scottish Drugs Forum, Crew 2000 and Scottish Recovery Consortium to enhance and develop approaches to deliver consistent recovery pathways that support integration back into our communities.

Furthermore, NHS and SPS Staff continue to work together to promote and support access to the Prison to Rehab Pathway, ensuring that people in our care are aware of innovative projects and structured programmes designed to support them on their recovery journey.