Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S7W-03133

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform the operation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board to ensure greater public participation in its (a) decision making, (b) scrutiny and (c) accountability.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board is operating effectively and the Scottish Government has no plans to reform its operation. All SFRS Board meetings take place in public with the papers published on the SFRS website in advance. In addition, the Scottish Government holds a public Annual Performance Review meeting each year in which stakeholders and members of the public can ask questions on the performance of the service over the preceding 12 months.

Question reference: S7W-02931

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its commitment to deliver 24/7 thrombectomy cover “regardless of geography” means in practice, and how it will ensure that patients in rural and island communities can access thrombectomy services when clinically indicated.

The Scottish Government's ambition is that, subject to clinical eligibility, patients will be able to receive thrombectomy procedure at a hub hospital, regardless of their geographical location at the time they suffer a stroke.

Planning work being undertaken by Public Services Delivery Scotland will provide the information necessary to develop a 24/7 thrombectomy service across Scotland. This work will include consideration of the specific requirements of rural and island communities.

Question reference: S7W-02898

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Holding Answer by Siobhian Brown on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the draft report from workstream one of the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Data Short Life Working Group, Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation data captured within Joint Investigative Interviews, dated 22 June 2026, which states that, in 2024-25, there were at least 5,087 sexual crimes involving a victim under the age of 18 recorded by Police Scotland compared with 155 children on the Child Protection Register with a child sexual abuse concern and 20 with a child sexual exploitation concern, what its assessment is of the difference between these figures.

Question reference: S7W-02947

Asked by: Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many adults have received treatment for an eating disorder since 1999, broken down by (a) year and (b) NHS board.

The data required to answer this question is not held or collected by the Scottish Government.

While Public Health Scotland holds data on adults admitted to psychiatric or general/acute hospitals for treatment, there is no information collected on those treated in other settings, including in outpatient and primary care settings. As a result, available data is likely to substantially undercount the number of adults that have received treatment for an eating disorder in Scotland over the period requested.

It would therefore be misleading to use the data currently available from Public Health Scotland to answer the question.

Question reference: S7W-02935

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the additional clinical workforce required to provide a national 24/7 thrombectomy service, including interventional neuroradiologists, radiographers, anaesthetists and other relevant staff, and what steps it is taking to address any workforce gaps.

The Scottish Government has not conducted a specific assessment of additional clinical workforce required to provide a national 24/7 thrombectomy service.

Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) are currently working to obtain the necessary clinical, planning, financial and workforce information from NHS Boards. This work will inform the development of a delivery plan for 24/7 thrombectomy services and help identify any additional work force requirements.

Question reference: S7W-03128

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has invested in new equipment required to tackle wildfires in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government allocates an annual capital budget to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The SFRS Board takes decisions on how that budget should be split between estate, fleet and equipment. The majority of assets such as appliances and equipment are used for multiple types of emergencies and are not limited to one type of incident. SFRS is rolling out a £1.6 million programme of investment at part of its Wildfire Strategy but the Scottish Government does not hold information on the expenditure on equipment specific to tackling wildfires over the last 10 years.

Question reference: S7W-03043

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been paid to the Scottish Youth Parliament in each of the last three financial years.

As noted in the response to S6W-35658 on 2 April 2025, the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) have their annual accounts published on the Companies House website. These provide a breakdown of money received from the Scottish Government (currently available up to 31 March 2025). In the financial year 2025-2026, SYP received a total of £446,895 in Scottish Government funding.

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.

Question reference: S7W-02996

Asked by: Michelle Campbell, MSP for Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the uptake has been of free school meals in each year for (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils since 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Statistics on uptake of free school meals is published on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/collections/school-education-statistics/#schoolmealuptakestatistics.

For 2007-2022, refer to tables 11 and 17 of the School Healthy Living Survey supplementary statistics 2022 for the primary and secondary breakdown respectively. For 2023-24, refer to school meal uptake supplementary statistics 2023-24, tables 3 and 5 for the equivalent breakdowns.

Statistics for 2024-25 will be published on 22 September 2026.

Question reference: S7W-02710

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider wider reform of property taxation, including a review of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, with a view to enhancing the benefits of the First Homes Fund.

The progressive rates and bands for residential Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and the first time buyer relief that increases the nil rate band to £175,000 are intended to support first-time buyers in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to review LBTT for the purpose of enhancing the benefits available through the First Homes Fund. However the Scottish Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the annual Budget process and wider tax policy development.

Question reference: S7W-02929

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards developing the delivery plan for achieving national 24/7 thrombectomy services coverage, as committed to in the Programme for Government, and when it anticipates publishing the plan.

Work to publish the delivery plan for 24/7 thrombectomy, as committed to in the Programme for Government, will begin after Public Services Delivery Scotland(PSDS)have obtained the necessary clinical, planning, financial and workforce information from NHS Boards. This work will help establish what is required to make 24/7 thrombectomy available across Scotland.

We expect this information to be available by the end of October and will then work at pace to develop the delivery plan, including timescales for service expansion.