Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-40968

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27536 by Tom Arthur on 28 May 2024, what information it has regarding how many applications have been made in each of the last five years by (a) Scottish Power Distribution Ltd and (b) other utility companies for necessary wayleaves in Scotland, and how many have been granted.

Question reference: S6W-40969

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27536 by Tom Arthur on 28 May 2024, what information it has regarding how many landowners with a voluntary wayleave in place in Scotland in each of the last five years have issued the utility company with a notice to remove, also broken down by how many notices were complied with.

Question reference: S6W-40506

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action is planned to respond to the waiting times for neurodiversity assessments in the NHS Forth Valley area.

I recognise that the significant increase in adults seeking ADHD and autism assessments across Scotland is creating challenges for services, while also acknowledging that a diagnosis can be important to people.

The Scottish Government is aware of a range of issues affecting the availability of adult neurodevelopmental assessments in the NHS Forth Valley area and that as a result NHS Forth valley is reviewing their approach. I expect this to be resolved at the earliest opportunity.

Officials continue to work with NHS Boards, including Forth Valley, and local Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to improve services and support for neurodivergent people.

Earlier this year, officials wrote to all health boards, including Forth Valley, to seek clarification on what neurodevelopmental assessment and support they currently have in place for adults. We are currently reviewing responses received. Understanding current provision across Scotland will provide a starting point for improvement and underpin work going forward to develop a national approach.

Question reference: S6T-02674

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that more than 1,000 Scottish charities are closing every year.

Question reference: S6O-04976

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether its current above-inflation public sector pay deals have appropriate contingencies in place, in light of the recent rise in the Consumer Price Index and reported concerns regarding inflation.

Question reference: S6W-40370

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported proposed closure of the Alloa campus of Forth Valley College in 2026, and reported concerns regarding skills shortages and a 17% real-terms reduction to college funding, what action it will take to secure the future of the campus, in order to retain its students and maintain the provision of skills education in the area.

As colleges operate independently of Government, it is for them to decide on operational matters such as their campus footprint, taking into account the needs of the people, region and communities they serve.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) continuously monitors the college sector to ensure sustainable and coherent provision, engaging with institutions as needed. As such, the SFC has been engaging intensively with Forth Valley College for a number of months regarding the Alloa campus and they are working together at pace to resolve the issue and support the College’s financial sustainability.

In recognition of the vital role colleges play in communities across Scotland, all colleges received a 4.9% increase to support college maintenance in 2025-26, and Forth Valley College received a 2.3% uplift to the College's resource allocation.

The Scottish Government is working collaboratively with the SFC and Colleges Scotland through the Tripartite Alignment Group to identify and implement flexibilities to support colleges. To date, the Group has created the conditions to improve the financial sustainability of the sector with the introduction of the SFC’s College Transformation Framework, and the new asset disposals process; and is supporting colleges to maximise commercial income.

Question reference: S6W-40338

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a support scheme for businesses to manage, or move on, unsold stock before disposal becomes restricted under the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, to support and accelerate economic growth across the circular fashion and sustainable textiles sectors.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 states that Scottish Ministers may, by regulations, make provision prohibiting or restricting the disposal of unsold consumer goods if they consider it appropriate to do. The policy design will be informed by evidence and stakeholder engagement, and any measures will include an implementation period to allow businesses to prepare. Textile products will be a key focus of our product stewardship plan, and the sector will be considered in our forthcoming Circular Economy Strategy.

Question reference: S6O-04932

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure freedom of expression is respected at cultural venues.

Question reference: S6W-39902

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38059 by Jenni Minto on 9 June 2025, what assessment it has made of whether the subgroup analysis of the 11-18-year-olds from Scotland who participate in the annual ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey is robust with regards to individuals’ (a) years of age, (b) socioeconomic groups and (c) behaviours by those who are (i) regular users and (ii) never users of (A) tobacco, (B) e-cigarettes and (C) nicotine pouches.

The ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey is an annual survey of a representative sample (by age and gender) of 11–18-year-olds across Great Britain, which has been running since 2013. The Scottish Government began purchasing a booster sample since 2024 to achieve representativeness by age and gender specifically for Scotland.

In 2025, the total number of participants aged 11 to 18 from Scotland in 2025 was 856. This is a sufficiently large sample to conduct analysis of age-related differences in prevalence and demonstrate clear patterns of use (a).

The sample is not representative in terms of deprivation as it leans towards higher social grades. The data are not weighted to account for this, and this limitation should be considered when interpreting the results. Data are collected on social grade and grouped into ABC1 and C2DE categories, which are not directly comparable with the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Regarding behaviours by regular and never users of tobacco, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches (c), we report on ‘current use’, which includes both regular (once a week or more) and occasional use. This is because the percentages of young people reporting regular use of tobacco, vapes and other nicotine products is very small. This approach aligns with established statistical reporting standards and reflects the low prevalence – particularly for newer products like nicotine pouches – among adolescents.

To ensure transparency, we do not present percentages for subgroups with fewer than 50 respondents. Instead, we report counts and note the small base to minimise the risk of misinterpretation – see our 2024 report Vaping and smoking among Scottish adolescents.

Purchasing data in the ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey enables monitoring of progress against key indicators 4(i) and 4(ii) of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework (i.e. smoking and vaping behaviours in children and young people). It reflects a considered trade-off between cost, analytical value, and timeliness – ensuring prompt delivery of insights to inform policy decisions and interventions.

Question reference: S6W-39901

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38059 by Jenni Minto on 9 June 2025, whether it can provide details of the total number of 11- to 18-year-olds from Scotland who participate in the annual ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey, and what assessment it has made of whether this sample is representative of children and young people living in areas across the entire spectrum of Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey is an annual survey of a representative sample (by age and gender) of 11–18-year-olds across Great Britain, which has been running since 2013.

The total number of participants aged 11 to 18 from Scotland in 2025 was 856.

The sample size is sufficiently large to report overall prevalence and to monitor progress against key indicators 4(i) and 4(ii) of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework (i.e. smoking and vaping behaviours in children and young people).

The sample is not representative in terms of deprivation as it leans towards higher social grades. The data are not weighted to account for this, and this limitation should be considered when interpreting the results.

Data are collected on social grade and grouped into ABC1 and C2DE categories, which are not directly comparable with the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Chamber and committees