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-02848

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether all the public funding required for the deployment of artificial intelligence technology proposed to support thrombectomy services has been approved, and, if not, what funding remains to be approved.

Question reference: S7W-02850

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who has responsibility for providing the final financial approval required for the deployment of artificial intelligence technology proposed to support thrombectomy services.

Question reference: S7W-02925

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, at the latest count, how many prison officers were (a) available for operational duties, (b) on modified duties and (c) signed off as sick or on other long-term leave.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

As confirmed in the recent letter to the Criminal Justice Committee, as of 3 September 2026, SPS employed 4009 operational (frontline) staff, equating to 3797.09 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts.

(a) 3442.18 FTE Operational staff were available for duty.

(b) SPS does not currently record information on the number of Prison Officers undertaking roles with reasonable adjustments or restricted duties. SPS is reviewing its workforce data arrangements to consider how this information could be captured and reported in the future.

(c) 354.91 FTE prison officers were unavailable for operational duty. This includes absences due to sickness, parental leave, suspension, special leave, other authorised absences, and staff temporarily undertaking non-frontline roles.

Question reference: S7W-02960

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has taken to provide suitable alternative roles to firefighters who are below normal retirement age but are unable to continue in their operational role.

Question reference: S7W-02957

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many times, in each of the last 10 years, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service control rooms have operated below safe staffing levels.

Question reference: S7W-02869

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the recommendations of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Delivery Review adequately address the risks posed by climate change, including wildfires.

The Service Delivery Review was carried out to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to provide a high level of service by realigning service provision to meet risk and demand.

Climate related emergencies are an increasing and evolving threat and the Service Delivery Review will lead to redistribution of resources to support emerging priorities including the preventative measures needed to continue to support the increase in these emergencies, including wildfires.

Question reference: S7W-02867

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of decontamination facilities for firefighters operating in prolonged incident environments, including wildfires.

The provision of decontamination facilities is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

Scottish Government is aware that the SFRS has established decontamination arrangements to support firefighters operating at prolonged incidents, including wildfires. Where local facilities are unavailable, alternative arrangements are in place to support access to decontamination facilities.

Question reference: S7W-02955

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to fund the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service's capital backlog.

Question reference: S7W-02954

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many fire stations require investment to ensure that they have (a) full decontamination facilities and (b) Changing Places toilets and appropriate washing and changing facilities for all firefighters.

Question reference: S7W-03023

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reducing permitted gill net fishery soak times from 72 hours to 36 hours.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that gill net fisheries operate in a sustainable manner and minimise unintended impacts on the marine environment, including interactions with non-target species.

The current permitted soak time of up to 72 hours reflects existing management arrangements. However, we keep all fisheries management measures under review and consider the best available scientific evidence, stakeholder views and operational considerations when assessing whether changes are required.

Any proposal to amend soak-time limits would require careful assessment of the likely environmental, economic, and practical impacts on affected fisheries and coastal communities.

At present, the Scottish Government has not taken a decision to reduce the permitted soak time from 72 hours to 36 hours, but we will continue to consider emerging evidence and engage with stakeholders as part of our ongoing fisheries management work.