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: S6W-41203

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what central support mechanisms it has in place to assist local authorities in the effective deployment of youth work programmes, and how any such mechanisms are monitored.

Question reference: S6W-41198

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with youth workers to assess the effectiveness of its policies on youth work in supporting economic outcomes.

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable and high quality support provided to young people by youth workers.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with Community Learning and Development (CLD) Managers Scotland, Youth Scotland and YouthLink Scotland in connection with the grant funding provided to each organisation. These organisations represent large parts of the CLD youth work sector, and the meetings provide a valuable opportunity for the Scottish Government to receive feedback on youth work.

As part of the independent review of CLD, Kate Still engaged and consulted with a broad range of CLD stakeholders, including youth workers as well as learners accessing youth work. Findings from this engagement are reflected in the Learning: For All. For Life. report which can be found here: Learning: For All. For Life. A report from the Independent Review of CLD.

In addition, HM Inspectors of Education review and report on the quality of CLD provision across Scotland and evaluate the progress that local authorities and their CLD partners are making to improve the quality of provision and services in their areas. Individual reports can be found here: CLD Inspection Reports.

Question reference: S6W-41216

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many children were waiting for adoption placements as of the latest date for which data is available, and what the longest waiting time currently is.

The Fostering_and_adoption_statistical_bulletin_2024-2025.pdf were published on 28 October 2025.

At 31 December 2024, there were 133 children and young people who had been approved for adoption across 23 local authority services and were waiting to be matched with approved adopters.

Of the children waiting to be matched in 2024, 36 (27%) had been waiting for over one year, down from 47 (36%) the previous year.

Question reference: S6W-41184

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to work with local authorities to develop a coordinated national strategy for youth work that aligns with its broader priorities and ensures equitable service provision.

Question reference: S6W-41187

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what role youth work plays in addressing issues such as substance abuse and other health-related concerns among young people.

Question reference: S6W-41727

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-41587

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion, in its Delivering Real Growth manifesto, that local referenda should be held whenever a local authority proposes an excessive increase in council tax.

The Scottish Government encourages local authorities to carefully consider the impact of council tax increases on local residents and their household finances.

Engaging with council taxpayers on the levels of tax proposed is a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Government is aware that local authorities often do so with residents in their areas, including formal consultation as part of annual budget-setting processes.

The Scottish Government’s means-tested Council Tax Reduction scheme continues to provide vital support to eligible households, helping to mitigate the impact of council tax increases on household budgets.

The Scottish Government recognises how vital the retail sector is to Scotland’s economy. It is committed to supporting the industry and will continue to engage directly with the sector, monitor the evolving impacts of the ongoing cost crisis and work with the UK Government to support Scottish businesses.

Question reference: S6W-41547

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported shutdown and reopening of the NESS incinerator in Aberdeen, what discussions it has had with SEPA and any affected local authorities, and whether any impact of disrupted waste management services on local people was discussed.

Waste collection and recycling services are a matter for individual local authorities and which strategy they adopt is entirely up to them. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes including on how to collect and process waste.

The Scottish Government liaises regularly with SEPA and local government representatives regarding waste contingency challenges. As part of ongoing liaison, Scottish Government was informed about the reported shutdown and reopening of the NESS incinerator in Aberdeen and actions taken by councils to mitigate any disruption of waste management services. Based on available information, Scottish Government’s understanding is that waste collections remained unaffected.

Question reference: S6W-41524

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what equality and human rights impact assessments have been carried out regarding the operation of so-called First In, First Out-only waiting lists for children’s neurodevelopmental services.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for local NHS Boards and local authorities to decide how they implement these policies to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care, support and treatment at the right time and in the right place. This includes carrying out the required impact assessments.

Individual health boards are responsible for the management of their waiting lists. Boards are expected to ensure that their approaches to service delivery are consistent with national guidance, including the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People. The Specification complements and sits within the Getting It Right for Every Child approach, and reflects the principles of UNCRC.

Question reference: S6W-41564

Asked by: Bill Kidd, MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to deliver on its commitment to create a National Register of Ancient Woodland.