- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made of the level of need for housing adaptations among disabled tenants before determining that provision for approximately 8,500 adaptations in its Budget for 2026-27 would be an appropriate level of support.
Answer
Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their tenants and will submit funding requests accordingly. The Scottish Government does not independently assess the funding requirements of individual RSLs. Instead, it seeks to distribute available funding in a fair and equitable manner across RSLs, with the aim of ensuring tenants can access necessary adaptations as promptly as possible.
The estimate of 8,500 adaptations was calculated using methodology as described in the answer to question S7W-02333 on 27 August 2026. 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.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects national data on waiting lists, waiting times and unmet demand for housing adaptations and, if not, what consideration it has given to collecting such data in the future.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect national data on waiting lists, waiting times and unmet demand for housing adaptations. Since the integration of health and social care, overall responsibility for the planning and delivery of adaptations, and for developing services to improve outcomes for people who require adaptations, lies with Integration Joint Boards through powers and budgets delegated from Local Authorities.
A review of the housing adaptations system in Scotland is ongoing and it is anticipated that a report and recommendations will be produced in the autumn.
- Asked by: Michelle Campbell, MSP for Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Simita Kumar on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland will support and actively engage with communities across Scotland.
Answer
The Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS) is independent of the Scottish Government. However, AROS has made clear that it is committed to working collaboratively with communities across Scotland through a trauma-informed, inclusive, participatory and non-extractive engagement approach. It will support communities by building confidence, skills and knowledge, enabling greater participation in anti-racism action and accountability.
This approach is grounded in co-production and seeks to strengthen existing community infrastructure and networks rather than create parallel structures:
- AROS has established partnerships and Memoranda of Understanding with Regional Equality Councils (RECs), is developing regional hubs across Scotland, and has undertaken community engagement to build relationships with grassroots community organisations.
- AROS is developing an engagement framework to ensure communities have meaningful opportunities to inform and shape its work through transparent communication and regular feedback mechanisms.
- AROS will take an intersectional approach, working with organisations representing disabled people, LGBTQ+ communities, faith groups and others experiencing intersecting inequalities.
- An Experts by Experience Panel, nominated through REC partners, will ensure lived experience informs AROS's priorities, research, scrutiny and reporting.
- Asked by: Duncan Dunlop, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether its pre-election commitment to expand funded childcare to children from 9 months old to the end of primary school, available 52 weeks a year, remains government policy.
Answer
As set out in the debate on Expanding Childcare on 27 May 2026, the Scottish Government has committed to expanding funded childcare to children from 9 months to the end of primary school, in this parliamentary term. As we shape our approach to expansion, we are committed to working in partnership with the childcare sector, parents, carers and children to ensure any future developments create a system that responds to the needs of families across Scotland and helps build a strong, sustainable and resilient childcare sector.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland has spent on the recruitment and employment of internationally recruited staff in each year since 1999.
Answer
Prior to 2021, international recruitment was not widely utilised across NHS Scotland, and no direct funding was available to health boards to support these activities. Between 2021 and 2026, the Scottish Government invested more than £21.5 million to develop international recruitment capacity across NHS Scotland. This included funding for dedicated international recruitment leads and support for overseas recruitment costs, such as visa and sponsorship fees. This investment enabled the recruitment of more than 1,200 overseas professionals into roles across NHS Scotland.
Although no direct funding has been provided since 2024 to meet international recruitment costs, the infrastructure established through this investment remains in place. With the continued funding of an international recruitment lead in each health board, international recruitment can continue to be considered as a means of filling hard-to-recruit vacancies where appropriate.
- Asked by: Kate Nevens, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to incorporate mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties into Scotland’s rent control zones, what action it will take to prevent landlords of mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties from pricing tenants out of their homes, and how it plans to ensure that communities which currently meet the affordability threshold, of rent not exceeding 40% of take-home pay, continue to do so.
Answer
During the previous Parliament the Scottish Government brought forward regulations which exempt mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties from any rent control restrictions introduced using powers in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025. Laying these regulations demonstrates our commitment to ensure Scotland benefits from continued investment in the supply of new rented homes.
The exemption applies to properties offered at mid-market levels, reflecting our aim to grow the provision of mid-market rent as part of the supply of affordable housing. Properties are only eligible for exemption while rents are maintained below mid-market levels, meaning tenants will benefit from knowing their rent cannot rise above the median market rent in that area.
The exemption also applies to build to rent properties and to be exempt properties must remain continuously in the rental market. This approach is designed to promote future investment in new purpose-built homes for rent and to secure the retention of those existing purpose built rental homes in the private rented sector.
Tenants in Build to Rent and Mid-Market Rent properties in a rent control area will still be able to challenge rent increases by using the existing rent adjudication process – which gives rent officers powers to set rents at market rates.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much, by (a) percentage and (b) value, of the increase in funding allocated to the Registered Social Landlord Adaptations Programme in its Budget for 2026-27 is new investment, and how much has been provided through reductions, transfers or reprofiling of expenditure elsewhere in the Scottish Budget.
Answer
The Scottish Government has protected the Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) Adaptations Programme budget, maintaining this at £20.9 million for 2026-27. This reflects our ongoing commitment to support social landlords to deliver necessary adaptations for older tenants and disabled tenants to ensure they can live safely and independently in their own home for as long as they choose to do so.
Demand for this programme is high, due to the increased need for adaptations to support people to live safely and independently at home, maintaining the significant increase to this budget for a second year reflects this.
All funding available to the Scottish Government is allocated through the annual budget process. It is not possible to attribute a specific funding source to a particular budget line.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the 2026 Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what its response is to the comments reportedly made by the Scottish Retail Consortium and published in The Herald on 3 August 2026 that such a policy would not address the root cause of food price inflation and could lead to a wider range of products, and indeed sectors, being similarly targeted.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02261 on 26 August 2026. 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.
- Asked by: Kristopher Leask, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
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Current Status:
Holding Answer by Stephen Gethins on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what community consultation took place prior to the renewal of the lease for Whitelee Windfarm and whether any opportunities were provided for local community organisations to bid for the lease and, if so, what those opportunities were.
Answer
Holding Answer by Stephen Gethins on 27 August 2026
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much public money is being spent on promoting so-called chestfeeding.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not provide funding to promote chestfeeding. It has provided more than £12m additional investment since 2018 to support new mothers to achieve their breastfeeding goals, with more babies in Scotland now being breastfed for longer than ever before.
We are aware of media reporting that has incorrectly characterised a voluntary-led community group, Queer Milk, as a service that trains people to breastfeed or supports medical interventions. The Scottish Government has received clear and unambiguous assurance that the group is not training men to lactate and feed infants. Any claim to the contrary is untrue.
The Scottish Government does not provide funding for Queer Milk.
