Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average wait has been for psychological services for parents who have experienced a (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth and (c) neonatal death in NHS (i) Highland, (ii) Western Isles, (iii) Orkney, (iv) Shetland, (v) Western Isles and (vi) Grampian in each year since 2021.
Answered by Arthur, Tom - Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing
Information on average waiting times for psychological services specifically following (a) pregnancy loss, (b) stillbirth, and (c) neonatal death is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
Psychological services are delivered by NHS Boards. Boards report their overall performance against the 18 week referral to treatment standard, and this data, published quarterly by Public Health Scotland, does not include the reason for referral at this level of detail.
We continue to work with all NHS Boards to improve access to mental health and psychological services, including specific support for perinatal mental health and bereavement.
Asked by: Grant, Rhoda (Scottish Labour - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all firefighters who are tasked with entering a burning building are provided with a breathing apparatus set that has built-in radio communications with the incident commander and others, to ensure that all are able to communicate their whereabouts or status in the event that they become separated.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The operational guidance used to keep firefighters safe is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Currently every frontline fire appliance has 4 sets of Breathing Apparatus (BA), 2 of which have integrated radio communication. SFRS will shortly be procuring BA sets to an upgraded standard and all of these will have integrated communication as standard.
Asked by: Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes it will make to ensure that there is enough time for the planning process as part of a young person’s transition to adulthood.
Answered by None
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39324 on 31 July 2025. 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: Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support young people are entitled to during their transition to adulthood.
Answered by None
The support provided to young disabled people during their transition to adulthood should be person-centred and tailored to the young person and their specific needs and goals.
Young disabled people are entitled to support in planning for transitions through The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and associated Regulations and through the non-statutory Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Child’s Plan. They may also be entitled to wider support – for example, financial support through the child disability payment and adult disability payment.
The National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy was published on 30 June 2025. Through this Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to:
Asked by: Whitham, Elena (Scottish National Party - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much time and training on neurodivergence is allocated to community psychiatric nurses and mental health workers.
Answered by Arthur, Tom - Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing
Staff training is an operational matter for the Boards and employers. However, in 2021 the Scottish Government published the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People. This sets out standards for all children’s services to follow to ensure children and young people can access the support they need for their neurodivergence. This includes ensuring staff undertaking the initial assessment are appropriately trained, supervised and experienced for the purpose, including identifying strengths, as well as difficulties.
The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) for Staffing and Multidisciplinary training delivery and resources to help address mental health inequalities, supporting groups who are particular risk. This activity will strengthen support and care pathways for people requiring neurodevelopmental support, working in partnership with health, social care, education, the third sector and other delivery partners. This will ensure those who need it receive the right care and support at the right time in a way that works for them.
Asked by: Burgess, Ariane (Scottish Green Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported decision to grant a licence for the culling of gannet chicks as part of the Guga Hunt, what assessment it has made of any impact of this practice on any vulnerable seabird populations, particularly in light of avian flu outbreaks.
Answered by Fairlie, Jim - Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity
In determining an application for a licence, NatureScot must consider whether the hunt is sustainable, in that it would not have an adverse effect on the conservation status of the species concerned, namely gannets.
In the case of the Guga Hunt licence issued this year, NatureScot have confirmed that a population viability analysis of the gannets at Sula Sgeir was completed and considered as part of their assessment prior to issuing the licence.
In issuing a licence to permit the taking of 500 gugas, NatureScot have concluded that this number will allow the gannet population to continue to recover and enable a sustainable future take. The previous licence issued in 2018 was for 2000 birds.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will monitor and enforce the return to use of the reported 43,000 long-term empty properties.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Housing
The Scottish Government monitors the numbers of empty homes annually when it publishes the statistical bulletin on empty properties, unoccupied exemptions and second homes. The data is sourced from council tax base returns collected from local authorities and includes stock of all tenures i.e. social housing, private rented housing, and owner-occupied homes. Further information is available from the Scottish Government website at: Second homes and empty properties in September 2024 - gov.scot.
Short term empty homes are a natural feature of the housing market. However when homes in private ownership lay empty for longer than 6 months the reasons can be complex and building relationships with owners is often the key to unlocking them. That is why we continue to invest in the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and our network of empty homes officers. Our investment of £3.7 million has helped to bring more than 11,000 privately owned empty homes to active use since 2010. Building on this success we are investing a further £2 million in 2025-26 that will enhance the support local authorities receive from the Partnership, increase the numbers of empty homes officers and fund a range of initiatives aimed at overcoming common barriers. This record level of investment seeks to increase the scale of work taking place and enable better targeting of resources to help return more homes to active use in places where they have the most impact. On enforcement we are taking forward a compulsory purchase reform programme which aims to make the process clearer, fairer and faster. In the meantime, the Partnership are working with local authorities to increase the use of the existing system through the development of a new hub project which aims to provide support to help identify suitable cases and bring them forward.
For homes in the social sector we have placed a specific focus on bringing voids back in to use and are already seeing the impacts of this work with numbers reducing significantly. In Edinburgh, for example, the Council’s management information shows that void levels have been cut by over 50% since June 2023. This progress is down to work of local authorities together with the £40m acquisition and social voids funding which Scottish Government has provided. We are now taking this learning to other areas.
Asked by: McCall, Roz (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that any community-based hubs, as proposed in the report, Reimagining Secure Care Final Report: A Vision for the Reimagined/Future World, are sustainably funded and equitably delivered across Scotland, particularly in rural and remote communities.
Answered by None
By learning from existing local authority and regionalised multidisciplinary models, Scotland could develop a network of community-based hubs that provide effective, rights-respecting alternatives to secure accommodation.
Our recently-published response to reimagining secure care confirms that the Scottish Government agrees with this proposal in principle. Further exploration will be necessary with COSLA – and with wider partners - regarding the scalability, impact and value of this model. That exploration and testing will feature in Phase 2 of our planned actions in this area.
Asked by: Grant, Rhoda (Scottish Labour - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all fire stations are stocked with a spare thermal imaging camera.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The equipment used by firefighters is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. SFRS has invested over £600,000 in purchasing 300 new thermal imaging cameras and every front line appliance with breathing apparatus has a thermal imaging camera (TIC). Spare TICs are stored at SFRS Asset Resource Centres rather than in fire stations.
Asked by: Grant, Rhoda (Scottish Labour - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all firefighters are provided with wearable tracking devices for use during incidents to track their location.
Answered by Brown, Siobhian - Minister for Victims and Community Safety
The operational guidance used to keep firefighters safe is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). Firefighters in Scotland do not currently have wearable tracking devices but this is an area that SFRS are exploring for the future.