Asked by: Lumsden, Douglas (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland report, Investigation into the care and treatment of Mr TU, published in March 2023, what steps it is taking to address any gaps in throughcare services, particularly for prisoners on remand, and whether this will include revisions to the Sustainable Housing on Release for Everyone (SHORE) standards.
Answered by Constance, Angela - Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs
Throughcare services are in place to support individuals being released from custody to reintegrate into the community, which includes providing support with any accommodation needs. A new national voluntary throughcare service, Upside, with annual funding of £5.3 million from the Scottish Government, launched on 1 April 2025.
Upside replaces the throughcare services provided by the Shine and New Routes Public Social Partnerships (PSPs). The service offers one to one support to individuals leaving short-term sentences and individuals who are being released from periods of remand and who may face unexpected release from court. The support is tailored to the individual and helps to address their specific needs following release from custody, such as accessing benefits, healthcare and suitable housing. As well as helping with these immediate needs, Upside will also help individuals to identify and build any longer-term support required to reintegrate into their communities.
Under the previous PSP provision, men on remand were not eligible for throughcare support. The Upside service addresses this, with support being offered to individuals leaving short sentences or periods on remand. This support is available now for short term prisoners and women on remand, with support for men on remand commencing in the summer. Over the coming months, Upside, SPS, Scottish Government and other partners will develop and refine the service delivery for those individuals who are on remand, to ensure they are supported on their release.
The Sustainable Housing On Release for Everyone (SHORE) Standards, include steps to ensure that any existing tenancies are sustained where appropriate and that housing is available on release, including after a period of remand. Anyone who is homeless or at risk of homelessness, including individuals leaving prison, has the right to approach a local authority for advice and assistance. Local authorities are obliged by law to offer advice and assistance for people who are at risk or who are experiencing homelessness, including providing temporary accommodation if it is needed.
The SHORE standards were refreshed in November 2024 to bring them up to date with legislation and policy changes. A more thorough review of the SHORE standards, which may include the potential to develop further guidance relating to individuals who are released from remand or direct from court, as well as from police custody, is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Grant, Rhoda (Scottish Labour - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, to ensure timely implementation, what milestones have been set for the delivery of the Fracture Liaison Service audit.
Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health
Scottish Government commissioned the Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) audit in July 2024 following a scoping exercise and business case by Public Health Scotland (PHS). PHS are responsible for the delivery and implementation of the FLS audit, which includes setting delivery and evaluation milestones.
I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-35534 and S6W-35567 on 21 March 2025, S6W-36002 on 1 April 2025 and S6W-36035 on 17 April 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: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how often the full list of public appointments by public bodies is published.
Answered by Robison, Shona - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
The list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the Code of Conduct for Public Appointments (2022).
The list is intended to be updated regularly so that it reflects recently made appointments. It was corrected on 25 March 2025 following the identification of errors.
Details added to the spreadsheet should be correct at the point of the appointment commencing. These details may change over time and become out of date. A process is underway to update the spreadsheet to ensure accuracy, including rectification of any other errors identified, and it will be re-published when complete.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the political balance should be on (a) quasi-judicial panels and (b) local authority decision-making bodies.
Answered by Robison, Shona - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
Regarding (a), quasi-judicial panels:
Regarding (b), local authority decision-making bodies:
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which records that over 22,000 wet wipes were found on the beaches surveyed and, in light of this, whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made towards a ban on the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government thanks the Marine Conservation Society and their volunteers for their considerable efforts in gathering the data within the State of Our Beaches 2024 report, and also removing beach litter during these surveys. Their citizen science is vital in helping us prioritise future policy and legislation development.
We recognise that marine litter is an important national and international problem and have prioritised action through the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland to ensure that the amount of litter entering the marine environment is minimised to bring ecological, economic and social benefits.
We published our refreshed Marine Litter Strategy in September 2022, which sets out a co-ordinated approach to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, and supports the removal of debris that is already there. The updated strategy contains multiple actions on the most problematic types of marine litter including sewage-related debris and wet wipes. We are working across the four nations to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with legislation forthcoming.
Asked by: Burnett, Alexander (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Aberdeenshire West)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32194 by Gillian Martin on 3 January 2025, whether SEPA's assessment of flood protection schemes completed for the 2021 Flood Risk Management Plans is available to view.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
This information is not published, however is available on request from SEPA.
Asked by: Ruskell, Mark (Scottish Green Party - Mid Scotland and Fife)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in engaging with officials from the Senedd with regard to the Welsh Government's commitment to phase out greyhound racing.
Answered by Fairlie, Jim - Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity
The Scottish Government routinely engages with Welsh Government officials on a range of animal welfare issues, however, there has been no specific engagement on the commitment made to phase out greyhound racing in Wales.
Asked by: Mundell, Oliver (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Dumfriesshire)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local residents regarding concerns in relation to reports of a goat cull being carried out by Oxygen Conservation, and what assurances have been sought that the existing population will be maintained albeit at lower levels.
Answered by Allan, Alasdair - Acting Minister for Climate Action
As set out in my answer to S6W-35250 on 5 March 2025, as the landowners, it is for Oxygen Conservation Limited to consider how any reduction in the feral goat population should be achieved in practice. I understand that the landowner is not calling for eradication of the feral goats and that all future herbivore management will be informed by monitoring the species.
To address concerns on this issue, Oxygen Conservation have produced a question and answer document as well as a newsletter which has been circulated to all local residents.
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: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contingency planning it has undertaken to mitigate the economic consequences of any tariffs being placed on Scotch whisky in foreign markets.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business
The Scottish Government continues to provide support to the entire food and drink sector to help businesses with their economic growth ambitions. This includes £10 million funding for the period 2023-2025 to support the implementation of Scotland's food and drink strategy “Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the World” which outlines how we are driving growth for businesses across various sectors, including the drinks industry. In addition, we have invested over £7 million in the Scotland Food and Drink Export Plan since 2014, helping Scottish businesses to capitalise on key global market opportunities. Specifically in relation to whisky the Scottish Government continues to actively engage with the UK Government to strike a good deal for whisky in the proposed India Free Trade Agreement, which is the largest market for whisky in the world.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported calls for it to have urgent engagement with the UK Government and international partners regarding securing tariff exemptions for Scotch whisky.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business
The Scottish Government continues to engage with all our partners to call for a long-term return to tariff free trading that has been mutually beneficial for the Scottish and US spirits sectors, as part of a wider UK-US negotiated solution. I met with the UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security on 2 April to discuss this. The Deputy First Minister met with the US Chamber of Commerce on 3 April and the First Minister met with senior figures in the whisky sector in New York on 7 April to hear directly from the business leaders involved and hosted a business round table which included the Scotch Whisky Association and the Food and Drink Federation on 16 April. The First Minister also met with the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, on the 11 April to discuss tariffs amongst other topics.