Christine Grahame

16 Mar 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding whether any of the support announced in response to the increased cost of heating oil will help the agriculture sector and other rural industries in Scotland that are dependent on that fuel.

9 Mar 2026 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government can take, in discussion with the UK Government, to assist households in very rural areas that are wholly dependent on oil or liquefied natural gas for heating, and are not connected to the gas mains, to assist with increased costs.

25 Feb 2026 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on social impact activity connected to Scotland hosting the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Bringing the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ to Edinburgh is a once in a generation opportunity. We are delighted that Scotland is co-hosting the biggest free spectator event in the world alongside our partners in England and Wales. We have the honour…

24 Feb 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a large number of applications have been rejected in the Future Farming Investment Scheme, what analysis and guidance it has issued explaining the grounds for rejection. 

19 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many urgent child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) referrals have been rejected in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government does not hold this data.CAMHS data is published quarterly. This data is based on NHS Health Board returns and is not aggregated on severity. This data can be found on the Public Health Scotland website.The national Child and Adolescent…

16 Feb 2026 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government is taking to standardise the criteria for urgent referrals to child and adolescent mental health services for an assessment, in light of reports that it is currently a postcode lottery.

12 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43568 by Jim Fairlie on 10 February 2026, in each year since 1 February 2022 to date, how many (a) monitoring visits have been undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, broken down by (i) scheduled and (ii) unscheduled visits, and …

Answer · Jim Fairlie: Animal and Plant Health Agency undertake either scheduled inspections of salmon slaughter facilities, or when a complaint of a potential welfare issue has been made.A breakdown of scheduled inspections over the period is as follows:2022:5 inspections2023:0 in…

4 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the guidance issued in 2025 under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, how it is monitoring any killing of farmed fish.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have been required by the Scottish Government to carry out visits to monitor fish welfare at the time of slaughter since 1 February 2022 and investigate any reported incidence of unacceptable methods being used.APHA c…

4 Feb 2026 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statutory guidance introduced in 2025 under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 on the slaughter of farmed fish, and in light of the UK Government consulting on introducing legislation to further strengthen the law to ensure that farmed fish ar…

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government’s official guidance, published on 17 July 2025, was developed in close collaboration with animal welfare organisations, industry, and enforcement partners. There are currently no plans to introduce additional measures.The Scottis…

19 Jan 2026 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister, regarding the proposed expansion of wind turbines, battery storage facilities and pylons across the Scottish Borders, whether the Scottish Government has carried out an assessment of the potential cumulative impact on the wildlife and the landscape, in light of the importance of tourism to t…

6 Jan 2026 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage all cyclists to ensure that they are visible, particularly during the winter period, and that they comply with the requirements of the Highway Code.

8 Dec 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the housing secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding arrangements for accessing pension funds as a source of investment to build affordable and social housing.

5 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what statutory support is available to adoptive parents following the completion of an adoption order.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Section 1 of The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (The Act) outlines the duty of local authorities to provide an adoption service. Sections 9, 10 and 11 of The Act require local authorities to assess a person’s needs for adoption support servic…

5 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many adopted children have been surrendered under section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 in each of the last three years, and what percentage of total adoptions this represents during each of these years.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold information at the level of detail requested. Analysis of related data collected for Looked After Children Statistics is included in the following table.Year[1]Total number of looked after children[2, 3]:returned under Se…

5 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been surrendered by birth parents and, comparatively by adoptive parents, under section 25 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, in each of the last three years.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.

5 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what post-adoption support services are currently provided by local authorities, and how these services are monitored for consistency across Scotland.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: Sections 9-11 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007(The Act), require local authorities to assess a person’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support if it is deemed necessary. This applies to children, young people, …

5 Dec 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that members of the public, particularly older people who are not confident using digital channels, can reliably contact the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) by telephone.

Answer · Ivan McKee: SPPA's telephone lines are open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 1.30pm on Friday. SPPA has handled over 70,000 calls in 2025, with the average call lasting seven minutes. This reflects the service SPPA is committed to giving scheme members.Whil…

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what outcomes were reached regarding provision for children and young people with autism at the meetings between the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland on 1 April and 30 October 2025.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Education provision for children and young people with autism was not discussed at these meetings. However, the Scottish Government continues to work closely with local government partners, including the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES…

6 Nov 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6F-04008 by John Swinney on 24 April 2025 and S6O-04959 by Natalie Don on 18 September 2025 regarding the mothballing of rural nurseries and the ongoing review of the guidance given to local authorities on this, in light of local authorities being re…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The review of the national guidance on the mothballing of schools and Council-run nurseries has required extensive engagement work with groups including councils and parents’ representatives. This work is nearing completion, and the Scottish Government …

3 Nov 2025 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the proposed scheme for the renovation of military homes in Scotland.

25 Sep 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its recent discussions with key stakeholders regarding the phasing out of the use of farrowing crates, when it will fulfil the commitment in its 2021-22 Programme for Government to consult on this issue; what financial support will be offered to pig farmers to transition to …

Answer · Jim Fairlie: As per my reply to you in the chamber on 01 October, once a definitive direction as to what could replace traditional farrowing crates is determined, we will then consider the possible options which may be made available for producers transitioning away from …

22 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions are in place to support people in hospitals and care settings who have serious spinal injuries resulting in paralysis from the neck down.  

17 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding different funding models that may be available to finance the building of social housing, in light of the approach adopted by Falkirk Council which awarded Hearthstone Investments £30 million throu…

26 Aug 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the 10th anniversary of the Borders Railway, whether it will provide an update on the progress of the feasibility study to extend the line beyond Tweedbank to Carlisle, via Hawick.

30 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its timeline is for translating the guidance for the slaughter of farmed salmon into legislation, as recommended by the Animal Welfare Committee and the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39465 on 29 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/…

10 Jul 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary toquestion S6O-04376 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2025, following the issuingof a joint letter to all education authorities on best practice for supportingchildren and young people, which local authorities have adopted such bestpractice, inc…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Delivery of ASN continues to be a joint endeavour with Local Authorities, who retain the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education and responsibility to identify, provide for and review the needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia.I c…

10 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress is being made to ensure that independent prescriber community pharmacists have appropriate read and write access to GP patient records in order to support safe and effective prescribing, and whether it will provide a timeline for when fu…

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when…

5 Jun 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA), last reviewed in 2020, to ensure that they provide sufficient consideration of proximity to children’s spaces and safeguards in family-dense areas, with particular reference to the impact on small rural com…

Answer · Angela Constance: Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) are subject to continuous improvement rather than there being a specific review cycle. In 2022, MAPPA national guidance had an extensive update while MAPPA responsible authorities work individually and colle…

4 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to businesses to redevelop and use former mills and other disused buildings, in order to support regeneration and economic development.

20 May 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been undertaken into any impact of the Scottish Child Payment on food poverty.