Parliamentary questions
Rhoda Grant
2,396 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41468 by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025, what the locations are of the 10 Forestry and Land Scotland onshore wind sites under 50 megawatts that have been identified as pilot sites.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41650 on 18 November 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-co…
3 Nov 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41468 by Gillian Martin on 27 October 2025, for what reason the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS) is being used for an asset to be transferred to the community, and what consideration it has given to setting a rent to be paid, similar to commer…
Answer · Gillian Martin: This new pilot scheme is a unique chance for communities to take ownership of renewable energy projects which need upgrading and extend their operational life, bringing long-term benefits to the local area.The Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS) is well-es…
30 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its guidance on the proposed phasing out of cages for laying hens.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government consulted in 2024 on proposals to phase out the use of cages for laying hens. It is still considering the responses to that consultation and will confirm next steps in due course.
20 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether the Family Court system is compliant with article (a) 3, (b) 9, (c) 12, (d) 18 and (e) 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: In terms of the operation of the courts, the Scottish Government has not made any such assessment and would not seek to do so. The Lord President is the head of the judiciary in Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service supports the courts by pro…
20 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether penalties for parents or carers who breach contact orders approved by Family Courts are to be introduced.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: If a party to a case believes that another party has not obeyed a contact order, they can go back to court and either ask the court to change the order or to hold the party who wilfully did not obey the order in contempt of court.The Children (Scotland) Act 2…
17 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government where the liability lies for any repayment of planting grants given to the Kinrara Estate, near Aviemore, following the reported sale of the estate by Brewdog to Oxygen Conservation.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government supports new woodland creation through the Forestry Grant Scheme. Forestry Grant Scheme grant recipients are responsible for the maintenance of their new woodland planting and recipients of funding agree to maintain their new woodland …
17 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported purchase of Kinrara Estate near Aviemore by Oxygen Conservation is in the public interest.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scottish Government does not comment on individual property transactions. We have set out our general expectations for landowners in Scotland in our Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement and we are looking to build on these with the measures in the Land …
29 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered seeking to amend the definition of peatland under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 to cover areas of peat with a thickness of 30 centimetres or greater, and if so, what the outcome was, in light of the recent decision by the&nbs…
Answer · Jim Fairlie: We are aware of the decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to restrict burning of upland peat in England to a maximum depth of 30 centimetres, except where covered by a licence. However, we are also aware of the extensive damage wh…
26 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark the anniversary in November of the founding of the Highlands and Islands Development Board.
Answer · Kate Forbes: I am pleased to see Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and its hard-working staff, leading on marking this significant milestone both internally and through a series of communications. HIE’s Chief Executive Stuart Black, highlighted the approaching…
26 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the impact that the Highlands and Islands Development Board had on the economic and social development of the Highlands and Islands.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The impact that the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB), the precursor to Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), cannot be overstated. HIE has an excellent timeline on their website: 50 Years of Highlands and Islands Enterprise which highlights th…
24 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it withdrawing the Scottish Good Practice statement on myalgic enchephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and adopting the NICE Guideline on the condition, how compliant specialist services for ME/CFS are to be instituted and monitored for NICE Clinical Guideline c…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of NHS boards. We expect all boards to ensure that their services are informed by current clinical best practice. In commissioning boards’ plans for the recently announced £4.5 million a y…
19 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it is undertaking into the potential (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-effectiveness of Calmare therapy in offering relief for conditions such as nerve pain, cancer pain, opioid-induced pain and chronic regional pain syndrome, and whether this therapy is being considered for r…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is responsible for supporting health and care research. The CSO runs a number of projects and fellowship funding schemes for Scottish-led research.Applications on the potential (a) effectiveness and…
19 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Calmare therapy being offered in Ireland, Italy, Germany, USA and Australia, what its position is on the reported view of the UK specialist clinic, the London Spine Unit, that the therapy is an “efficient and safe alternative for several different types of refractory c…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is determined to improve care and support for people with chronic pain. Progress continues with our Implementation Plan which sets out the actions we will take to address the things people with chronic pain have told us matter most to …
15 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36012 by Fiona Hyslop on 31 March 2025, by what date the construction of the controlled pedestrian crossing at Raigmore interchange in Inverness will begin.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Preparatory works are progressing well with the design stage completed. The tender package was issued for pricing at the end of August 2025 and the works are currently programmed to commence on site at the start of January 2026.
26 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to conduct a post-implementation review of its Habitats Regulations, similar to that carried out by the UK Government in July 2025, and, if so, what the timeline for this will be, and whether it will publish any conclusions that it has reached on the regulations to date.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Unlike in the rest of the UK, there is no statutory requirement to conduct a Post Implementation Review of The Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 in Scotland and the Scottish Government has no current plans to undertake such a Review.
17 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when details of the 2025-26 Bus Infrastructure Fund will be published.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: I will launch the Bus Infrastructure Fund in the coming weeks and will publish details once they have been finalised. In the meantime, my officials are in discussion with those voluntary Bus Partnerships that have submitted proposals to the fund. They also ke…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS board areas currently have a dedicated Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Intervention (MNPI) team in place, and what plans there are to ensure that everyone who requires such services can access psychological support from a MNPI team in their area.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is committed to improving perinatal and infant mental health services across Scotland. Anyone who requires Maternity and Neonatal Psychological Intervention (MNPI) services should be able to access them as part of their maternity or ne…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many fire stations had firefighting staff that exceeded the permitted maximum of 24 hours of overtime per month in 2024.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The use of overtime is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the reported 29% vacancy rate in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. The 29% vacancy rate refers to on-call establishment figures. SFRS is taking action to recruit more on-call firefighters though the use of 50 full tim…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the retained duty system fire stations in the Orkney Islands Council area currently have full staffing complements.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. There are currently two on call stations in the Orkney Islands Council area with a full staffing complement. When an appliance is not available, a res…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the retained duty system fire stations in the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar area currently have full staffing complements.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. There is currently one on-call stations in the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council area with a full staffing complement. When an appliance is not availa…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all firefighters who are tasked with fighting wildfires are provided with wildfire kit as an alternative to wearing kit that is designed for fighting structural fires.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The allocation of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) resources to respond to wildfires and indeed to respond to any emergency incident that requires its attendance, is an operational matter for SFRS.Since the launch of its Wildfire Strategy in 2023, SFRS…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the retained duty system fire stations in the Argyll and Bute Council area currently have full staffing complements.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. There are currently six on call fire stations in the Argyll and Bute Council area with a full staffing complement. When an appliance is not available,…
15 Jul 2025 · Written 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 the…
Answer · Siobhian Brown: 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. …
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the retained duty system fire stations in the Shetland Islands Council area currently have full staffing complements.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment of staff is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. There are challenges in recruiting and retaining on-call firefighters in some rural areas of Scotland and there are currently no on-call fire stations in Shetland with…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all firefighters are provided with wearable tracking devices for use during incidents to track their location.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: 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 futu…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all fire stations are stocked with a spare thermal imaging camera.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: 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 ima…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any emergency measures introduced during theCOVID-19 pandemic period to operate with reduced manpower in the Scottish Fireand Rescue Service have been reversed and staffing levels returned topre-pandemic minimum safe levels.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The operational guidance used to keep firefighters safe is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). SFRS generally operates with a crew of 5 on the first appliance deployed to an emergency and this was reduced to 4 during the COV…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all firefighters are provided with wearable tracking devices for use during incidents to record their heart and breathing rates, in order to provide early warning signs of potential health issues to those monitoring from outside the risk area.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: 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 to record their heart and breathing rates. SFRS is explo…
15 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the retained duty system fire stations in the Moray Council area currently have full staffing complements.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The recruitment and retention of staff is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as the employer. There is currently one on call station in the Moray Council area with a full staffing complement. When an appliance is not available, a response will …