Parliamentary questions
Keith Brown
188 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
22 Jul 2026 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the outcome of the recent summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Guernsey.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I attended the 45th British-Irish Council meeting held in St Peter Port, Guernsey on 10 July. The summit was hosted by the Chief Minister of Guernsey and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The First Minister of Wales attended as did the Tao…
16 Mar 2026 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported decision by Forth Valley College to retain its Alloa Campus for 2026-27, what engagement it will have with the College and the Scottish Funding Council to ensure the long-term future of further education provision in Clackmannanshire.
12 Jan 2026 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update regarding the Scottish Government’s latest engagement with the UK Government in relation to the distribution of Local Growth Fund allocations in Scotland.
10 Dec 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the population being expected to age rapidly over the coming decades, with more than one in five people soon to be of pension age, what measures it is taking to adapt health and social care provision to meet increased demand.
8 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling local authority area received non-domestic rates relief in 2024-25, broken down by how much was provided.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The numbers of properties receiving rates relief in each council area as at 1 June 2024 are published in Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2024. Figures as at 1 June 2025 are available in Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.Outturn values of reliefs,…
8 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many primary and secondary schools in the (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling local authority area have been (i) built and (ii) substantially refurbished since 2007.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: For the years 2010-11 to 2024-25 the Scottish Government’s school estates data collection makes a distinction between schools built and those refurbished, while for the years 2007-08 to 2009-10 no such distinction was made in the data collection.Between…
8 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many free prescriptions were provided in the (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling local authority area in 2024-25.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The requested information is shown in the following table:Table 1: Total number of free prescriptions provided in the Clackmannanshire and Stirling local authority area for financial year 2024-25.Council AreaNumber of Paid ItemsClackmannanshire1,008,884Stirli…
8 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling local authority area received the December 2025 payment of the Carers Allowance Supplement.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland regularly publishes information on the number of people who receive Carers Allowance Supplement as part of its official statistics releases, which happen twice a year.These publications include Excel tables showing how many people wer…
8 Dec 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many families in the (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling local authority area have received support through the Scottish Child Payment since it was introduced.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As of 30 September 2025, 2,110 parents or carers in the Clackmannanshire local authority area, and 2,320 parents or carers in the Stirling local authority area were actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment.These figures are available in the latest Scotti…
3 Dec 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution that community-led initiatives can make to supporting local government services and outcomes, and reducing demand through early intervention and prevention.
26 Nov 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the UK Government Budget announced on 26 November.
24 Nov 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the publication costs were for the recent paper, Your Right to Decide.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The publication costs for Your Right to Decide were £2,179.92 including VAT. A full breakdown can be found in the following table.Formatting, design and publicationVAT %VAT £Net Price £Total20.00363.321,816.60
19 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what response it has had to its letter to the UK Government regarding the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.
12 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with delivery of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
5 Nov 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress made to address concerns raised by local residents about levels of noise from HMP Cornton Vale.
29 Oct 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to safeguard the future of the Alloa Campus of Forth Valley College.
8 Oct 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its consideration of the escalation status for NHS Forth Valley, under the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Forth Valley had been experiencing difficulties with performance, including concerns raised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland following unannounced inspections in 2022. This led to the Board being escalated to Stage 4 of the NHS Scotland Support & In…
7 Oct 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further publications it has planned in connection with its policy on giving people in Scotland the information that they need to make an informed decision on their constitutional future.
Answer · Angus Robertson: On 8 October 2025, the Scottish Government will publish a new paper setting out why Scotland should become an independent country, and what an independent Scotland could look like.It explains how independence offers the potential of transformational change, b…
24 Sep 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the housing secretary will meet with those constituents from Tillicoultry affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, following the commitment to do so that was made in early August.
2 Sep 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further publications it has planned in connection with its policy on giving people in Scotland the right to decide their constitutional future.
Answer · Angus Robertson: On 4 September 2025, the Scottish Government will publish a new paper which evidences and updates the right of people in Scotland to decide their future.Your Right to Decide demonstrates that the right to decide has been accepted across the political spectrum…
18 Jun 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding access to health services for communities that rely on local bus links.
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs have been directly created as a result of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) projects which (i) have been delivered and (ii) are in the delivery phase.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal has created 82 jobs. Due to the nature of Deal investment, job creation can arise over several years post project completion. These job figures reflect the early delivery stage of the overall Growth Deal with…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much private sector investment has been leveraged as a result of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, and how this is spread between the two local authority areas.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Funding for the Deal is awarded to the Stirling and Clackmannanshire region rather than individual council areas, including joint projects between the three main Deal partners, Stirling Council, Clackmannanshire Council and University of Stirling. The Stirlin…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £90.2 million invested through the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal has been invested directly in the (a) Stirling and (b) Clackmannanshire Council area.
Answer · Kate Forbes: Funding for the Deal is awarded by both Governments to the Stirling and Clackmannanshire region rather than individual Local Authority areas with investment decisions ultimately made by regional partners. This includes joint projects between the three main De…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards the delivery of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government and UK Government have made a joint investment commitment of £90.2 million to the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal over a ten year period until the end of March 2030.The Deal, now in its 6th year of delivery, has sp…
22 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has received from the UK Government regarding the projected budget and revised timescales for the delivery of the Emergency Services Network (ESN) in Scotland, and what impact any delays are expected to have on emergency services in Scotland.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government received an Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP), Draft Programme Business Case (PBC) from the Home Office in May 2024. This indicated that the Emergency Services Network (ESN) would be delivered by 2029-30.Since …
27 Jan 2025 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the 2025 Education Improvement Plan, which was referenced to in the 2025 National Improvement Framework (NIF) that was published in December 2024.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I am pleased to confirm that the 2025 Education Improvement Plan was published today: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911227.The Improvement Plan sets out the actions that will be taken to deliver the seven key educational outcomes set out in the National Improvemen…
27 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) value of the roleof physician associate, (b) function that physician associates have insupporting GPs and (c) contribution that physician associates make to patientsand the NHS.
Answer · Neil Gray: Physician associates are valued and welcome members of the NHS Scotland workforce, and will continue to contribute to the Scottish Government's priority of developing a sustainable system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, and in the r…
27 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reportedly more controlled expansion of physician associates in Scotland has led to a safer and more efficient deployment of these healthcare professionals in comparison with other parts of the UK.
Answer · Neil Gray: The NHS England Long-Term Workforce Plan, published under the previous UK Government in June 2023, committed to an expansion of Physician Associate (PA) training places with a view to establishing a workforce of 10,000 PAs by 2036-37. No such target for expan…
27 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many physician associates (a) have lost and (b) are losing their roles; what the surrounding circumstances were or are, and what assessment it has made of the potential welfare risks that this may cause to individuals.
Answer · Neil Gray: Work is ongoing to improve the availability of data regarding the number and distribution of Physician Associates (PAs) across NHS Scotland. It is expected that these improvements will allow for the more effective analysis of workforce trends for this profess…