Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Care Inspectorate’s impartiality, in light of reports of it promoting a charity linked to individuals convicted of child sexual abuse.
Answered by Arthur, Tom - Minister for Employment and Investment
As the Care Inspectorate is an independent non-departmental public body, it operates at arm’s length from Government. Therefore, it is for the Care Inspectorate, not the Scottish Government, to decide which organisations they work with.
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific steps are being taken to address the reported ongoing issue of land ownership at Tarbolton Moss landfill site.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government continues to pursue a long-term solution to the issues at Tarbolton Moss, engaging with partners, including South Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) around issues such as land ownership. We also remain open to discussions with interested parties from the private or third sector.
Asked by: Sweeney, Paul (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to any Scottish firms bidding for contracts in the UK-wide civil nuclear sector.
Answered by Forbes, Kate - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
Our enterprise agencies provide a range of services to help Scottish companies innovate, grow and access new opportunities. The support provided to individual companies is tailored according to their requirements, and is an operational matter for the agencies.
Asked by: Dowey, Sharon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the private company that expressed interest in taking on the Tarbolton Moss landfill site, and whether any outcomes or next steps have been identified from any such engagement.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government has, for a number of years, engaged with the private company that expressed interest in taking on the site at Tarbolton Moss. Engagement continues to identify next steps.
Asked by: Leonard, Richard (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid to GB Railfreight to undertake shunting duties at Carstairs for Caledonian Sleeper in each of the last two financial years.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
This is an operational matter for Caledonian Sleeper Ltd. The Member may wish to contact Caledonian Sleeper directly.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether wet wipes that are marketed and sold in Scotland can be branded as "flushable", in light of the “Fine to Flush” certification having been dropped by Water UK.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Scottish Government supported the work of Water UK in developing and promoting the “Fine to Flush” certification while this scheme was in operation. The labelling of products, including that of sanitary items such as wet wipes, remains a reserved issue. We are considering future options in this area.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £106,250 was provided to Grampian Regional Equality Council Ltd between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Tackling Economic Barriers and Community Cohesion project.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
The Economic Barriers and Community Cohesion project was funded to support Grampian Regional Equality Council’s work with partners to better understand and address inequalities faced by ethnic minority groups in employment by tackling and removing specific barriers. It will work with community groups and workers to engage with ethnic minority groups in regeneration areas with the aim of improving community cohesion and access to services (particularly English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) & employability).
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
Asked by: Villalba, Mercedes (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local authorities regarding whether they could have taken any steps to make potential Right to Buy purchasers more aware of the risks of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and, if this was the case, what steps were identified.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
The Right to Buy (RTB) policy pre-dates the Scottish Parliament. The Tenants’ Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 introduced the RTB for tenants of local authorities, New Town Development Corporations, the Scottish Special Housing Association and Housing co-operatives to buy their homes at a discount depending on how long they had lived in the property. Any original guidance would have been the responsibility of the UK Government.
The Scottish Government published the Right to Buy Guidance Circular for social landlords in 2011: Right to Buy Guidance Circular A guide for social landlords - gov.scot
This covered changes to RTB as a consequence of the Housing (Scotland) 2010 Act and a comprehensive overview of the legislation relating to the RTB. The procedure in relation to RTB sales was covered by sections 63 to 68 of the 1987 Act and is also covered in the guidance.
A guide for social housing tenants, “your right to buy your home” was also published by the Scottish Government in 2011, and included information and advice for social tenants on buying the home and the costs involved in this. The guidance strongly recommended the purchaser to have a survey carried out on the condition of the home to make sure there are no structural problems as they will be responsible for repairs once they buy the property. Additionally, the guide confirms the owner’s responsibilities for the repair and maintenance costs of the property, after the home has been purchased, details of this are included in the conditions of sale.
Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that reported year-long waits for adult ADHD assessments in Inverclyde are having on people's ability to work, and what action it is taking to address any such impact.
Answered by Arthur, Tom - Minister for Employment and Investment
We do not have the specific information requested. However, we know that people who are neurodivergent can find it more difficult to secure and maintain employment. Some of the barriers were highlighted in responses to the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. The Scottish Government wants to ensure that neurodivergent people are supported to work and that our economy can benefit from their skills and talents as much as possible.
In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.
Asked by: Greene, Jamie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it is taking to support local authorities, like North Ayrshire Council, which are reportedly facing significant structural funding gaps that affect the delivery of local services.
Answered by Robison, Shona - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
The 2025-26 budget delivered record funding of over £15.1 billion for Local Government, a real terms increase of 5.5 per cent, as confirmed by the Accounts Commission.
As part of the record funding package for Local Government, in 2025-26 North Ayrshire Council will receive £383.8 million to support day to day services, which equates to an extra £21.2 million or an additional 5.8 per cent compared to 2024-25. Taken together with the decision to increase Council Tax by 7 per cent, North Ayrshire Council will have an additional £25.7 million to support front line services in 2025-26.
Decisions on future local government finance settlements will be the subject of negotiations with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities and announced as part of the outcome of future Scottish Budgets.
However, the record funding settlement for Local Government in 2025-26 was the result of early and meaningful engagement between Scottish Government, COSLA and Councils. We remain committed to ensuring the sustainability of local services going forward and budget engagement ahead of the 2026-27 Scottish Budget has already commenced.