Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-41383

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the number of veterans it has helped enter employment since November 2018, broken down by financial year.

Question reference: S6W-41385

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what mental health initiatives aimed at veterans it has supported since November 2018 and how much funding it has provided for each programme.

Question reference: S6W-41394

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated in each of the last five years to support construction skills training, broken down by how much of this has (a) been directed through (i) colleges and (ii) training providers, and (b) reached small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector, and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that SMEs can directly access such funding for workforce development.

Question reference: S6W-41035

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) outwith sexual health services in (a) the NHS Grampian pilot area and (b) elsewhere in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to expand access to HIV PrEP, informed by engagement with stakeholders across sectors to develop inclusive models of care. The actions include funding NHS Grampian to undertake a project exploring the feasibility and acceptability of providing PrEP in primary care settings. This project is expected to conclude later this financial year and we will carefully consider its findings.

Elsewhere in Scotland, NHS Boards are exploring various outreach models for populations who have barriers to accessing sexual health services. These include a PrEP initiative for people who inject drugs in Glasgow, and an outreach sexual health clinic for trans and non-binary people in NHS Lothian. We are also funding an e-PrEP pilot which would reduce the frequency in which some individuals would need to attend clinic appointments.

Question reference: S6W-41036

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery models, in addition to the E-PrEP pilot.

Ensuring equitable access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains a priority for the Scottish Government. Our assessment of PrEP delivery models is informed by multi-sector engagement, expert advice from the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan Implementation Group and surveillance data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

The latest HIV in Scotland report from PHS highlights increased uptake of PrEP among women and trans people, alongside sustained demand among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. However, we recognise that further action is needed to increase awareness and uptake of PrEP, particularly among people who may face barriers to accessing sexual health services. In addition to funding the online PrEP (e-PrEP) clinic pilot, the Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to increase awareness of PrEP and explore alternative access routes, including primary care, community pharmacies and outreach-based models.

Question reference: S6W-41032

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to committing to multi-year funding to combat any HIV stigma on (a) a national level and (b) in health and social care settings.

The Scottish Government continues to build on the landmark national anti-stigma campaign launched in 2023, alongside targeted efforts to raise awareness and reduce HIV-related stigma within health and social care settings. As part of our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan we committed multi-year funding to NHS Education for Scotland to develop training resources for healthcare professionals in non-HIV specialist roles. This included the establishment of a specialist educator post to support provision of training across Scotland. That funding concludes during this financial year and we will consider future funding thereafter. We also recognise the crucial role of the voluntary sector in tackling stigma. To support this, we have provided funding to Waverley Care to lead a workforce education project aimed at reducing stigma in health and social care settings. We are currently working with Waverley Care to consider the next phase of this project.

Question reference: S6W-41034

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to improving access to blood borne virus testing in NHS board areas where emergency department opt-out testing will not be available.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to blood borne virus (BBV) testing across all NHS Board areas as part of our BBV elimination efforts. While we are taking a phased approach to implementing emergency department opt-out testing – initially focusing on areas of higher prevalence - we will consider further expansion if evidence emerges to support this.

All NHS Boards and other relevant services are encouraged to adopt approaches to BBV testing which are appropriate to their local contexts. These include testing in primary care, drug and alcohol services, custodial settings, community pharmacies and through outreach initiatives. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Government has set targets for BBV testing in prisons and drug and alcohol services to encourage uptake.

In addition, work is underway to increase testing for patients who present with symptoms that may indicate a BBV. This includes the development of a national HIV indicator condition action plan and local adoption of tools such as intelligent liver function testing to support earlier diagnosis of hepatitis.

Question reference: S6W-41033

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government on what timescale it plans to roll out emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing in (a) NHS Lothian and (b) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The Scottish Government is working at pace with participating NHS Boards and Public Health Scotland to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to roll out emergency department opt-out testing for blood borne viruses. Following a successful pilot at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the first phase of the programme has been expanded to include NHS Grampian, where testing began in early October. Preparations are also underway in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where we expect testing to begin by March 2026.

Question reference: S6W-40957

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the recorded landings of (a) haddock, (b) whiting, (c) cod and (d) saithe by weight at west coast fishing harbours in (i) 1987, (ii) 1988, (iii)1989, (iv) 1990 and (v) 1991, and how this compares with returns for wild salmon.

The available information on the recorded landings of UK vessels by species and district landed into the west coast of Scotland in 1987 are published in table 6 on pages 18 and 19 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 1987:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/sea-fisheries-statistics-1922-2010/documents/1987/1987/govscot%3Adocument/1987.pdf

The available information on the recorded landings of UK vessels by species and district landed into the west coast of Scotland in 1988 are published in table 7 on pages 20 and 21 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 1988:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/sea-fisheries-statistics-1922-2010/documents/1988/1988/govscot%3Adocument/1988.pdf

The available information on the recorded landings of UK vessels by species and district landed into the west coast of Scotland in 1989 are published in table 7 on pages 20 and 21 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 1989:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/sea-fisheries-statistics-1922-2010/documents/1989/1989/govscot%3Adocument/1989.pdf

The available information on the recorded landings of UK vessels by species and district landed into the west coast of Scotland in 1990 are published in table 7 on pages 24 and 25 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 1990:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/sea-fisheries-statistics-1922-2010/documents/1990/1990/govscot%3Adocument/1990.pdf

The available information on the recorded landings of UK vessels by species and district landed into the west coast of Scotland in 1991 are published in table 7 on pages 26 to 28 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 1991:

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2020/11/sea-fisheries-statistics-1922-2010/documents/1991/1991/govscot%3Adocument/1991.pdf

There is no information available for the years 1987 to 1991 on the recorded landings of foreign vessels into Scotland by species and district landed.

Prior to 2016, salmon were caught in commercial coastal net fisheries, but they were not landed through harbours. Salmon catches for 1952-2024, including 1987-1991, are published as official statistics in Scottish salmon and sea trout fishery statistics: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781836914761/documents. Detailed supporting data is available for download: https://data.marine.gov.scot/dataset/salmon-and-sea-trout-fishery-statistics-1952-2024-season-reported-catch-and-effort-district

There are significant differences in environment, biology, fisheries (including methods, seasons, effort, location), fisheries management, and fisheries data collection that preclude a meaningful comparison of the landings of demersal fish species with catches of salmon. In terms of the data referred to above, it should be noted that, for demersal species, the locations of landing and capture may not be closely related whereas, for salmon the location of capture is recorded more precisely (see https://www.gov.scot/publications/collecting-marine-scotland-salmon-sea-trout-fishery-statistics-2/). In Scotland, salmon may be caught by fixed engine, net and coble, or rod and line, which generally correspond to the coast, estuaries, and rivers. However, some net and coble fisheries previously operated within rivers or in coastal embayments and rod fishing for salmon can legally occur within coastal or estuarine waters. Since 2016, salmon may not be retained by any method in coastal waters or where stocks are assessed as being in poor condition.

Question reference: S6W-40985

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the role of NatureScot as both conservation regulator and custodian of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, in light of reported concerns by some event organisers regarding potential conflicts of interest.

NatureScot has a statutory role to promote and publicise the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) and to keep it under review. This does not conflict with NatureScot’s role in protecting and conserving nature. The SOAC is very clear that disturbance of wildlife or protected areas does not fall within the standards of responsible behaviour expected and would not, therefore fall within the definition of ‘responsible access’ rights. It should go without saying that our laws relating to nature conservation should be complied with.

NatureScot and the National Access Forum have recently updated guidance on managing wildlife disturbance and outdoor access, which provides more detail on this matter.

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