Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-34963

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff (a) Forestry and Land Scotland, (b) Scottish Forestry and (c) NatureScot have employed on a (i) full-time permanent, (ii) full-time temporary, (iii) part-time permanent and (iv) part-time temporary employment basis in each year since 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-34968

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it cost to operate the headquarters of (a) Scottish Forestry, (b) Forestry and Land Scotland and (c) NatureScot in 2023-24, and how much has been budgeted for this in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-34967

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the total desk space capacity is for staff in the headquarters of (a) Scottish Forestry, (b) Forestry and Land Scotland and (c) NatureScot, and how much of that has been used on a weekly basis since January 2024.

Question reference: S6W-34977

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what formal representations it has made to the UK Government regarding which sectors in Scotland could be exempted from the planned increase in the rate of employer national insurance contributions, and, if it has made any such representations, which sectors it has specifically raised with the UK Government, and whether this included licensed hospitality.

We have consistently called on the UK Government to reverse in full its decision to increase employer national insurance contributions from April 2025.

The First Minister wrote jointly with COSLA President Shona Morrison to the Chancellor in January, supported by a range of voluntary organisations setting out our serious concern at the impact of this tax change on the third sector.

We have called upon the UKG to take an ‘actual costs’ approach to compensation for increased costs as a result of the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions to all organisations who provide public services.

Question reference: S6W-34969

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what sub-regional offices were operated by (a) Scottish Forestry, (b) Forestry and Land Scotland and (c) NatureScot as of 31 December 2024, and how much has been budgeted to run each office in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-34964

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) Forestry and Land Scotland, (b) Scottish Forestry and (c) NatureScot has paid in staff salaries in each year since 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-35484

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not carried out an environmental impact assessment into the procurement of clinical waste disposal contracts.

It is the responsibility of NHS National Services Scotland to assess the need for an environmental impact assessment.

The NP805/19 Healthcare Waste Services framework, implemented in 2019, requires NHSScotland clinical waste suppliers to follow SEPA regulations and permit requirements for healthcare waste handling and disposal and thereby meeting environmental impact standards. Additionally, environmental and sustainability impacts of the procurement of products and services to NHSScotland are an essential element of awards.

For the 2019 clinical waste award, as part of the specification, suppliers were asked to demonstrate how to minimise environmental impact by reducing waste, improving material recovery, and exploring new disposal methods.

Question reference: S6W-35436

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce a decision on the review into banning lead ammunition, and whether it plans to provide an update and information to the Parliament or the relevant committee on (a) how the decision was reached and (b) its rationale for the decision.

The Scottish Government recognises that the use of lead in ammunition continues to pose risks to both human health and the environment. We prioritised work under assimilated law in 2021 to propose a restriction for lead in ammunition, in agreement with the Welsh and UK Governments, to address these ongoing risks.

We have been working with UK and Welsh Governments to reach a decision following the publication of the Health and Safety Executive’s Opinion on this restriction proposal in December 2024. Once a decision has been agreed between the UK Government, Scottish, and Welsh Ministers, the UK Government will publish a decision report on its website. The Secretary of State must then seek the consent of Scottish and Welsh Ministers to a UK statutory instrument to make this decision law. At this point I will write to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee to seek the agreement of the Scottish Parliament to Scottish Ministers consenting to this instrument, the details of which will be notified to the Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-35485

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not sought to develop a high temperature incineration plant in Scotland to dispose of NHS Scotland clinical waste.

The national contract, which is the responsibility of NHS National Services Scotland, requires suppliers to treat high temperature incineration (HTI) waste, but it did not require a specific solution to create the capability in Scotland. HTI waste constitutes around 15% of NHSScotland clinical waste, and at this time, there remains no investment plan for creating HTI clinical waste treatment capacity in Scotland, as that would involve diverting capital investment away from frontline health and social care services.

Question reference: S6O-04460

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to build on the reported successes of the Aberdeen City Region Deal, which is due to conclude its 10-year plan next year.