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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 5365 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S7W-00785

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many properties use (a) heating oil and (b) liquid petroleum gas, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish House Condition Survey provides a snapshot of the Scottish housing stock in each survey year including the construction age, built form and primary heating fuel of Scottish domestic buildings.

Local Authority level analysis uses a three year pooled sample in order to mitigate the smaller sample sizes involved when analysing sub-national geographies. In this case, survey data from the period 2022-2024 are averaged.

The total number of dwellings using Oil or LPG as their primary heating fuel by Local authority over the 2022-2024 period is presented in the following table.

Table 1: Number of dwellings using Oil or LPG as their primary heating fuel by Local authority 2022-2024.

Local Authority	Households using LPG	Households using Oil	Sample
Aberdeen City	[w]	[c]	261
Aberdeenshire	1,000	20,000	236
Angus	1,000	5,000	247
Argyll and Bute	2,000	5,000	243
Clackmannanshire	[w]	[c]	221
Dumfries and Galloway	3,000	14,000	236
Dundee City	[c]	[c]	263
East Ayrshire	[c]	1,000	233
East Dunbartonshire	[c]	[c]	206
East Lothian	[c]	2,000	285
East Renfrewshire	[w]	[c]	211
Edinburgh, City of	[w]	1,000	744
Na h-Eileanan Siar	1,000	6,000	286
Falkirk	[c]	2,000	248
Fife	1,000	4,000	452
Glasgow City	[w]	[w]	657
Highland	3,000	28,000	247
Inverclyde	[w]	[w]	163
Midlothian	[w]	2,000	252
Moray	1,000	7,000	201
North Ayrshire	[c]	2,000	195
North Lanarkshire	[w]	2,000	377
Orkney Islands	[c]	4,000	254
Perth and Kinross	3,000	8,000	280
Renfrewshire	[w]	[c]	230
Scottish Borders	1,000	9,000	272
Shetland Islands	[w]	3,000	313
South Ayrshire	1,000	3,000	235
South Lanarkshire	3,000	6,000	341
Stirling	2,000	3,000	234
West Dunbartonshire	[w]	[w]	202
West Lothian	[c]	[w]	211
Scotland	24,000	137,000	9036

Notes

1.Source Scottish House Condition Survey LA Tables 2022-2024.

2.The SHCS is a sample survey and therefore all figures are estimates which lie at the midpoint of a confidence interval which depends primarily on sample size.

3.[c] Indicates the base sample is too small to report (below 30 cases) or an estimate representing 2 or fewer sampled households.

4.[w] indicates no sample cases in this category.

Question reference: S7W-00793

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00644 by Stephen Gethins on 3 June 2026, which did not address the question posed, and in light of remarks by Alan Brown MSP in the debate, It’s Scotland’s energy, on 28 May 2026, in which he said, "Zonal pricing was an option that could bring down bills, but that was immediately ruled out by Westminster", whether it supports the introduction of zonal pricing in the electricity market, and what specific evidence it has relied upon in forming its position.

Question reference: S7W-00748

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen and Cambuslang, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to tackle the breeding of cats with extreme characteristics, including whether it plans to update the 2021 cat breeding guidance to cover all such cats.

The Scottish Government recognises that there are health concerns linked with cats with extreme characteristics, such as the Scottish Fold. It acknowledges that breeds such as the Scottish Fold and Munchkin have been found to likely represent a breach in the licencing condition of no breeding should occur if it could have a detrimental effect on the cat’s health or wellbeing.

We will continue to work with industry stakeholders and engage with DEFRA in order to keep pace with advances in science and will be looking at issues of artificial insemination of cats, and the breeding of exotic/wild cat-hybrids in line with the recommendations from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

Question reference: S7W-00862

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00615 by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026, which did not address the question posed, whether it will confirm that it has not made an assessment of the impact of the anticipated closure of Torness nuclear power station on energy affordability for consumers in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00647

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 29 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to adopt a public financing model for the purchase of new trains, similar to that proposed in the report commissioned by ASLEF and written by Glasgow University academics, A Public Vision for Financing Scotland’s Railways.

Train ownership and operational costs over the asset’s lifespan constitute a substantially greater share of total expenditure than the initial purchase price. It is therefore essential to explore a range of financing and procurement options to ensure best value for money and long-term affordability.

As the First Minister has set out in the previous government, we are making good progress towards initiating a programme of bond issuances from 2026-27, with a total programme of around £1.5 billion over the next parliamentary term, subject to market conditions.

As set out in the published outline business case (https://www.gov.scot/policies/investment-finance/scottish-government-bonds), this programme will support capital investment within our existing borrowing powers and limits. Any proceeds will be used exclusively for capital spending and infrastructure, in line with our legal powers.

The business case considers a range of borrowing options, including continued use of the National Loans Fund and other sources, and concludes that a bond programme can represent value for money while supporting our wider economic objectives.

ASLEF’s recent report on Green Bonds provided a useful contribution, and we remain open to further discussion and analysis alongside current Scottish Government policy for the procurement of significant contracts in the future.

In terms of bond structures, we are keeping our options open, including the potential use of green bonds alongside conventional or unlabelled issuances.

Question reference: S7W-00630

Asked by: Joe Fagan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) gross and (b) net running costs are of its operations, and how these have changed since its records began.

The Scottish Government’s running costs are reported in the annual consolidated accounts in note 5f Outturn Income and Expenditure - Operating Costs (2019-20: note 6f). The consolidated accounts can be found here: Financial reports and accounts - Government finance - gov.scot.

The table within the 2022-23 annual consolidated accounts restates the 2021-22 figures, therefore this should be used instead of the data in note 5f to the 2021-22 accounts.

Information is provided on a financial year basis which is consistent with our annual accounts publications. Therefore, the running costs for 2025-2026 will be published in the same location when available.

In 2019-20, a change in approach to operating costs was implemented, which means that comparable figures for earlier years cannot be provided. Previously, costs, including staffing, were held centrally as part of the administration budget and also as part of portfolio budgets for staff who were implementing and delivering specific public services. Since 2019-20, Total Operating Costs have been aligned with the portfolio budgets they support, replacing the dual system where both administration and portfolio budgets funded operating costs.

Question reference: S7W-00839

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider reallocating any projected underspends in local authority budgets for affordable housing supply to Glasgow City Council.

There is currently no projected underspend in the 2026-27 Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP).

The AHSP seeks to optimise the positive impact of spend and delivery, and does so by supporting local authorities to deliver fully against its Resource Planning Assumptions (RPAs). Where local authorities are unable to deliver against its RPA the programme will seek to move funding to other areas that are able to deliver. This process is taken forward as part of normal in year programme management, in discussion with local authorities and reported on through annual outturn reports.

Question reference: S7W-00425

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Child Winter Heating Payments were paid out in April 2026.

The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK. Child Winter Heating Payment is an automatic payment unique to Scotland that helps families and carers of disabled children under 19 with winter heating costs. It is paid to those who receive the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.

Official statistics published on 19 May 2026 shows that as of 31 March 2026, over 44,000 Child Winter Heating Payments were made to eligible clients, with the vast majority paid automatically in December 2025. The information requested for April 2026 is not yet published.

Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Heating Benefits: Statistics for Winter 2025/2026 - Social Security Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00919

Asked by: Michelle Campbell, MSP for Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Maree Todd on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, following the First Minister’s visit to the SAMH Nook mental wellbeing hub on 3 June 2026, how support will initially be provided for this initiative.

On 11 June 2026, the First Minister will announce £400,000 to support Craig Ferguson’s impressive Tartan Trek across America to raise money for Scottish Action on Mental Health (SAMH) ahead of the World Cup. This money will help SAMH to deliver The Nook.

The Scottish Government is delighted to support the Tartan Trek campaign to help SAMH continue its important work around mental health and wellbeing.

We are committed to expanding access to mental health support across Scotland, including through the development of community-based mental health hubs like the Nook. This initial investment will support SAMH as it expands its network across Scotland.

We congratulate Craig Ferguson on his Tartan Trek and thank him for his work to raise awareness about the importance of talking about mental health issues and on encouraging people to access support for mental health.

Question reference: S7O-00067

Asked by: Katie Hagmann, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work carried out by the Scottish Transport Emissions Partnership in relation to local air quality management.