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: S7W-00243

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what discussions it has had with its Scottish Business Growth Group regarding the proposal.

Question reference: S7W-00643

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards the implementation of the new national Learn to Swim initiative to ensure that all primary school pupils learn to swim and gain water safety skills.

The Scottish Government is working in close partnership with COSLA and Scottish Swimming to deliver a national programme of free swimming lessons for all primary school children. A School Swimming Working Group, chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA, has now been established to support both the development of the initiative and its subsequent implementation. Focused on the Primary 5 cohort predominantly, this three year phased approach will ultimately result in every primary-aged child in Scotland receiving access to high-quality swimming lessons.

Strong progress has already been made, particularly in advancing the delivery model and refining cost arrangements, to ensure that the programme being developed is robust and sustainable.

The foundations for a national programme are firmly in place, and partners are well positioned to move into implementation, working towards delivery of free swimming lessons for primary school children across Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00201

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in supermarkets, what assessments have been undertaken on any impact the proposal will have on the milk production sector in Dumfriesshire.

Question reference: S7W-00275

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been distributed to (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies in the Highlands and Islands region to decarbonise buildings in 2025-26, broken down by public body.

The Scottish Government introduced Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation to support the public sector in transitioning their current heating systems to low carbon alternatives, and to reduce energy use by utilising a wide range of energy efficiency measures. A breakdown of funding received by public bodies in the Highlands & Islands electoral region in 2025-26, per public body, is set out in the following table.

Organisation	Organisation Type	Scheme	Financial Year	Amount
Shetland Islands Council	Local Authority	Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund	2025-26	£167,873.00
Orkney Islands Council	Local Authority	Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund	2025-26	£120,000.00
Sabhal Mor Ostaig	Further Education Colleges	Scottish Central Government Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme	2025-26	£1,249,315.50

Additionally, Health Boards in the region have been supported through direct allocations from the Health Portfolio budget. These figures are indicative of overall funding totals for energy efficiency and decarbonisation project from the Health Infrastructure budget.

Organisation	Financial Year	Amount
NHS Grampian	2025-26	£1,614,460
NHS Highland	2025-26	£696,000
NHS Shetland	2025-26	£108,000
NHS Orkney	2025-26	£109,000
NHS Western Isles	2025-26	£80,000

Question reference: S7W-00314

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the SNP manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, whether it plans to hold a formal consultation on the proposal and, if so, whether it would be subject to a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Question reference: S7W-00337

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 4 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that greenhouse gas emissions analysis underpinning its “green data centre” policy might not fully account for hyperscale AI data centres, what plans it has to review these figures.

To support preparation of National Planning Framework 4, the then Scottish Government commissioned independent research on the Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of NPF4 proposed National Developments. This was first published in 2021 and updated in October 2022.

As the scale and characteristics of data centre developments evolve, we will continue to monitor developments and consider whether further evidence gathering is required. In the meantime, any proposed development schemes remain subject to planning and environmental assessment requirements.

Question reference: S7O-00058

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the commissioning of a new pre-hospital critical care service for Edinburgh and the east of Scotland.

Question reference: S7O-00024

Asked by: Dawn Black, MSP for Angus North and Mearns, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress of the business plan for the A90/A937 Laurencekirk Junction Improvement Scheme, including when it expects the scheme to move from the development pipeline to the delivery pipeline.

Question reference: S7O-00056

Asked by: Katherine Sangster, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its policy providing 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare, what action it is taking to address any parental concerns about flexibility and choice.

Question reference: S7O-00049

Asked by: Laura Mitchell, MSP for Moray, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for patients in Moray.