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: S6O-04892

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle the frequently reported overcrowding on Fife commuter trains.

Question reference: S6O-04867

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-04879

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to East Dunbartonshire Council to help meet any additional costs of providing social care services for an ageing population.

Question reference: S6O-04869

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recently published NatWest Group and Beauhurst’s New Startup Index, indicating that Scotland has one of the fastest growing startup economies in the UK.

Question reference: S6O-04895

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on its energy policy and strategy, what its response is to Ofgem's announcement on 27 August regarding the energy price cap.

Question reference: S6W-39664

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the release of the minute of a meeting in June 2024 between the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture and the Israeli Ambassador to the UK in which the cabinet secretary described Scotland and Israel as being "critical friends", whether it still holds this position and, if not, (a) when the position changed and (b) what subsequent discussions or correspondence it had with the Israeli Embassy regarding this matter.

Scottish Government Ministers regularly meet foreign diplomats and Ministers visiting Scotland. Agreeing to such meetings provides the opportunity to discuss international cooperation but also to express the Scottish Government's opinion on international issues. I accepted the Embassy of Israel’s request for this meeting as it was an opportunity for him to express the Scottish Government's clear and unwavering position in calling for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in Gaza, the unconditional release of all hostages and the opening of safe routes to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza, which is what he did. Recognising the strength of feeling generated by the meeting, he subsequently issued a statement on 19 August 2024, which can be found here: Meeting with Israeli Diplomat - gov.scot.

The meeting with the Deputy Chief of Mission from the Embassy of Israel took place to express the Scottish Government's clear and unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Scottish Government received the meeting request and accepted on the basis it would provide an opportunity to convey our consistent position on the killing and suffering of innocent civilians in the region.

It is clear that, having now spoken direct to the Israeli Government and making them aware of our position on an immediate ceasefire, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to accept any invitation for a further meeting. This will remain our position until such time as real progress has been made towards peace, unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance is provided and Israel cooperates fully with its international obligations on the investigation of genocide and war crimes.

Question reference: S6W-39688

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many community safety or outreach patrols it funded in 2024-25 to support drug users.

Scottish Government provide funding to local areas to allocate as appropriate based on local need. Decisions about the need for community safety or outreach patrols will be for local areas to take.

Details of 2024-25 ADP funding and activity are set out in the annual funding letter which you can access here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/alcohol-drug-partnership-adp-letters-2024-25/

In addition, details of the National Drugs Mission funds, administered by the Corra Foundation support a range of projects are also available here: https://www.corra.scot/funding/grant-holder-data/

Question reference: S6W-39739

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding was in place for the Psychology of Parenting Programme in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.

The Psychology of Parenting Programme (PoPP) is funded through NHS Education Scotland (NES)’s Parenting workstream, which covers various programmes of work (including PoPP) to support the social, emotional and behavioural development of infants, children, young people and their families. In financial year 2023-24, the Scottish Government allocated £633,040 to NES to support the Parenting workstream, with a further £571,542 issued in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-39647

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has carried out regarding the banning of peat usage in commercial horticulture.

Following our 2023 consultation Ending the Sale of Peat in Scotland, we organised a series of workshops and have conducted regular engagement and site visits with industry stakeholders to gather views. This will inform the scope and timing of a ban on the sale of peat for horticulture and ensure that it is right for Scotland.

We have also undertaken or commissioned research to address gaps in the evidence needed to support development of our approach, including projects which assess peat alternatives, undertake trials for commercial production and assess the readiness of industry for transition.

The lack of clarity around UK Government's revision of timescales for regulating peat sales, alongside uncertainty regarding legislative timescales across UK and devolved governments, directly impacts Scottish Government's ability to apply effective legislation for this devolved issue, given constraints of the UKIMA. Through sustained and determined engagement with UK Government and devolved governments, we are working to overcome barriers and ensure robust legislation to protect peatlands.

Question reference: S6W-40090

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 August 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £15 million funding for general practice that it announced on 21 August 2025 will support general practice in the Highlands and Islands region.

The £15 million funding for general practice announced by the Scottish Government on 21 August 2025 will be allocated to territorial health boards as outlined in the following table.

NHS Board	Additional funding (£m)
Ayrshire & Arran	1.0
Borders	0.3
Dumfries & Galloway	0.4
Fife	1.0
Forth Valley	0.8
Grampian	1.5
Greater Glasgow & Clyde	3.3
Highland	1.1
Lanarkshire	1.8
Lothian	2.4
Orkney	0.1
Shetland	0.1
Tayside	1.1
Western Isles	0.1

Total	15

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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