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-32457

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to raise awareness of the symptoms and risks of long COVID, and the support services that are available.

Scotland’s national health information service NHS inform aims to provide the people of Scotland with information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

NHS inform has a dedicated long COVID microsite containing information on common signs and symptoms associated with long COVID, testimony from people affected by long COVID about the impact it has had on their daily lives and information on when to seek further advice from a healthcare professional. This information is publicly accessible at www.nhsinform.scot/long-covid and is available in a variety of different languages and accessible formats.

Question reference: S6W-32388

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much North Ayrshire Council will pay in private finance initiative (PFI) and public private partnership (PPP) payments in each future year until they are fully paid.

Question reference: S6W-32750

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact that its proposed budget reduction of £5.3 million in 2025-26 for support for inter-island connectivity’ will have for communities in the (a) the Western Isles and (b) Argyll and Bute local authority area.

The Scottish Government has increased revenue funding for inter-island connectivity by £8.6 million in 2025-26, including extending free ferry travel between islands to under 22s. Provisional local authority allocations are included in Annex E of Local Government Finance Circular 10/2024.

Comparisons of 2024-25 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) to 2025-26 Budget are misleading in the context of local government funding as the 2024-25 ABR includes an agreed transfer of £13.9 million. This transfer will also be processed at the 2025-26 ABR, increasing the Inter Island Connectivity funding included in table 4.14 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget from £36.4 million to £50.3 million.

Question reference: S6W-32535

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the open letter signed by 30 climate organisations calling on it to order SSE and Equinor to resubmit an “honest assessment” of the full environmental impact of the proposed power station at Peterhead.

Question reference: S6W-32466

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties will be subject to the basic property rate poundage in 2025-26, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

The number of properties expected to be liable for the Basic Property Rate (BPR) in 2025-2026 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the following tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by council area.

Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on the non-domestic valuation roll as at 1 October 2024.

Table 1: Number of properties expected to be liable for BPR by class, to the nearest 10

Class	Number of Properties*
Shops	50,200
Public Houses	3,000
Offices	40,800
Hotels	4,000
Industrial Subjects	56,000
Leisure, Entertainment, Caravans etc.	25,600
Garages and Petrol Stations	3,500
Cultural	1,200
Sporting Subjects	12,900
Education and Training	1,500
Public Service Subjects	8,300
Communications	200
Quarries, Mines, etc.	300
Petrochemical	100
Religious	5,200
Health and Medical	2,400
Other	12,000
Care Facilities	2,200
Advertising	1,400
Statutory Undertaking	800
All	231,600

*Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Table 2: Number of properties expected to be liable for BPR by council area, to the nearest 10

Council Area	Number of Properties*
Aberdeen City	7,900
Aberdeenshire	12,300
Angus	5,100
Argyll and Bute	8,900
City of Edinburgh	19,300
Clackmannanshire	1,600
Dumfries and Galloway	9,300
Dundee City	5,400
East Ayrshire	4,600
East Dunbartonshire	2,200
East Lothian	3,500
East Renfrewshire	1,800
Falkirk	4,900
Fife	13,100
Glasgow City	24,200
Highland	18,200
Inverclyde	2,300
Midlothian	2,700
Moray	5,000
Na h-Eileanan Siar	2,600
North Ayrshire	5,100
North Lanarkshire	10,200
Orkney Islands	2,500
Perth and Kinross	8,800
Renfrewshire	9,300
Scottish Borders	8,600
Shetland Islands	2,200
South Ayrshire	5,000
South Lanarkshire	10,900
Stirling	5,500
West Dunbartonshire	2,800
West Lothian	5,800
All	231,600

*Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Question reference: S6W-32421

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its recent report, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Services in Scotland: An analysis of updated NHS Board survey data, which confirms that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is offering the Lightning Process for people with ME/CFS, what its position is on NHS boards using this treatment, in light of it being not recommended in the NICE guidelines for ME/CFS, and whether it plans to take action to end the use of this treatment for ME/CFS.

The Health and Social Care Standards, published in 2017, set out the expectation that care should be provided by health and social care professionals based on the most relevant evidence, guidance and best practice, as is appropriate to their profession and patient group. In July 2022 we wrote to health boards and GPs to raise awareness of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and highlight key changes in practice, and these remain the most current national guidelines on the management of ME/CFS.

While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally who have responsibility for both service delivery and ensuring people receive the right care for them, taking into account relevant guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment.

In conclusion, it is for NHS Boards to determine what clinical interventions they offer, while giving regard to the considerations above.

Question reference: S6W-32488

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with European Commission officials regarding the implementation of ultra high frequency electronic identification technology in livestock, in light of EU regulations specifying low frequency technology.

Question reference: S6W-32446

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to make a decision on the future of the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.

Question reference: S6W-32487

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with UK Government officials regarding the implementation of ultra high frequency electronic identification technology in livestock.

Question reference: S6W-32298

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses have been bought as second homes or investment properties at a value of less than £40,000, thus making them exempt from liabilty to the additional dwelling supplement, in each year since the supplement was introduced.