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-35598

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the performance of the system for providing grants for the installation of heat pumps in each of the last three years, showing the (a) number of applications (i) received and (ii) approved, (b) average time for approval and (d) number of applications currently outstanding.

The following information provided relates to the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme, which provides funding to install heat pumps and other measures to domestic owner occupied households in Scotland.

a) Table 1 outlines the number of heat pump applications i) received and ii) approved (i.e. legal commitments made to applicants) from 2022-23 until 28 February 2025.

Table 1:

No of applications	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25 (until 28 February 2025)
i) received	2537	3085	2920
ii) approved	2214	2791	2872

It is important to note that application processing timelines mean that the number of legal commitments made are not a direct subset of the number of applications received, for all there will be substantial crossover between the two.

b) I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24187 on 19 January 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

c) As of 28 February 2025, there were 208 live heat pump applications for which a decision remained outstanding, the majority of which had been submitted in January and February 2025. This number includes applications on hold awaiting further information or supporting documents from applicants.

Question reference: S6W-35631

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing through its No One Left Behind programme to help disabled people access employment.

No One Left Behind, has a key role to play in meeting our commitment to halving the Disability Employment Gap by 2038. Through a concerted focus on delivering person centred, place-based employability support, there has been significant progress in reaching and supporting disabled people towards and into work since the local delivery model was implemented in 2022. In the most recent quarter July to September 2024 32% of participants accessing the service reported a disability, which is the largest proportion in a single quarter to date, this is an increase of 6 percentage points from April to June 2024. We know there is more to be done to ensure our support remains accessible and meets the needs of disabled people who experience structural barriers to entering and sustaining employment. As set out in the Programme for Government 2024-25, we are introducing Specialist Employability Support for disabled people across Scotland by Summer 2025 underpinned by an uplift in funding of £5 million to Local Employability Partnerships to support delivery. We are building on past investment and engagement with employers across Scotland through an Apt Public Social Partnership to share learning and tools developed to support recruitment and retention of disabled people in employment.

We remain committed to continuously improving our services to ensure disabled people are effectively supported towards and into work, which includes working closely with disabled people and representative organisations to ensure that their voices and experiences help shape and guide policy.

Question reference: S6T-02447

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the reported £203 million it spent on external advisers to help administer agricultural support payments to be good value for money.

Question reference: S6T-02448

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what practical steps it is taking to review the funding model for Scottish universities, in light of recent reports that the number of international students enrolled at Scottish universities fell by more than 10% between 2023 and 2024.

Question reference: S6T-02446

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider an independent external evaluation of the pilot scheme that provides victims in rape and serious assault cases with access to transcripts, in light of reports of some waiting a year for transcripts of their court cases.

Question reference: S6F-03968

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to prevent instances of water scarcity in 2025.

Question reference: S6F-03940

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03939

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03970

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the First Minister, in light of reports of an escalation in gang-related violence in Edinburgh, with recent shootings in Niddrie and West Pilton, what immediate action can be taken to support the emergency services in ensuring the safety and reassurance of communities in the Edinburgh Eastern constituency.

Question reference: S6F-03944

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children and adolescents for the diagnosis of autism and ADHD.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

Chamber and committees

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