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-42091

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Holding Answer by Richard Lochhead on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the contract award for Lot 6 (Scotland) of the Project Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy scheme, covering premises in Orkney and Shetland, will be announced.

Question reference: S6W-42289

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6M-41590 by Gillian Martin on 11 November 2025, in relation to the 10 schemes that are in progress, whether it will provide a breakdown of (a) the number of properties protected, (b) the estimated completion date, (c) the reason why the 2021 timeframe has not been achieved and (c) what the (i) initial forecast, (ii) current cost and (iii) expected final cost is, and how much was spent on each of the nine schemes that were removed from the programme because they were no longer required.

Question reference: S6W-42316

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, based on its most recent fuel poverty modelling and analysis, how many households in each local authority area it estimates will be in (a) fuel poverty and (b) extreme fuel poverty between October and December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42314

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the average annual cost in 2025 is to heat a home in (a) Scotland and (b) Shetland.

Question reference: S6W-42315

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in Shetland have received support through the (a) Warmer Homes Scotland programme and (b) Heat and Energy Efficient Scotland: Area-Based Scheme (HEES: ABS), in each financial year of its operation.

Question reference: S6W-42281

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the November 2025 report by the Shetland Fishermen’s Association and consultancy firm, Voar, Energy developments in Shetland and their interactions with fisheries.

Question reference: S6W-42135

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 11 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact (a) of cross-border online alcohol sales on wholesalers, distributors and small businesses in rural and island communities, and (b) of minimum unit pricing on the ability of these firms to be competitive with alcohol sales dispatched outside of Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05211

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it can take to ensure that critical national infrastructure serves the local communities hosting it and is built safely, securely and in a way that is sensitive to the landscape around it.

Question reference: S6W-41590

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which of the (a) 42 formal flood protection schemes and (b) flood engineering works' areas have been completed, broken down by the (i) number of properties protected and (ii) completion date, and what the (A) initial forecast and (B) final cost was of each.

The 2015 Flood Risk Management Plans contained 42 flood protection schemes. 40 were initially eligible for funding. 9 were removed because they were no longer required, subject to alternative arrangements or failed to meet progress deadlines. 21 are complete, 1 is under construction, 6 are expected to have a main construction contract in place by March 2026 and 3 are subject to local hearing or public local inquiry. The information requested regarding completed schemes is given in the following table.

#	Scheme name	Local authority	Completion	Cost (2016) (£m)	Final cost (£m)	# of properties with improved protection
1	Huntly	Aberdeenshire	2017	4.8	3.8	68
2	Newmill	Moray	2017	1.8	1.8	18
3	Dundee	Dundee City	2018	6.2	6.9	200
4	Kirkwall	Orkney	2018	1.8	1.8	541
5	White Cart Water Phase 3	Glasgow	2019	5.9	7.2	87
6	Camlachie Burn	Glasgow	2019	1.2	1.8	This is one element of a phased project to reduce flood risk in the area
7	Smithton and Culloden	Highland	2021	15.5	10.0	129
8	Broughty Ferry	Dundee City	2022	10.0	16.3	450
9	Kirkintilloch - Park Burn	East Dunbartonshire	2022	0.4	0.4	70
10	New Cumnock	East Ayrshire	2022	3.3	8.4	108
11	Drumnadrochit	Highland	2022	3.4	5.1	35
12	Arbroath	Angus	2023	11.4	13.5	530
13	Caol and Lochyside	Highland	2023	8.4	15.2	296
14	Stonehaven	Aberdeenshire	2023	19.9	27.5	376
15	Millport Coastal	North Ayrshire	2024	12.1	48.6	657
16	Stranraer	Dumfries and Galloway	2024	0.4	1.6	350
17	Upper Garnock	North Ayrshire	2024	15.5	18.5	600
18	Kilmacolm – Glenmosston Burn	Inverclyde	Completion confirmed but exact date not provided by local authority in annual returns	0.5	0.5	Not provided by local authority as designprovides general reduction in downstream flows
19	Quarriers Village	Inverclyde	Completion confirmed but exact date not provided by local authorityin annual returns	0.2	0.2	60
20	Campbeltown	Argyll and Bute	2025	9.3	16.0	770
21	Hawick	Borders	2025	37.4	78.6	970

Question reference: S6W-41589

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many floods have been recorded in each of the (a) 42 formal flood protection schemes and (b) flood engineering works' areas in each calendar year since January 2016, broken down by the (i) damage caused and (ii) cost of each incident.

Due to the nature of flooding, for which the scale of impacts can vary significantly, the number of flooding incidents are not systematically recorded. The responsibility for development, delivery, operation and maintenance of flood protection schemes rests with individual local authorities, who are best placed to respond to local resilience needs. Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.