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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 654 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-42091

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected 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: 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.

Question reference: S6W-41122

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel periodic report 2021-2024, and what action it will take regarding the recommendation to deliver on its commitment from February 2024 to revise the Fuel Poverty Strategy by the end of 2026.

The 2019 Fuel Poverty Act requires Ministers to undertake a review of the current Fuel Poverty Strategy by December 2026. I welcome the Panel's report and met with the Panel on 11 September to discuss it and recommendations, which we will consider as we work together to ensure any future strategy meets the ambitions and challenges of tackling fuel poverty and achieving our fuel poverty targets – which remain the most ambitious in the UK.

Our commitment to tackling fuel poverty is unwavering, and we are doing all we can within our powers to support households. We continue to support vulnerable households through our winter heating benefits, provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice and energy efficiency schemes.

High energy prices are currently the greatest driver of fuel poverty. It is clear that high energy prices must be addressed, and the fundamental fiscal and policy levers lie with the UK Government. This is why we continue to press the UK Government to urgently deliver an automatic and targeted discount on energy bills to address unaffordable bills at source.

Question reference: S6F-04425

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the recent news that Eastern Airways, which runs lifeline regional services in the Highlands and Islands, has entered administration.

Question reference: S6W-40869

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on every household having an emergency or resilience box in preparedness for any major crisis, similar to the approach used in Denmark and Finland, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding developing such an initiative.

The Scottish Government’s Ready.scot website provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for emergencies. It includes established advice on how to build a small emergency kit and keep it in a safe place. These proactive measures help support readiness for a broad range of emergency scenarios, and elected members of the Scottish Parliament can play an important role in raising the profile of this advice. The Scottish Government also works closely with UK Government colleagues and other devolved administrations to support the provision of relevant public information and advice on reserved matters in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-40576

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to patients who have to travel to access treatment at one of the three specialist endometriosis centres.

If a person is diagnosed with endometriosis, the Scottish Government wants them to be treated as close to home as clinically appropriate. Most individuals can be managed by a gynaecologist with expertise and training in endometriosis within secondary care.

Specialist endometriosis centres in Scotland provide coordinated, multidisciplinary treatment to women who have complex symptoms of endometriosis and to those who need complex surgery. Patients who meet the criteria of the specialist centres should be fully supported to access these services.

Patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes provide financial assistance for patients and authorised escorts travelling to hospital appointments, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. The Scottish Government provides guidance to NHS Boards, which are responsible for developing and applying their own policies and reimbursement rates, ensuring patient care and safety.

Question reference: S6W-40578

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether an endometriosis diagnosis obtained outwith Scotland is recognised by NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-40579

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the paper, An approach to using stranding data to monitor cetacean population trends and guide conservation strategies, published in Scientific Reports on 20 August 2025, which identified an increase in marine mammal strandings in Scotland, and what assessment it has made of these results in relation to industrial activity in the seas around Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the recently published paper which investigates patterns and trends in cetacean strandings across Scotland since 1992.

While the paper reports increasing strandings rates across species groups, it also acknowledges that strandings do not always represent an increase in mortality in a population; they can also reflect either an increase in abundance, or periodic movements of individuals into an area. Furthermore, the detection of stranding events has also improved over time with increased awareness, volunteer coverage, social media and cultural engagement with cetacean conservation.

Any applications for development in Scotland’s seas involves careful consideration of the project’s potential environmental impact, including on European Protected Species.

The Scottish Government will more fully consider the findings of the report.