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 663 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-42289

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 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.

Local authorities are responsible for developing and delivering flood protection schemes, supported by Scottish Government funding.

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.

The total grant funding provided to these 9 schemes is £28.31m. This includes £22.973m provided to Falkirk Council for Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme. GFPS remains under development, but subject to alternative funding arrangements.

Flood protection schemes can have impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and require careful and thorough planning. Like all infrastructure projects, it can take many years for flood schemes to progress from option appraisal to completion.

Please see table for 10 schemes that are in progress below;

Scheme name	Local authority	# properties protected	Estimated completion	Cost (2016) (£m)	Projected cost (2025) (£m)
Comrie	Perth and Kinross	189	2026	15.7	40.820
Port Glasgow - Bouverie Burn	Inverclyde	Not held	2026	0.4	0.400
Milnathort	Perth and Kinross	16	2026	1.9	0.910
Mill Burn Millport	North Ayrshire	124	2026	1.1	4.309
Dumfries - Whitesands	Dumfries and Galloway	182	2029	18.9	68.618
Dumbarton Gruggies Burn	West Dunbartonshire	370	2028	14.5	39.000
Bridge of Allan	Stirling	87	2027	4.4	17.377
South Kinross	Perth and Kinross	177	2029	3.2	15.075
Newton Stewart/ River Cree	Dumfries and Galloway	138	2030	7.5	35.724
Musselburgh	East Lothian	3200	2035	8.9	106.000

Question reference: S6W-42587

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36787 by Mairi Gougeon on 22 April 2025, whether it will provide an update on the work of the squid fishing trial.

Question reference: S6W-42586

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36786 by Mairi Gougeon on 22 April 2025, what the anticipated timeline is for the squid fishing trial.

Question reference: S6F-04543

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on local authorities, which host renewable energy infrastructure, receiving Scottish Crown Estate revenue allocations, such as a share of the income from ScotWind projects.

Question reference: S6W-42281

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 9 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.

The Scottish Government recognises the report’s findings on increasing pressure on Shetland’s marine space from energy developments and will use it to inform our fisheries co-existence work.

We are committed to managing Scotland’s seas to ensure sustainable use of resources and to minimise impacts on existing users, including fishers.

Shetland’s fishing fleet and the wider Scottish sector are vital to our economy and communities, and we aim to secure a prosperous future for them while meeting net zero targets. To achieve this, we are updating the Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind, developing National Marine Plan 2, and commissioning work on cumulative impacts.

Fishing representatives are key stakeholders in these processes, and we will continue to engage with them through planning and consenting stages, alongside workstreams under the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council to support coexistence between offshore wind and fisheries.

Question reference: S6W-42135

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 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.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) undertaken for the continuation and uprating of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) found that the policy primarily affected low-cost, high-strength products and was not expected to significantly disadvantage Scottish businesses compared to those dispatching alcohol from outside Scotland.

As well as a BRIA, an Island Communities Impact Assessment was developed to assess the impacts of the continuation and uprating of MUP on those living in the Islands. No evidence was found during the five-year evaluation to show the implementation of MUP at 50ppu has had an effect on the island communities in a way that is significantly different from its effect on the mainland. The Scottish Government, therefore, concluded that the increased price of 65 pence per unit strikes the appropriate balance between achieving the public health aims of Ministers and minimising the potential effects on business, industry and consumers.

Question reference: S6W-42091

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 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-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.