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: S7W-04033

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 3 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00315 by Simita Kumar on 3 June 2026, whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding the proposed Section 104 Order relating to changing marriages to civil partnerships covering the reserved law of Scotland only and what the anticipated timescale is for the Order to be made.

Question reference: S7W-03554

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by NHS Highland towards the recruitment of staff for its Post-Infection Recovery Service, including how many posts (a) have been filled and (b) remain vacant.

Workforce planning and recruitment for local services are operational matters for individual NHS boards. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the recruitment of staff to NHS Highland's Post-Infection Recovery Service, including the number of posts that have been filled and those which remain vacant.

The member may therefore wish to contact NHS Highland directly for this information, as responsibility for staffing and the delivery of local services rests with the board.

Question reference: S7W-03670

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the extent to which each Fisheries Management Plan is expected to contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy.

The Scottish Government is the co-ordinating authority for 21 (FMPs) which are under preparation currently. These will draw together policies regarding the management of identified fish stocks. As part of their ongoing preparation, independent advice has been commissioned from Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) which has considered specific interactions between fisheries and Good Environmental Status (GES) descriptors and identified where management interventions can contribute to achieving GES.

Fisheries Management Plans are listed in the current UK Marine Strategy Part 3: 2025 UK Programme of Measures. The programme of measures was developed through collaboration amongst the UK government and devolved administrations with input from scientific experts and policy makers and drawing on the information set out in other parts of UKMS. A copy of the current programme of measures can be found at Marine Strategy part three: 2025 UK programme of measures.

Question reference: S7W-03669

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring arrangements it has established to assess the impact of fisheries management measures implemented to achieve Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy, in line with the 2021 and 2025 Programmes of Measures.

The UK Marine Strategy Part 2: UK updated monitoring programmes available at:

Marine strategy part two: UK marine monitoring programmes - GOV.UK outlines monitoring programmes across the UK intended to inform assessments of Good Environmental Status in UK waters. Monitoring undertaken through these programmes contributes to the UK Marine Strategy assessment and often supports wider international obligations, including those arising from the OSPAR Convention.

Question reference: S7W-03671

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution of marine planning to achieving Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy.

The use of planning frameworks, including marine planning, is listed in the current UK Marine Strategy Part 3: 2025 UK Programme of Measures. The programme of measures was developed through collaboration amongst the UK government and devolved administrations with input from scientific experts and policy makers and drawing on the information set out in other parts of UKMS. A copy of the current programme of measures can be found at Marine Strategy part three: 2025 UK programme of measures.

Question reference: S7W-03674

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost-effectiveness of any of its proposed measures to achieve Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy.

The Scottish Government generally considers cost-effectiveness as part of policy development and decision-making. These processes are in turn, informed, as appropriate, by a range of impact assessments. The Scottish framework of impact assessments includes socio-economic impact assessments, Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessments which can, in relevant circumstances, help to inform the Scottish Government of the cost-effectiveness of policies prior to their implementation.

Question reference: S7W-03673

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the extent to which the proposed Option 2 fisheries management measures for inshore Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features are expected to contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy.

Question reference: S7W-03668

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what fishery management measures it has implemented to achieve Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy, in line with the 2021 and 2025 Programmes of Measures.

The updated UK Marine Strategy Programme of Measures was published in 2025 following a 2021 consultation.

The principal fisheries management measures included in the 2025 Programme of Measures in relation to Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) that have been implemented in Scottish waters are measures to protect sensitive seabed habitats and species within Scotland’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) network.

Site specific restrictions on particular fishing methods within MPAs in offshore waters came into force on 16 October 2025.

Additionally, on 14 September 2026 the Scottish Government launched an 18 week consultation on proposed fisheries management measures within Scottish inshore MPAs and proposed Priority Marine Features (PMF) management areas.

Question reference: S7W-03677

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any Scottish Ministers have participated in meetings of the working group established to manage the effects of fishing on seafloor integrity, as described in the National Marine Plan Review 2021: Three-Year Report on the Effectiveness of Scotland's National Marine Plan, and, if so, whether it will publish the minutes of those meetings.

Question reference: S7W-03672

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 6 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the extent to which the proposed Option 1 fisheries management measures for inshore Marine Protected Areas and Priority Marine Features are expected to contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status for Descriptor 6 (Seafloor Integrity) under the UK Marine Strategy.