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-02471

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Environmental Standards Scotland's finding of non-compliance with Regulation 13 of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010 in relation to the monitoring of marine waters to protect and restore the seafloor, what additional monitoring arrangements it plans to introduce for (a) coastal waters, (b) marine protected areas and (c) wider seas areas.

Question reference: S7W-02473

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the spatial extent and intensity of bottom-contact fishing methods by vessels under 12 metres in length in inshore coastal waters, and when it plans to introduce remote electronic monitoring requirements for this type of fishing activity.

Question reference: S7W-02480

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to fisheries management measures, how it measures improvements to a) the condition of the seabed, b) biodiversity, c) fish populations and d) ecosystems.

Question reference: S7W-02472

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Environmental Standards Scotland data indicating a decline in the monitoring of coastal and offshore habitats since 2014, what a) the reasons for this decline are and b) steps it is taking to address it.

Question reference: S7W-02470

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 14 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government which a) minister, b) directorate and c) public body will be accountable for ensuring that Scotland delivers its agreed contribution to any UK-wide seafloor integrity targets, and how progress towards meeting those targets will be reported to the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S7W-01992

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the employment rights of seasonal agricultural workers, and in particular (a) what mechanisms the UK Government uses to regulate the employment rights of seasonal agricultural workers and (b) what assessment it has made of whether these rights are being sufficiently upheld.

The immigration system, including the Seasonal Worker visa route, is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government regularly engages with DEFRA, other UK Government departments and the devolved administrations on issues affecting seasonal agricultural workers in Scotland either directly as matters arise, or through participation in working groups, such as the Seasonal Worker Interest Group and the Devolved Governments Workforce Group, where matters relating to worker welfare and employment rights are discussed.

(a) Employment law and immigration policy are reserved matters. The UK Government regulates the employment rights of seasonal agricultural workers through employment legislation, visa conditions and relevant enforcement bodies. In Scotland, seasonal agricultural workers’ pay and conditions are also covered by the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Act 1949 and annual Agricultural Wages Orders.

(b) Responsibility for enforcement of employment rights rests with the UK Government and its agencies. However, Scottish employers are increasingly dependent on migrant workers, who make a valuable contribution to Scotland's agricultural sector. The Scottish Government does not support an immigration system that increases the risk of forced labour or worker exploitation and continues to engage with stakeholders and UK Government counterparts on matters affecting the welfare and rights of seasonal agricultural workers in Scotland, including undertaking enforcement activity to ensure compliance with the terms of the Scottish Agricultural Wages Order relating to all agricultural workers in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02009

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to a) review, b) modernise, and c) consolidate wildlife legislation with a view to making it easier to enforce.

Over the last few years the Scottish Government has updated a range of wildlife and nature conservation legislation. We do not have any plans to undertake further review of existing wildlife legislation, beyond existing statutory review and reporting requirements.

However, the Scottish Law Commission is currently undertaking a Nature Conservation Consolidation project, previously included in its Eleventh Programme of Law Reform. The project aims to bring together key pieces of nature conservation legislation, including legislation relating to wildlife and protected species, into a coherent and systematic body of law, helping to improve its accessibility and making it easier for the public, regulators and enforcement bodies to understand and apply.

Question reference: S7W-02027

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in the SNP election manifesto to revise the Golden Hellos initiatives to attract more GPs, consultants and dentists to rural and island communities, (a) what actions it is undertaking in this area, and (b) what the timeline for implementing these changes will be.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish School of Primary Care to undertake an independent evaluation of the Golden Hello initiative for GPs. The evaluation was published in March 2026: https://www.sspc.ac.uk/media/Media_1254907_smxx.pdf.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists or consultants. We continue to make available a range of additional financial support to areas where access to NHS dentistry is particularly challenging. This support includes the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grant, which pays out up to £100,000 for establishing, relocating or extending NHS dental practices, as well as the Recruitment and Retention allowance, which allows new trainee dentists to qualify for ‘golden hello’ payments of up to £37,500 in the first three years of practice.

Any future expansion and improvement plans for Golden Hellos will be set out in due course. Work is already underway to review and refresh financial incentives in dentistry, ensuring that these are targeted to better support patient access in rural and island areas.

Question reference: S7W-02030

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve primary and routine healthcare in rural and island communities.

The Service Renewal Framework commits to increasing access to health and social care, including primary and community care. We are continuing to work with PSD Scotland to develop phase two of a rural and islands programme, consolidating work of the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care. We provide targeted support to General Practice through workforce initiatives, including the Golden Hello Scheme, ScotGEM, Rediscover the Joy and Rural Fellowships. While Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grants and Recruitment and Retention allowances are available to support and grow dental surgery numbers across Scotland, work is currently ongoing to revise these financial incentives to ensure they better target support for rural and island areas. Following a successful pilot with the Barra visiting optometry service, we will establish a framework to support eligible community optometry practices providing services in areas with limited access to NHS eye examinations.

Question reference: S7W-02005

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 10 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what dialogue it has had with local authorities and health boards to encourage collaboration, especially in cases where there is policy or geographical overlap between them.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 established the framework for integrating health and social care services in Scotland. It required local authorities and NHS boards to create Integration Authorities responsible for the governance, planning and funding of integrated services.

Integration aims to improve care and support for people who use services, their carers and their families. It does this by putting a greater emphasis on collaboration, joining up services, and focussing on anticipatory and preventative care. We support Integration Authorities to do this through regular dialogue between officials, myself, the Cabinet Secretary and the networks of Integration Authority Chief Officers, Chairs and Vice-chairs.

For 2025-26, we provided £144,812.30 in Scottish Government funding to Health and Social Care Scotland (HSCS) for their work supporting key networks, including IJB Chief Officers. HSCS work closely with IJBs and Chief Officers to promote good practice, strengthen IJB leadership networks, support meaningful engagement with communities and the third sector, and enhance independent sector involvement in local governance.

More recently I met with the leadership of the IJB Chief Officer network to discuss current priorities and challenges facing integration authorities, and to support continued collaborative working across the health and social care system. I look forward to continued engagement with them.