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-42414

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42087 by Ivan McKee on 2 December 2025, for what reason carbon savings were not measured for the Climate Change Saltire Fellowships and Scotland Lights up Malawi projects funded from the Scottish Government carbon levy; what assessment it has made of the impact of these projects on carbon emissions, including any qualitative or quantitative evidence it holds on emissions reductions achieved, and what plans it has to ensure that robust carbon saving data is collected for projects supported by the levy in future.

Question reference: S6W-42411

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-41875, S6W-41876, S6W-41877, S6W-41879, S6W-41880, S6W-41882 and S6W-41884 by Neil Gray on 1 December 2025, what information it currently collects from NHS boards on patients who travel outwith their home board area to receive secondary or tertiary care, and whether it plans to introduce standardised national reporting on (a) patient numbers, (b) travel, accommodation and subsistence costs, (c) the use of remote consultation alternatives such as Near Me and (d) funded patient escorts, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S6W-42413

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42088 by Ivan McKee on 2 December 2025, what information it can provide on the current review of the Scottish Government carbon levy, including (a) the remit and scope of the review, (b) when the review (i) commenced and (ii) will be completed, (c) which (1) directorates and (2) external stakeholders are involved in, or being consulted as part of, the review and (d) whether it plans to publish the findings of the review, and, if so, when.

Question reference: S6W-42412

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41888 by Gillian Martin on 1 December 2025, what information it has on the total cost to it of the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy’s travel to attend the COP30 UN climate summit in Belem, Brazil, broken down by (a) travel, (b) accommodation, (c) subsistence and (d) any other associated costs.

Question reference: S6W-42085

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41710 by Gillian Martin on 18 November 2025, what work was undertaken in relation to the reported action point recorded in the note of the meeting between the Minister for Climate Action and HadFab Limited on 22 May 2024 that “SG officials [were] to explore the idea of a ‘Heroes of Net Zero’ campaign highlighting the diverse range of green jobs contributing to net zero”, including (a) which officials and directorates were tasked with this work, (b) what advice was subsequently provided to ministers, (c) what consideration was given to the objectives, target audiences, delivery timeline, key milestones and forecast or actual costs of such a campaign and (d) what the reasons are for the statement in the answer to question S6W-41710 that the Scottish Government “has not proposed a ‘Heroes of Net Zero’ campaign, has not done so in the past and is not aware of any proposals to do so in the future”.

The Heroes of Net Zero campaign was raised to me in a meeting in 2024.

Ideas for future communications campaigns are discussed with teams involved in Let’s Do Net Zero. The suggestion has not been taken forward this year.

I refer the member to the question S6W-41710 which was answered on 18 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6O-05261

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the economy secretary has had with ministerial colleagues on how its internal modelling of oil and gas jobs in the north east compares with the latest industry estimates.

Question reference: S6W-42087

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41713 by Ivan McKee on 13 November 2025, whether it will provide information on what money collected from the Scottish Government carbon levy on its business flights has been spent since the levy was introduced, broken down for each funded project by (a) project name and location, (b) delivery partner, (c) nature and description of the work undertaken, (d) carbon standard or methodology used, (e) cost, (f) verified or estimated CO2 reduction and (g) cost per tonne of CO2.

3 Projects have been funded since the levy was introduced.

1) Project 1

(a) Climate Change Saltire Fellowships

(b) Greener Scotland

(c) The Scottish Government agreed to set up a carbon emissions off-set/reduction fund as part of the bid to secure the 2014 Commonwealth Games for Glasgow. The fellowship scheme targeted resources to students from Commonwealth countries least able to deal with the impacts of climate change.

(d) N/A

(e) £40,000

(f) Not Measured

(g) N/A

2) Project 2

(a) Scotland Lights up Malawi

(b) 2020 Climate Group, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Glasgow Caledonian University

(c) To bring safe, solar energy to rural communities in Malawi replacing paraffin lights with rechargeable solar lighting.

(d) N/A

(e) £200,000

(f) Not Measured

(g) N/A

3) Project 3

(a) Solar PV

(b) Scottish Government

(c) To provide funding to install solar panels on SAH to demonstrate installing renewables on a listed building in a conservation area and world heritage site.

(d) GHG Protocol

(e) £200,000

(f) 39,128 Kg CO2 saved to date.

(g) N/A

Question reference: S6W-42086

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-41711, S6W-41712 and S6W-41713 by Ivan McKee on 13 November 2025, whether it will provide information on how much has been collected through its carbon levy on business flights in each financial year since the levy was introduced, and what the (a) cumulative total collected to date, (b) cumulative total spent to date and (c) current balance remaining in the carbon levy fund is.

The Carbon Levy was implemented in financial year 2006-7. Historical data on the amount collected each year prior to 2017-18 is not available.

2017-18 - £33,321

2018-19 - £32,211

2019-20 - £40,534

2020-21 - £558

2021-22 - No money collected

2022-23 - No money collected

2023-24 - No money collected

2024-25 £40,512

Between 2021 and 2024 no money was transferred from the travel provider. The money accumulated and was paid in 2024-25

The cumulative total spend to date is £440,000.

The current balance is £147,136

Question reference: S6W-41883

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what the median waiting time at the point of referral was for patients registered with GPs in (a) Aberdeen City and (b) Aberdeenshire who travelled to NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (ii) Lothian, in each of the last five years, compared with patients treated in NHS Grampian for the same conditions.

Question reference: S6W-42027

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Just Transition Plan for the Mossmorran Industrial Site.