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 1891 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-31288

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current capacity is for conducting routine post-mortem examinations in Aberdeen, and how this compares with the demand.

Question reference: S6W-31284

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average waiting time is for toxicology results in Aberdeen, and how this compares with other regions in Scotland.

NHS Grampian provides the postmortem toxicology service for Aberdeen, Grampian and the Highlands and Islands. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) provides the service for the rest of Scotland. SPA also currently processes priority cases for the whole of Scotland.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for non-priority cases referred to NHS Grampian in 2024 is 15.5 days, calculated from the date the samples arrive at the laboratory.

The current average turnaround time for post mortem toxicology results for cases referred to SPA in 2024, is 28 days for priority cases and 30.8 days for non-priority cases.

These figures are within the target agreed between COPFS and the toxicology providers.

Question reference: S6W-31304

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the criteria are for determining whether a death is classified as suspicious or non-suspicious in Aberdeen, and whether this differs from other regions in Scotland.

A death may be considered suspicious if the facts and circumstances suggest it may have been caused as a result of criminality.

When a death is reported to the Procurator Fiscal, it may not be possible to determine from the facts and circumstances known at that time whether the death is suspicious. That may only be possible when the results of further enquiries – such as the findings of a post mortem examination – are known.

Where the death occurred has no bearing on whether or not the death will be investigated as potentially suspicious.

Question reference: S6W-31264

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time forensic pathologists have been based in Aberdeen in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-31551

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £62 million Energy Transition Fund, announced in June 2020, has been spent, and whether it will provide a breakdown of this spend.

The Energy Transition Fund provided £45.3m of funding to the end of financial year 2023-24. A further £8.7m is expected to be provided over financial year 2024-25.

The following table provides a breakdown of the funding provided across the four projects, which are all based in Aberdeen and the North East, supported by the Fund:

Project	Funding provided to end 2023-24	Expected funding over 2024-25	Total
Energy Transition Zone	£16.9m	£2.5m	£19.5m
Net Zero Technology Transition Programme	£13.8m	£2.1m	£15.9m
Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub	£10.2m	£3.1m	£13.3m
Global Underwater Hub	£4.4m	£1.0m	£5.4m
Fund Total	£45.3m	£8.7m	£54.1m

Question reference: S6O-04077

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update planning guidance for battery energy storage systems.

Question reference: S6W-31637

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy last met the National Energy Systems Operator.

Question reference: S6W-31636

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy last met Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.

Question reference: S6W-31638

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy last met Scottish Power.

Question reference: S6O-04031

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to address the reported shortage of forensic pathologists across Scotland.

Year	Full-Time Forensic Pathologists in Aberdeen
2014	2
2015	2
2016	2
2017	2
2018	2
2019	1
2020	2
2021	2
2022	2
2023	0