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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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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 26 January 2026
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Displaying 1865 questions Show Answers

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Question reference: S6W-43137

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how accountability for Electricity Act 1989 consent decisions will be assigned where responsibilities span over more than one ministerial portfolio.

Question reference: S6W-43109

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance for consents under the Electricity Act 1989 is intended to be a permanent arrangement.

Question reference: S6W-43112

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considered alternative ministerial portfolios to the Public Finance one when it transferred responsibility for Electricity Act 1989 consents, and if so, which portfolios it considered.

Question reference: S6W-43119

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any implications of the transfer of Electricity Act 1989 consent responsibilities to the Minister for Public Finance for the consideration of alternatives to overhead transmission lines.

Question reference: S6W-43117

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any updated guidance reflecting the revised ministerial responsibility for Electricity Act 1989 consents.

Question reference: S6W-43116

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance, instructions or internal protocols that govern Electricity Act 1989 consent decisions have been revised following the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance on 18 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-43113

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that there is operational separation between decisions on Electricity Act 1989 consents and decisions relating to capital investment, infrastructure financing or budget allocation.

Question reference: S6W-43114

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Minister for Public Finance has any role in decisions on funding, financing or financial guarantees for electricity transmission infrastructure projects that are also subject to Electricity Act 1989 consents.

Question reference: S6W-43118

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the criteria used to assess Electricity Act 1989 consent applications have changed following the transfer of responsibility to the Minister for Public Finance and, if so, what changes have been made.

Question reference: S6W-43110

  • Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 29 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it used to determine that responsibility for Electricity Act 1989 consents should sit under the Public Finance portfolio.