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-43112

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 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: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 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-43110

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 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.

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: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 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-43117

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 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-43124

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 27 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Electricity Act 1989 consent applications were live when responsibility transferred to the Minister for Public Finance on 18 December 2025.

Question reference: S6W-42660

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 13 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will list how many times in each of the last five years each minister has taken a flight where a frequent flyer or other travel loyalty scheme account number was used, broken down by the (a) date of travel, (b) (i) departure and (ii) arrival airport, (c) airline used, (d) class of travel, (e) booking channel used and (f) total cost to the public purse, and what information it has on how many frequent flyer points were (A) accrued and (B) redeemed, including for what purpose points were redeemed.

The Scottish Government Travel Management system does not record personal membership or usage of travel loyalty schemes. SG guidance for staff, including Ministers, states that any such schemes should be used sparingly and not for personal gain. All ministerial travel is arranged by civil servants through the Scottish Government travel management system. All Ministerial air travel and associated costs are proactively published to the SG website

Question reference: S6W-42654

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 7 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42412 by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025, whether it will confirm by what date the proactive release covering all ministerial engagements and expenses for November 2025 will be published, and whether this will include the information that was requested on what information it has regarding 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 (i) travel, (ii) accommodation, (iii) subsistence and (iv) any other associated costs.

Question reference: S6W-42529

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42085 by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2025, what information it has regarding the dates that the teams involved in Let’s Do Net Zero discussed the Heroes of Net Zero communications campaign, whether formal or informal minutes, notes or other records were taken of those discussions and, if so, whether it will publish these, and what criteria and processes were applied in deciding not to take the suggestion forward in 2025.

Question reference: S6O-05347

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to manage and reduce damage and repair costs in schools.