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-43909

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that its employee recruitment and progression remains (a) based on merit and (b) unconstrained by proximity to work location.

Question reference: S6W-43907

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the potential impact of its hybrid working and location policies on the geographical distribution of its employees.

Question reference: S6W-43904

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in determining its hybrid working policy for Scottish Government employees, what specific consideration has been given to (a) rural and island employment, (b) rural and island population retention, (c) rural and island sustainable development, (d) the Public Sector equality duty, (e) the Fairer Scotland Duty, (f) the Action Plan to Address Depopulation and (g) the National Islands Plan.

Question reference: S6W-43908

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that its employees who live in rural and island communities have equitable access to (a) promotion, (b) redeployment and (c) career development opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-43906

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in determining its hybrid working policy for Scottish Government employees, whether (a) an assessment of the commuting impact on employees, (b) an assessment of the financial impact on employees and (c) an islands communities impact assessment was undertaken.

Question reference: S6W-43903

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its long-term location policy and what factors will be considered in its development.

Question reference: S6W-43905

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 12 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether an equality impact assessment of its hybrid working policy for Scottish Government employees was published after the hybrid working policy was determined, and if so, what the reason was for this.

Question reference: S6W-43898

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential closure of the butchers in Inverurie, Donald Russell, when it last met with the affected (a) trade unions and (b) employees to discuss this.

Question reference: S6F-04709

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2026

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the outcome of the University of Aberdeen UCU ballot, which resulted in 83% of those voting in support of strike action and 90% in favour of action short of a strike.

Question reference: S6W-43528

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recommendations in the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation report, in relation to (a) extension of application timeframes, (b) earlier notice of funding rounds to applicants, (c) transparency of decision-making processes and (d) strength of monitoring of applicant project progress for applications to the Just Transition Fund.

We have secured £15.9m capital and £1m resource for the JTF in the 2026-27 budget. We will announce plans for managing this spend imminently, including the publication of full criteria and guidance for applicants.

The commissioned independent research Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray: final evaluation report, evaluated the impact of the first two years of the Just Transition Fund. We used the opportunity of the FY 2025-26 funding round to develop our processes. We engage with each project team regularly and ask for progress updates including monitoring against project specific milestones and indicators.

We remain committed to making improvements in how the Fund is managed, to help ensure that it supports the net-zero transition, helps to diversify the regional economy away from carbon-intensive sectors, creates jobs and prosperity, and delivers measurable benefits for workers, businesses, and communities.