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: S7W-03807

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support independent pumped storage hydro stations in the South Scotland region, in light of reports that they face high non-domestic rates bills, and what assessment it has made of the impact of such bills on their operations.

Question reference: S7W-03847

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with public bodies regarding the accessibility of public health messaging material, particularly for people with learning disabilities.

Question reference: S7W-03801

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the planned reform of Scotland’s environmental bodies will affect the ability of local communities to engage with decision making, lodge complaints and seek enforcement action regarding any potential environmental impacts associated with issues such as hyperscale AI data centres, including impacts on water resources, energy use, land use and biodiversity.

Question reference: S7W-03808

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason pumped storage hydro stations are reportedly subject to higher non-domestic rates compared to other forms of renewable energy such as onshore wind.

Question reference: S7W-03799

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed any potential impact of the construction of hyperscale artificial intelligence data centres on housing construction and housing delivery, including whether demand for skilled labour, construction materials, land, energy infrastructure and any related resources could affect the timescales or costs of residential housebuilding projects across Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03800

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who would be responsible for the decommissioning and restoration of any sites used for hyperscale AI data centres once they cease operation, and whether it will ensure that operators would be required to provide financial guarantees or bonds to cover any costs associated with future decommissioning and restoration of sites.

Question reference: S7W-03036

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether Social Security Scotland benefit levels enable low-income families and parent carers to achieve a minimum digital standard of living, in light of research by Family Fund indicating that only 7% of responding families raising disabled children met the criteria for digital inclusion and that 89% reported at least one financial vulnerability related to digital access.

Low-income families and parent-carers can benefit from a range of support provided by Social Security Scotland. This support, some of which is only available in Scotland, includes Child Disability Payment, the Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods, as well as Carer Support.

The Scottish Government conducts evaluations of social security policy, with each form of assistance assessed against policy aims, or, in the case of the disability benefits, the impact of policy changes. Published evaluations on the low-income and disability benefits can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/social-security-policy-research-and-evaluation-publications/, with an evaluation of Carer Support Payment due to publish this autumn.

Despite support put in place by the Scottish Government, including cumulatively around £1.5bn mitigating UK Government policies such as the bedroom tax and benefit cap, our impact in tackling the cost of living is constrained by social security mostly remaining reserved to the UK Government.

Question reference: S7W-03037

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alyn Smith on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prepare for any increase in redundancies across all sectors that may result from the growing use of artificial intelligence, and what discussions it has had with the UK government regarding the mitigation of such consequences.

Scotland’s AI Strategy recognises AI’s potential to transform work across sectors and the importance of Fair Work principles in ensuring employers and workers benefit. We need a clearer picture of AI’s impact across Scotland’s sectors and workplaces, to support future skills planning and target government interventions effectively. That is why our AI Strategy commits to establishing a Future Jobs Panel; a group of experts from academia, the workforce and businesses, who will assess the evidence on AI’s impact in the workplace and advise on monitoring these impacts over time. The Panel will focus primarily on Scotland, while drawing on relevant UK-wide evidence, and its findings will inform our wider engagement with the UK Government where appropriate.

Question reference: S7W-02690

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to better understand any impact of restricting mobile phones in classrooms for rural populations.

Question reference: S7W-03031

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve the availability and coordination of both online and offline access to information regarding carer support services, short break opportunities and support for disabled children and young people and their families, in light of research by Family Fund indicating that only 7% of surveyed families raising disabled children met the criteria for digital inclusion.

The Scottish Government provides grant funding to Family Fund, some of which enables low income families raising disabled children to purchase technology. In 2025-26, they received £3.18m (including £250k additional funding via Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan). In 2026-27 they have been awarded £2.974m.

In 2025-26, this enabled families to purchase the following to support their digital access:

269 grants for Computers - £118k
74 grants for Mobile phones - £14.1k
622 grants for Tablets - £244k

Under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, every area must have a local carer information and advice service providing information on a range of issues including support available. That information and advice must be accessible to carers and proportionate to their needs. These services are normally delivered via local carer centres and accessible via phone or face to face, as well as providing online information. Unpaid carers can also approach their local authority for information and advice about support. On a national basis, Care Information Scotland provides information on carers rights to support, which is available online or by telephone.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving awareness and take-up of support for unpaid carers through implementation of Section 13 of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. Work is underway to develop the necessary regulations and engage with key stakeholders to support a more proactive, preventative and rights-based approach to carer support.

Social Security Scotland local delivery advisers can provide information and signposting including referral to the Independent Advocacy Service by a range of methods to suit people’s needs, including through client letters, emails, texts, leaflets, and online content.

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 also requires local authorities to prepare and publish a short breaks services statement to ensure that local carers and those that they care for can easily access information about what short breaks services and opportunities are available to them in their local area.

The Shared Care Scotland short breaks directory gives online access to short breaks and they also provide a telephone enquiry service for those that don’t have access to the internet or those who can’t find what they’re looking for online.

Our Parent Club website provides advice for parents of disabled children and young people on the organisations, benefits and services available. Included in Parent Club is the Family Support Directory which provides together all the helpful organisations, benefits and information that support parents and carers, no matter what their situation or stage their child is at.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is Scotland's approach for meeting the needs of children, young people and their families, including those with additional support needs. One of the core components of the GIRFEC approach is the offer of advice and support from the named person. The role of a named person, or equivalent role, is to provide a clear point of contact within universal services for information, advice or help. They can refer the child or young person and their families to support within their own service, or request support from other services or agencies. A named person is usually a health visitor until children start school, and a head or senior teacher thereafter.