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-43941

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on social impact activity connected to Scotland hosting the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ.

Bringing the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ to Edinburgh is a once in a generation opportunity. We are delighted that Scotland is co-hosting the biggest free spectator event in the world alongside our partners in England and Wales. We have the honour of hosting the opening stage, which will start in Edinburgh on Friday 2 July 2027, before heading south through Midlothian, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, finishing in Carlisle.

At the heart of the 2027 Grand Départ is Joy, a social impact programme that aims to tackle inactivity and improve mental wellbeing, support communities to thrive, and to make us more productive and prosperous.

With that long-term impact in mind, the Scottish Government has chosen to allocate £1 million of its overall £9.25 million of investment in the event to boost the social impact programme in Scotland. Scottish Cycling, Scotland’s national governing body for the sport of cycling, has been appointed to lead the delivery of the social impact programme in Scotland. Scottish Cycling will work closely with the Scottish Government, local authorities, national agencies, community-based organisations and national cycling partners to co-design and deliver activity that delivers lasting change across Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05586

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a large number of applications have been rejected in the Future Farming Investment Scheme, what analysis and guidance it has issued explaining the grounds for rejection.

Question reference: S6W-43869

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many urgent child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) referrals have been rejected in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-43678

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-43568 by Jim Fairlie on 10 February 2026, in each year since 1 February 2022 to date, how many (a) monitoring visits have been undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, broken down by (i) scheduled and (ii) unscheduled visits, and (b) investigations have been carried out into reported incidents of unacceptable slaughter methods.

Animal and Plant Health Agency undertake either scheduled inspections of salmon slaughter facilities, or when a complaint of a potential welfare issue has been made.

A breakdown of scheduled inspections over the period is as follows:

2022:5 inspections

2023:0 inspections

2024:0 inspections

2025:2 inspections

There were no reported incidents requiring investigation and no unscheduled visits were undertaken.

Question reference: S6F-04690

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 February 2026

To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Government is taking to standardise the criteria for urgent referrals to child and adolescent mental health services for an assessment, in light of reports that it is currently a postcode lottery.

Question reference: S6W-43568

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the guidance issued in 2025 under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, how it is monitoring any killing of farmed fish.

Question reference: S6W-43569

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statutory guidance introduced in 2025 under section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 on the slaughter of farmed fish, and in light of the UK Government consulting on introducing legislation to further strengthen the law to ensure that farmed fish are protected at slaughter, whether it will consider introducing similar additional measures in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s official guidance, published on 17 July 2025, was developed in close collaboration with animal welfare organisations, industry, and enforcement partners. There are currently no plans to introduce additional measures.

The Scottish Government considers the welfare of farmed fish at the time of slaughter is protected through Article 3.1 of retained Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009, which requires that animals are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering during killing and related operations.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage constructively with the UK Government and stakeholders to find ways to further improve the welfare of farmed fish throughout the lifecycle.

Question reference: S6F-04609

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the First Minister, regarding the proposed expansion of wind turbines, battery storage facilities and pylons across the Scottish Borders, whether the Scottish Government has carried out an assessment of the potential cumulative impact on the wildlife and the landscape, in light of the importance of tourism to the area.

Question reference: S6O-05384

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage all cyclists to ensure that they are visible, particularly during the winter period, and that they comply with the requirements of the Highway Code.

Question reference: S6W-42416

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that members of the public, particularly older people who are not confident using digital channels, can reliably contact the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) by telephone.

SPPA's telephone lines are open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 1.30pm on Friday. SPPA has handled over 70,000 calls in 2025, with the average call lasting seven minutes. This reflects the service SPPA is committed to giving scheme members.

Whilst the introduction of new digital channels is improving SPPA's customer service model, this will not limit accessibility for those who prefer to contact SPPA by telephone.