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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6O-05708

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2026
Current Status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that NHS Grampian is looking to save £177 million over the next five years, what impact this will have on the board's staff and services, and, in particular, on Dr Gray's Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-44284

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the most up to date total cost is of the (a) MV Glen Sannox and (b) MV Glen Rosa, including ongoing repairs.

Question reference: S6W-44200

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much of its National Drug Mission Fund has been spent on (a) rehabilitation services and (b) non-rehabilitation services, in each year since it was launched.

National Mission on Drugs funding for rehabilitation and non-rehabilitation services can be found across the following sources in the public domain:

National Mission Annual Report

The Scottish Government publishes an annual National Mission report. The report is structured to relate to the six outcomes and six cross-cutting priorities in the National Mission Plan. Outcomes and cross-cutting priorities chapters have the following format: an overview provides context, including data, to understand the scope and purpose of the outcome. Progress set out our activities related to the outcome throughout the reporting period: the projects being delivered across sectors, locally and nationally have been highlighted, including dedicated funding and case studies.

The National Mission annual report finance sections aim to provide greater transparency of National Mission funding. Section 8.3 shows the funding distribution and section 8.4 shows the funding commitment and theme. The reports for financial years 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 are available at:

National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2024-2025 - gov.scot

National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2023-2024 - gov.scot

National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2022-2023 - gov.scot

National Mission on Drugs: annual report 2021-2022 - gov.scot

As the 2025-26 financial year has not yet concluded, full financial details will be published in the 2025-26 National Mission annual report, however, current forecasts suggest spending will be broadly in line with 2024-25 levels.

National Drugs Mission Funds annual report

The Corra Foundation publish an annual report on projects funded via the National Drugs Mission Funds and are available at:

National Mission Drugs Funds Report 2024-2025

National Drugs Mission Funds Report 2023-2024

National Drugs Mission Funds Report 2021-2023

Alcohol and Drug Partnerships funding allocations

Funding allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) is available at: Alcohol and Drug Partnerships: funding allocations - gov.scot

Question reference: S6W-44283

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has with solicitors about (a) the timely conclusion of missives and (b) conveyancing delays.

Question reference: S6W-44289

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it can offer to Moray Council to help expedite the safe reopening of Lea Bridge in Forres.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads and associated infrastructure in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

As part of the record funding package for Local Government, in 2026-27, Moray Council will receive £246.3 million to fund local services which equates to an extra £12.3 million or an additional 5.3% compared to 2025-26 alongside full discretion over decisions on Council Tax.

The vast majority of funding available to councils is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on maintenance of local roads and bridges, on the basis of local needs and priorities

Question reference: S6W-44282

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any economic analysis of delays to the conclusion of missives between buyers and sellers of residential properties.

Question reference: S6W-44199

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much Social Security Scotland spent on polling services to conduct its survey on tackling stigma around social security.

Pre and post-campaign surveys provide essential insight into the performance of marketing activity and help ensure campaigns are targeted and cost-effective. The two surveys related to the Tackling Stigma campaign together cost £7500.

Data from the pre-campaign survey directly informed the campaign’s development and design, including media activity, social media content, and stakeholder toolkit. The results of campaign surveys will be used to evaluate the campaign’s overall impact and improve performance of future activity.

Under the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, the Scottish Government has a statutory duty to promote the take-up of devolved benefits. The Poverty Alliance’s Get Heard Scotland report (2024), commissioned by the Scottish Government, highlighted the impact of stigma on benefit take-up and recommended a public awareness campaign to normalise social security as a human right and improve awareness of entitlements. The Tackling Stigma campaign was developed in line with the Poverty Alliance’s recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-44196

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, following its announcement on 26 February 2026 that it will fund improvements to community capacity to respond to cardiac arrests, in which local authority areas it expects the estimated 1,000 to 1,250 new defibrillators will be located.

Question reference: S6W-44164

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to support Scottish-domiciled students who study undergraduate courses (a) in other UK nations and (b) overseas.

Scottish domiciled students studying higher education courses in the rest of the UK can access a tuition fee loan of up to £9,535 (rising to £9,790 in academic year 2026-27) a year to cover their tuition fee costs. These students are also eligible to receive the same living cost support package that Scottish domiciled students studying in Scotland can access. This provides a maximum support of £11,400 through a combination of bursaries and student loans for the most vulnerable students. Full details of the funding available can be found on the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) website - Undergrad Funding - SAAS - Higher Education - Student Loan - Bursary.

The Scottish Government does not generally provide support for Scottish domiciled students studying outside of the UK. However, Scottish domiciled students who study abroad for a year as part of their degree are eligible to access the same living cost support package as students studying in Scotland. Eligible students can also apply for the Study Abroad Grant if the study abroad year is a compulsory part of the course. Further information on this can be found on the SAAS website - Study Abroad Grant.

Question reference: S6W-44209

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-34718 by Richard Lochhead on 20 February 2025, how many properties in the North Lot area are yet to be connected to superfast broadband through the R100 build scheme, broken down by local authority area.

The following table sets out the total number of premises currently contracted to receive connections through the R100 North contract by 2028, the number of premises connected as of 31 January 2026 and the number of premises yet to be connected as of the same date. Further information can be found on the Scottish Government’s Data Insights webpage at https://digitalconnectivity.campaign.gov.scot/data-insights.

Our demand-led R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available for those not expected to benefit from superfast broadband through R100 contract or commercial build plans.

Local Authority	R100 Contractual Premises	Premises Delivered	Premises Remaining	Overspill Premises Delivered
Aberdeen City	622	170	452	61
Aberdeenshire	16,046	12,565	3,481	1,468
Angus	6,642	1,609	5,033	126
Argyll and Bute*	7,191	4,508	2,683	696
Dundee City	124	21	103	0
Highland	12,770	4,974	7,796	1,329
Moray	4,887	3,909	978	549
Na h-Eileanan an Iar	2,206	270	1,936	122
North Ayrshire*	232	0	232	360
Orkney Islands	3,319	3,092	227	707
Perth and Kinross*	4,029	3,520	509	1,428
Shetland Islands	2,422	2,093	329	188
Stirling*	274	0	274	631
Total	60,764	36,731	24,033	7,665

*Please note that the figures for Argyll & Bute, North Ayrshire, Perth & Kinross and Stirling only represent connections delivered through the R100 North contract. These Local Authorities are also receiving connections through the R100 Central contract.