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-03022

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what volume of fishing gear has been (a) reported and (b) recorded as being missing at sea in each year since 2021.

Fishing gear has been reported to the Scottish Government as missing in Scottish waters through the e-log system by fishers. The volume of gear is neither reported nor recorded. The following information is recorded and held by the Marine Directorate.

Year	Reports per gear type	Recorded as missing
2021	1 x trawl (later retrieved) 1 x gillnet	1 x gillnet
2022	No reports	0
2023	1 x gillnet 1 x longlines 1 x trawl	1 x gillnet 1 x longlines 1 x trawl
2024	2 x trawl 1 x pots	2 x trawl 1 x pots
2025	4 x trawl 1 x longlines	4 x trawl 1 x longlines
2026	2 x trawl 1 x pots	2 x trawl 1 x pots

Question reference: S7W-03185

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in developing a framework for compensation for fishermen affected by offshore wind developments, and by what date this work will be completed.

The Scottish Government is progressing work with the fishing industry, offshore wind developers and other stakeholders to explore potential options for addressing the impacts of offshore wind developments on fishers.

Scottish Government officials are currently developing and assessing these options with input from industry through the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council's Barriers to Deployment subgroup. Further engagement with stakeholders is planned to refine the options before advice is provided to Ministers for consideration.

This work remains ongoing. The final timescale for completing this work will depend on the nature and complexity of the option or options taken forward following Ministerial consideration. The Scottish Government will provide further updates as work progresses.

Question reference: S7W-03019

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the National Trust for Scotland is (a) monitoring and (b) maintaining the welfare of sheep on St Kilda.

Question reference: S7W-03020

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s review into the welfare of sheep on St Kilda, and whether the Commission has indicated when it expects to conclude the review.

Question reference: S7W-03201

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s Programme for Government statement on 1 September 2026, what criteria a local community, and the businesses within it, would be required to meet to qualify for support from the proposed Last Provider Fund.

Question reference: S7W-02696

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether Historic Environment Scotland has conducted any research into the repurposing of vacant listed buildings for housing, in light of reports that similar research has been conducted by Historic England.

Question reference: S7W-02699

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) Category A, (b) Category B and (c) Category C listed buildings there are which are currently vacant, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S7W-02595

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alyn Smith on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scottish-domiciled students have had their student contribution fee paid for in order to study at (a) Trinity College Dublin, (b) University College Dublin, (c) University College Cork, (d) the National University of Ireland, Galway (now the University of Galway), and (e) the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (now Maynooth University), in each year since 2007-08, and what the total value of those payments was in each year.

Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) covers the student contribution fee on behalf of eligible Scottish-domiciled students undertaking an approved first-degree course at specified higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland.

Figures on the number of Scottish-domiciled students whose student contribution fees were paid and the total value of those payments in each year are provided in the following table.

Student contribution fees paid to specified Irish institutions for Scottish-domiciled students, academic years 2020-21 to 2025-26
Higher education institution	2020-21		2021-22		2022-23		2023-24		2024-25		2025-26		Total
Higher education institution	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)	No of students	Amount (euros)
Maynooth University	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Trinity College Dublin	6	18,000	c	c	c	c	c	c	7	14,000	c	c	43	112,000
University College Cork	c	c	c	c	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	c	c
University College Dublin	c	c	c	c	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	18,508
University of Galway	-	-	-	-	c	c	c	c	-	-	c	c	c	c
Total	11	33,254	11	33,254	10	30,000	8	16,000	7	14,000	7	17,500	55	144,008
Source: SAAS
Note: Some figures have been replaced with ‘c’ due to low student numbers, including some where there are 5 or more where disclosure risks identifying individuals at other institutions in a given year.

Please note that the table includes readily available figures covering academic years 2020-21 onwards.

Question reference: S7W-03023

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 17 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reducing permitted gill net fishery soak times from 72 hours to 36 hours.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of ensuring that gill net fisheries operate in a sustainable manner and minimise unintended impacts on the marine environment, including interactions with non-target species.

The current permitted soak time of up to 72 hours reflects existing management arrangements. However, we keep all fisheries management measures under review and consider the best available scientific evidence, stakeholder views and operational considerations when assessing whether changes are required.

Any proposal to amend soak-time limits would require careful assessment of the likely environmental, economic, and practical impacts on affected fisheries and coastal communities.

At present, the Scottish Government has not taken a decision to reduce the permitted soak time from 72 hours to 36 hours, but we will continue to consider emerging evidence and engage with stakeholders as part of our ongoing fisheries management work.

Question reference: S7O-00266

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Rural Support Plan.