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-44159

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 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it works with Scottish universities to review the courses that they offer to students, including new courses that can help address skill shortages.

Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own operational decision making, and this includes determining which courses to run.

The Scottish Government has committed to leading skills planning nationally, whilst strengthening regional approaches. We have agreed a high-level, skills planning model with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to deliver this commitment. The skills priorities we will collectively identify with stakeholders will be able to inform decisions that universities make about the courses they offer.

Question reference: S6W-44160

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 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis of the number of undergraduate courses that are not available at Scottish universities but are available at universities in other UK nations.

Question reference: S6W-44202

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government where in Moray its proposed new walk-in GP clinic will be located, and when it is expected to open.

NHS Boards submitted formal proposals for walk-in services in their Board area in response to a formal commission from DG Health and Social Care on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Proposals were generated that considered the needs of local populations, taking into account local issues and circumstances.

There will be 3 pilots located in NHS Grampian, one in each of their Health and Social Care Partnership areas. NHS Grampian intend to open the Moray site in Summer, however they are not in a position to confirm the location. Further details will be announced when possible.

Question reference: S6W-44291

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP appointments were conducted (a) in-person, (b) by telephone and (c) virtually in the Highlands and Islands region in each year since 2021, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many GP appointments were conducted (a) in-person, (b) by telephone and (c) virtually in the Highlands and Islands region in each year since 2021.

PHS publishes information relevant to this question using GP encounters data as part of the General Practice in-hours activity visualisation publication. Encounters are not the same as appointments as not all encounters will be recorded on an appointment booking system. Further information on the limitations of this data can be found on the publication website.

NHS Board / HSCP	Year	In-Person	Virtual
NHS Board / HSCP	Year	In-Person	Telephone Consultation	E-consult and Video Consult
NHS Highland*	2021	868,446	324,857	848
	2022	867,843	251,858	398
	2023	916,085	197,036	508
	2024	948,075	207,380	1,134
	2025	921,642	184,412	2,129
NHS Orkney	2021	77,793	19,998	678
	2022	77,274	15,626	555
	2023	79,690	12,430	415
	2024	77,845	10,091	270
	2025	74,667	8,988	5
NHS Shetland	2021	55,927	26,307	3,753
	2022	56,115	23,379	3,472
	2023	59,639	19,077	2,124
	2024	57,251	17,529	1,742
	2025	63,881	17,667	1,927
NHS Western Isles	2021	50,470	32,892	1,644
	2022	47,269	30,887	2,334
	2023	50,988	28,193	2,402
	2024	66,471	17,952	1,348
	2025	62,322	17,595	122
Moray HSCP**	2021	80,552	122,929	19,180
	2022	95,733	88,557	15,640
	2023	112,575	69,815	17,051
	2024	140,347	62,772	18,838
	2025	148,494	61,762	15,480

* Not all of the NHS Highland area is within the Highland and Islands electoral region.

** Not all of the Moray HSCP area is within the Highland and Islands electoral region.

Question reference: S6W-44286

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 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many members of the CMAL board live in island communities.

Question reference: S6W-44412

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it works with (a) local authorities and (b) NHS boards to encourage greater use of venison and other game products.

Whilst menu content will be decided locally, there is much work underway by Scottish Government to facilitate the uptake of venison across the public sector.

This includes a successful pilot with Wild Jura, Argyll and Bute Council and Food for Life Scotland to supply venison into six primary schools. Officials are working collaboratively to explore opportunities to increase demand for venison and develop options to increase supply by helping the sector make the most of various routes to markets such as wholesale and framework agreements used widely across public sector.

In February 2026, the Scottish Government provided £45,000 to SAOS and Scottish Venison to undertake activity to help build capability within the venison sector and drive increased consumption of venison from Scotland. This includes work to improve and establish new supply chains, build skills and develop resources for use within schools.

Officials will continue to work collaboratively with the Scottish Venison Association, Scotland Food & Drink as well as other key stakeholders to ensure opportunities are available within the public sector to enjoy venison.

Question reference: S6W-44410

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the promotion of Scottish-landed (a) fish and (b) shellfish, in each year since 2021.

Question reference: S6W-44287

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 19 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many passengers (a) arrived at and (b) departed from train stations in (i) Elgin, (ii) Forres and (iii) Keith in each year since 2021.

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: 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-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.