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-00175

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Better Surfaces Fund, what performance measures will be used to assess its effectiveness in improving road conditions and whether it will publish annual updates on spend and condition improvements resulting from it.

Question reference: S7W-00182

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how its proposed £25 million Rural Affordable Housing for Key Workers programme will operate in practice, including how local authorities will be supported to identify eligible properties.

Local authorities and Registered Social Landlords can already access funding of up to £25 million through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund to acquire or lease properties which can be used to provide homes to meet the needs of key workers. The Fund was launched in April 2023 and will run from 2023-24 to 2027-28. Information to assist local authorities and RSLs in acquiring properties is available on our website.

Local authorities and Registered Social Landlords should work closely with their Scottish Government area teams where they identify suitable projects.

Question reference: S7W-00255

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with rural and island NHS boards regarding the proposed revisions to the Golden Hellos initiative, which aims to improve the recruitment of GPs, consultants and dentists to the communities that these boards serve.

Question reference: S7W-00252

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the Golden Hellos initiative, which aims to improve the recruitment of GPs, consultants and dentists to rural and island communities.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish School of Primary Care to undertake an independent evaluation of the Golden Hello initiative for GPs. The evaluation was published in March 2026: https://www.sspc.ac.uk/media/Media_1254907_smxx.pdf. The independent evaluation highlights that the scheme delivers modest but meaningful recruitment benefits, particularly for early career GPs, and reinforces the importance of positioning incentives within a wider package of support for GPs at the start of their careers.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists or consultants. Any future expansion and improvement plans for Golden Hellos will be set out in due course.

Question reference: S7W-00251

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and (b) non-financial changes it plans to make to the Golden Hellos initiative, which aims to improve the recruitment of GPs, consultants and dentists to rural and island communities.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists or consultants. Any future expansion and improvement plans for Golden Hellos will be set out in due course.

Question reference: S7W-00253

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) GPs, (b) consultants and (c) dentists have been recruited to rural and island areas through the Golden Hellos initiative, which aims to improve such recruitment in rural and island communities, in each of the last five years, and how retention rates compare with urban areas.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Golden Hello payments are issued to eligible GPs by NHS Territorial Health Boards.

NHS Boards are not required to inform the Scottish Government of the number of Golden Hello payments that are made to eligible GPs. NHS Boards are responsible for all contractual arrangements with their GP practices. As a result, the Scottish Government does not routinely monitor these arrangements.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists or consultants.

Question reference: S7W-00184

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current shortage of affordable housing in rural and island areas, and how this will inform the design of its proposed Rural and Island Housing Fund.

Local authorities, as the statutory housing provider, are responsible for assessing housing need in their areas. Local Housing Strategies are supported by a Housing Need and Demand Assessment, which is undertaken every five years.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 10% in rural and island communities and supported by our Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan.

Question reference: S7W-00179

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide further details on its proposed Last Provider Fund, including the criteria that will be used to determine eligibility for support under the fund.

Question reference: S7W-00174

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Better Surfaces Fund, when it will be launched, what criteria will be used to define eligible projects and how funding allocations will be determined for each local authority.

I will be holding discussions with my Officials in the coming months to determine how best to organise and evaluate additional funding for local roads maintenance. As with all areas of Local Government funding, substantive details around funding allocations and accountability will be considered through the joint COSLA and Scottish Government Settlement and Distribution Group (SDG) prior to recommendations being provided to COSLA Leaders and Scottish Ministers.

In the meantime, local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. The Scottish Government does not hold specific information on any maintenance backlogs on these roads, though this will be discussed with local authorities and COSLA as part of the work on the additional funding.

Question reference: S7W-00176

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current road maintenance backlog across Scotland in determining the £350 million allocation for its proposed Better Surfaces Fund, and what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding this matter.