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-01765

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Graham Simpson (on behalf of the SPCB) on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body for what reason it continues to fly the EU flag outside the main entrance more than six years after the withdrawal of the UK, including Scotland, from the EU.

The European flag is flown daily outside the Scottish Parliament in accordance with the SPCB’s flag-flying policy. That policy follows from Motion S5M-20625, agreed by the Parliament on 29 January 2020, which directed the SPCB to ensure that the European flag continued to fly daily at the Parliament building. The motion recorded that the flag had been flown at Holyrood since 2004 as a symbol of membership of the family of European nations; noted that the flag was originally the flag of the Council of Europe and that Scotland and the UK would continue to be represented within the Council of Europe; affirmed commitment to democracy, human rights, the rule of law and diversity; and recognised continuing to fly the flag as a sign of support and solidarity with EU nationals who have made Scotland their home.

The SPCB will be reviewing the flag flying policy later this year. In determining the policy or considering any changes to it, the SPCB will take into account your feedback as well as any relevant resolutions or directions to it from the Parliament.

Question reference: S7W-01511

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the findings of the recent report by Great British Energy-Nuclear, GBE-N Technical Advice on Potential Future Nuclear Power Plant Siting in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-01251

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what options it is considering to support church congregations, in light of the closure of the UK Government's Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allowed churches to reclaim VAT on repairs and renovations.

Question reference: S7W-01529

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Friday, 03 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the staffing pressures that reportedly led to the temporary closure of the GP walk-in clinic in Hawick, and what assurances it can provide that the clinic will be adequately staffed to prevent similar closures in future.

Question reference: S7W-01514

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the potential development of new nuclear projects in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-01314

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 20 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on (a) security of supply and (b) electricity price volatility of Torness Nuclear Power Station’s generating capacity being unavailable during periods of high demand and low renewable generation.

Question reference: S7W-01633

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Friday, 10 July 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 7 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S7W-00799 and S7W-01152 by Gillian Martin on 16 June and 8 July 2026 respectively, in light of the cabinet secretary’s comment in June regarding her “considering what support the Scottish Government can provide, both in the short term and in the longer term to ensure the sustainability of this important sector [the Pig Industry in Scotland]", and in July that she “met with the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, at the Royal Highland Show on 18 June, to discuss how the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025 may assist producers in their contracts, bringing balance and transparency to the pork supply chain”, whether it will confirm what (a) progress has been made with this consideration and (b) (i) financial and (i) other assistance it is providing to the industry, and how it will measure the effectiveness of this.

Question reference: S7W-01152

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 8 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00799 by Gillian Martin on 16 June 2026, whether it will provide an update regarding the issues that the Cabinet Secretary discussed with pig industry representatives and what options it is considering to support the industry.

The Scottish Government continues to engage closely with the pig production sector, following my meeting on 10 June, in order to understand further the current challenges, with a view to considering how best the Scottish Government can provide support for pig producers and where it may be targeted. I also met with the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, at the Royal Highland Show on 18 June, to discuss how the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025 may assist producers in their contracts, bringing balance and transparency to the pork supply chain.

Question reference: S7W-01153

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons have been learned from the issues arising during the 2025 iteration of the Future Farm Investment Scheme (FFIS), ahead of FFIS 2026.

The First Minister announced that the Scottish Government has allocated £14.25 million to a second round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme for the 2026-27 financial year. This builds on the £21.4m delivered through the first round of FFIS. The Scottish Government undertook an internal review of the 2025 scheme which focused on lessons learned from the operation of the scheme and was shared with the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/rural-affairs-and-islands-committee/correspondence/2026/future-farming-investment-scheme-23-march.pdf).

Stakeholder engagement is ongoing which has provided some very useful feedback while refinements are made to the scheme for 2026. It has been made clear that FFIS represented welcome investment in the sector and details of any changes to the scheme will be outlined once the stakeholder engagement has been completed.

Question reference: S7W-00891

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards introducing the licensing framework for canine fertility businesses, which was announced in August 2024.

The Scottish Government has made significant progress with the work to introduce a statutory licensing scheme for providers of canine fertility services in Scotland, and we continue to engage with a range of stakeholders on the development of this policy. Given, however, the recent consultation by the UK Government on reforms to the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act (the VSA), we are taking the opportunity to engage with the UK Government on the question of whether a reformed VSA - which would apply UK-wide - is the more appropriate mechanism to regulate canine fertility businesses, rather than having separate licensing schemes applying across each region of the UK.