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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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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Session 6: 13 May 2021 to 8 April 2026
  7. Current session: 14 May 2026 to 1 October 2026
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Displaying 85 questions Show Answers

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Question reference: S7W-03786

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of comments reportedly made by the Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands at a public meeting in Aviemore on 18 September 2026 regarding the Cairngorms wildfire, whether the central budget and contractual arrangements for aerial wildfire support enable its deployment to be authorised before agreement has been reached on which responding organisation will bear the cost.

Question reference: S7W-03790

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports calls to establish a register of wildfire-capable equipment and specialist contractors that organisations responding to wildfires can access and, if so, what arrangements it would propose for checking competence, agreeing deployment and payment terms, and ensuring that information remains current.

Question reference: S7W-03792

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government in what circumstances recipients of woodland creation or management grants may be required to repay funding where woodland is damaged or destroyed by wildfire, and what discretion, appeal arrangements and restoration support are available.

Question reference: S7W-03793

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what minimum standards it expects local resilience partners to apply when evacuating communities affected by wildfire, including registration and subsequent contact with evacuees, transport for people without vehicles, and support for visitors unfamiliar with the area.

Question reference: S7W-03789

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide for the community wildfire volunteer pilot, which is reportedly being discussed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Cairngorms National Park Authority, including funding for training, protective equipment and insurance, and when it expects the pilot to become operational.

Question reference: S7W-03794

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements exist to reimburse and support hotels and other premises used as emergency reception centres, including the provision of staffing, bedding, food and welfare support, and whether such arrangements can be agreed in advance with participating premises.

Question reference: S7W-03796

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what provision is available for temporary mobile and radio communications support during major wildfires in areas of poor coverage, and whether responding organisations have access to deployable equipment to support coordination and public communication.

Question reference: S7W-03785

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-03010 by Neil Gray on 18 September 2026, what helicopter standby arrangements are in place under the current Public Sector Framework contract for periods of very high wildfire risk, including the geographical coverage, activation criteria, contracted availability and maximum notice-to-move time, and which organisation or organisations have authority to request deployment.

Question reference: S7W-03795

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will assess whether the operation of the muirburn licensing scheme enables timely wildfire fuel management, including monitoring of application processing times, the number of applications refused or withdrawn and instances of planned fuel management work not proceeding.

Question reference: S7W-03784

  • Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
  • Current Status: Answer expected on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding and technical support are available to identify, restore and maintain strategic water supplies for wildfire response, including disused storage structures, and how environmental requirements are addressed when considering such projects.