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-00302

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform's specific savings target is for 2026-27, and what independent body will verify whether this is met.

Our Portfolio Efficiency and Reform Plans published alongside the Scottish Spending Review, set out savings by portfolio, by year.

These plans incorporate savings arising from efficiency and reform activity, aligned with our savings targets as set out in the Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan and the Public Service Reform strategy. While these targets are not broken down annually, the recurring savings set out in these plans for 2026-27 are around £563 million.

The plans will be updated and published as further progress is made and will be subject to scrutiny from Audit Scotland, the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission, and also receive external scrutiny from stakeholders such as the Fraser of Allander Institute and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Question reference: S7W-00309

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Audit Scotland's report finding that such data was lacking for over 100 of these, whether it now holds adequate data on the size, cost and skillset of the workforce in its public bodies,

The Scottish Government has made significant progress in addressing Audit Scotland’s 2023 recommendations to strengthen the evidence base on the size, cost and composition of the devolved public sector workforce.

In June 2025, we published the first consolidated estimate of the devolved public sector pay bill, including a breakdown by workforce - addressing a priority recommendation identified in Audit Scotland’s report.

Further information on public sector employment is available here: Public Sector Employment: Employment by organisation: 2019 Quarter 1 to 2025 Quarter 3 - gov.scot.

Question reference: S7W-00164

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, what steps have been taken to assess any potential impact on the profitability of food stores.

Question reference: S7W-00167

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, what the administrative and cost implications will be for those tasked with enforcing the proposal.

Question reference: S7W-00163

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, whether the proposal is compatible with the Scottish Government’s Retail Industry Leadership Group’s vision to make Scotland the best place in the UK to grow a retail business.

Question reference: S7W-00071

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the pledge in the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what comparative assessment it has made of the expansion of its Best Start Foods programme or similar welfare payments and the introducing a statutory cap.

Helping people with the cost of living is a top priority of this government.

While undertaking this work the Scottish Government will continue to support policies and initiatives that aim to alleviate cost-of-living pressures faced by households including Best Start Foods, which aims to tackle the impacts of child poverty by improving access to healthy foods and milk for eligible families on a low income.

Best Start Foods provides pregnant women and families with children under the age of three, who receive certain benefits, with a minimum of £5.60 a week via a pre-paid card to buy healthy foods. The payment then doubles from birth until a child turns one to support breastfeeding mothers or help with the costs of providing first infant formula milk.

Best Start Foods is a payment that can help households buy healthy foods like milk or fruit during pregnancy and when your child is under 3.

Question reference: S7W-00069

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the pledge in the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what assessment it has made of the consistency of any additional administrative implications for stores and shopworkers arising from such a policy with the New Deal for Business Implementation Plan's objective of regulatory simplification.

Question reference: S7W-00064

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the pledge in the Scottish National Party's 2026 manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what assessment it has made of any implications for the level of support from food businesses for the Food Standards Scotland's SAFER programme.

Question reference: S7W-00162

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, whether it has estimated the level of additional retail sales that would be required by retailers to offset the cost of the proposal.

Question reference: S7W-00165

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish National Party’s 2026 manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items in shops, what discussions it has had with Public Health Scotland about the possible introduction of the proposal.