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-00059

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 15 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 May 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the economic impact on the beef and dairy sector of potential future greening requirements on permanent grassland.

In exploring the potential of permanent grassland greening requirements, Officials worked with stakeholder organisations, including the National Farmers Union for Scotland, Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB), Policy Development Group, and the Scottish Crofting Federation. This involved farmers and crofters directly through user research and workshops, with advisors across Scotland reviewing opportunities to recognise the policy contribution that farmers can make through permanent grassland (PGRS) using the existing Greening scheme.

Officials commissioned academic advice to model the impact of the changes to ensure the transitional change was proportionate and deliverable and to supply information to promote conversation and gather feedback

The Agricultural reform Program will continue to review opportunities to recognise efficient farming practice that align to the Scottish Government’s Vision for agriculture and officials will work collaboratively with the industry to ensure conditions are right before any final decision is made

Question reference: S7W-00058

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 15 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 May 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability of current ecological focus area activities for farming in Orkney.

Extensive engagement ensured Enhanced Greening requirements are proportionate for farmers, crofters, and small farms.

Officials commissioned academic advice to model the impact of the changes to ensure the transitional change was proportionate and deliverable.

Officials worked with stakeholder organisations, including the National Farmers Union for Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation. This involved farmers and crofters directly through user research and workshops with advisors across Scotland, including Orkney.

This collaborative approach has led to the introduction of four new Ecological Focus Area options, and updates to existing EFAs, providing greater flexibility to reflect the diversity of farming systems including local practices found in Orkney.

Advisors in Orkney secured funding to analyse academic modelling specific to the islands and organised roadshows to help farmers and crofters prepare for the changes.

The Greening schemes £142 Million budget supports agriculture and the environment and complements the other significant support packages that Scottish Government continues to provide in stark contrast to policies elsewhere in the UK.

Question reference: S6W-44091

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding innovation funding and policy development for wave and wider marine energy, what engagement it has had with the UK Government and Great British Energy within the last 12 months; on what date and through which channels any such engagement took place, and what responses or commitments were received.

Scottish Government officials meet frequently with their counterparts in the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to discuss all areas of marine energy policy.

The Scottish Government, along with the UK Government and Great British Energy (GBE), are members of the industry-led UK Marine Energy Taskforce, which is due to present its recommendations for support and further development of the marine energy sector this Summer.

On 28 August I wrote to Michael Shanks MP the Minister for Energy confirming my agreement to GBE’s Statement of Strategic Priorities, welcoming GBE’s focus on supporting the commercialisation of nascent clean technologies and highlighting the importance of GBE support for innovation programmes. On 25 February, I wrote to the Chief Executive of GBE to request a meeting to specifically discuss how the organisation can support the development of wave and tidal stream energy in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-05599

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles in rural and island communities.

Question reference: S6W-43669

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35293 by Paul McLennan on 7 March 2025, when it plans to publish the next local authority analysis for the Scottish House Condition Survey.

Further to the response provided in question S6W-35293;

The Scottish Government publishes local authority analysis using a three-year pooled data set to ensure sufficient sample sizes. As set out in the Scottish House Condition Survey 2023 Key Findings Report (available at Scottish House Condition Survey: 2023 Key Findings - gov.scot) the lack of SHCS data for 2020 and the enforced changes for 2021 cause issues with the production of this analysis for two reasons.

Firstly, there is no SHCS data for 2020 so we cannot produce a three-year average for the 2019 to 2022 survey years. Secondly, the data from the 2021 external+ SHCS is not directly comparable with that from other survey years due to the methodological differences and it would therefore not be appropriate to combine it with the data for 2022 or 2023 to produce a multi-year average.

With the publication of the 2024 SHCS key findings report, on February 24th 2026, we will have a three year pooled data set (2022-2024), and a Local Authority level analysis will follow.

We have pre announced these statistics for publication in May 2026 and will confirm the date in due course.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Question reference: S6O-05556

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish responses to its consultation on a potential point of entry levy.

Question reference: S6W-43302

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 23 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-41439 by Shona Robison on 6 November 2025, whether it will provide an update on when it will publish the results of, and response to, its consultation on a cruise ship levy.

Question reference: S6W-43365

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether the Air Discount Scheme will be continued in its current from after March 2026.

Question reference: S6W-43492

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 30 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the removal of peak ferry fares for Northern Isles ferry services will also apply to (a) cabin and (b) car bookings.

Question reference: S6O-05487

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the agricultural sector in Orkney on changes being made to Ecological Focus Area activities.