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: S6W-42822

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42464 by Ivan McKee on 23 December 2025, whether its decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will take account of the request from the Scottish Retail Consortium, Aberdeen Inspired BID, and other business improvement districts, that Scotland should follow England and introduce a permanent business rate discount for all retail, hospitality and leisure premises.

The draft Budget ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms measured by CPI than pre-COVID, despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time, and introduces the lowest Basic Property Rate for 2026-27 since 2018-19.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes for eligible ratepayers.

Recognising the challenges faced by the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, for the next three years we will offer 15% relief for eligible properties in these sectors liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate, capped at £110,000 per business per year; and extend and expand 100% relief for the next three years to retail, hospitality and leisure premises located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas (Cape Wrath, Knoydart and Scoraig) capped at £110,000 per business per year.

It is estimated that around half of the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will continue to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus relief in 2026-27. A further 37,000 properties could benefit from the new 15% relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value up to and including £100,000, and eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties on Islands.

Taken together around 96% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses could benefit from some form of relief in 2026-27.

Question reference: S6W-43171

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 January 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-31743 and S6W-31744 by Alasdair Allan on 6 and 5 December 2024, whether it will provide an update on the (a) location of the remaining populations of grey squirrels and (b) population of Scottish (i) grey and (ii) red squirrels.

Question reference: S6O-05415

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 January 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to address household food insecurity.

Question reference: S6W-42427

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the introduction of legislation in England and Wales to ban single-use wet wipes containing plastic, whether it will provide an update on its plans to introduce equivalent legislation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has prioritised action on marine litter through the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland. We published our refreshed Strategy in September 2022, which sets out a co-ordinated approach to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, and supports the removal of debris that is already there. The Strategy contains multiple actions on the most problematic types of marine litter including sewage-related debris and wet wipes. We continue to work across the four nations to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with Scottish legislation forthcoming.

Question reference: S6W-42197

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when the next meeting of the Onshore Wind Strategic Leadership Group will be held, and what will be discussed.

Question reference: S6W-41747

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-36723 by Fiona Hyslop on 6 May 2025, whether it will provide an update on Scottish Enterprise’s engagement with companies in the electric vehicle and battery processing industries.

Question reference: S6W-41658

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the increase in domestic heat pump installations slowed from 27% between 2022-23 to 17% between 2023-24.

Data for the last full calendar year (2024)indicate that 7,355 heat pumps were installed in Scotland, 1061 more than for the last full calendar year. Over 2,500 heat pumps were funded by the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme in 2024.

Numerous factors will affect heat pump installation rates, including consumer demand, installer availability, and electricity load upgrades by district network operators.

We have allocated £1.67bn of funding through our Heat in Buildings schemes this Parliamentary Session, including committed spend of over £840m for energy efficiency and clean heat projects.

The latest delay to UK Government’s Warm Homes Plan means that we lack essential information on its plans to use its reserved powers to make clean heat systems more affordable– we continue to urge the UK Government to provide this clarity as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-41659

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no applications for funding from Scotland's Heat Network Fund were successful in 2024.

Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) is a demand-led capital grant scheme designed to support the deployment and expansion of zero-emission heat networks across Scotland. All applications are assessed against mandatory criteria to ensure alignment with the Fund objectives, including reducing carbon emissions, tackling fuel poverty, and demonstrating value for money.

In 2024, no new grant awards were made as no applications progressed through the full assessment process to a successful outcome during that period. Heat network development is a complex, multi-stage process, and projects can take considerable time to reach the point where they are ready to apply for, and secure, capital funding. The Fund launched in 2022 with an initial grant drawdown deadline of March 2026.

The Fund has recently been extended, with a grant claim deadline now set for March 2030. This extension will help maintain momentum in the heat network project pipeline, provide confidence to investors and developers, and support continued growth in the skills and supply chains needed to deliver heat networks in Scotland. As a result, the Fund has seen an increase in the number of successful applications in 2025. To date, Scotland’s Heat Network Fund has awarded approximately £14.6 million to seven heat network projects in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-41633

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to set (a) a timeline and (b) mandatory quotas for circular economy procurement by public bodies.

In line with the Sustainable Procurement Duty in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2014/12/section/9), public bodies are already required to demonstrate in their annual procurement strategies how they will prioritise and take account of climate and circular economy in their procurement activity and report ongoing progress against these commitments in their annual procurement reports.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022: Public Procurement – Taking Account of Climate and Circular Economy Considerations clarifies expectations for public bodies with respect to addressing climate and circular economy considerations in procurement activity. The policy note can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-procurement-taking-account-of-climate-and-circular-economy-considerations-3-2022/

Regulations under section 82 and 82A of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act could potentially enhance circular economy opportunities in relation to the procurement of goods, works or services. These powers allow Ministers to make regulations that require contracting authorities to purchase goods with recycled content, recycled or reused products or recyclable products. We have commissioned research to identify potential candidate products for these regulations.

Question reference: S6W-41632

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it will define and measure “embedding circularity” in public sector procurement processes, as outlined in the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022: Public Procurement – Taking Account of Climate and Circular Economy Considerations clarifies expectations for public bodies with respect to addressing climate and circular economy considerations in procurement activity. This can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-procurement-taking-account-of-climate-and-circular-economy-considerations-3-2022/

In line with the Sustainable Procurement Duty in the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2014/12/section/9), public bodies should demonstrate in their annual procurement strategies how they will prioritise and take account of climate and circular economy in their procurement activity and report ongoing progress against these commitments in their annual procurement reports.

The analysis of public bodies’ annual procurement reports forms the basis of the Scottish Ministers’ Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland. 80% of those who provided an annual procurement report in financial year 2022 to 2023 provided evidence of addressing environmental wellbeing and climate change through their public procurement activities. The Report can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-report-procurement-activity-scotland-overview-procurement-activity-2022-2023/