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-44027

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) target and (b) current average processing time is for Social Security Scotland to recognise the legal authority of a power of attorney document when presented with it, and to permit and enable a person granted such a power of attorney to manage the Social Security Scotland benefits of the claimant in question.

Question reference: S6W-43882

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Central Legal Office has made an assessment of the reliability of the electronic patient records system used by NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-43636

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of the condition of Scotland's trunk roads it has (a) made and (b) published since the discontinuation of the Performance Audit Group annual audit in 2021-22.

Transport Scotland conducts machine-based based surveys of the trunk road network each year using specialist vehicles to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strength) of the underlying road construction. This is similar in nature to the Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey conducted by Scottish Local Authorities and it provides an annual snapshot of the road condition across the network. Output from these condition surveys is published each year in the National Transport Statistics

The Performance Audit Group (PAG) is employed to audit, monitor and report on the performance of the Operating Companies who manage, maintain and operate Scotland’s trunk roads. PAG continues to monitor Operating Company performance, deliver an annual programme of audits and publish annual reports.

Question reference: S6W-43637

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next commission a national audit on maintaining Scotland's road network.

National Audits on road maintenance are the responsibility of Audit Scotland on behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland (for Scottish Government bodies) and the Accounts Commission (for Councils and local government). The Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) is a Crown appointment and both the AGS and Accounts Commission are independent of both the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. More information including their Corporate Plan and their planned audit work can be found on their website: Our work programme | Audit Scotland

Question reference: S6W-43621

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 09 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will use the over £7 million of funding, set out in the draft Budget 2026-27, to support the implementation of improvements in neurodevelopmental assessments in 2026-27.

Question reference: S6W-43635

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it published its most recent assessment of the condition of Scotland's road network.

Question reference: S6W-43639

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to monitor the performance of Scottish Canals, in light of the Audit Scotland finding in June 2023 that it was "unable to provide public assurance over Scottish Canals’ financial position, how it spent public money allocated to it or its performance".

Scottish Canals is sponsored by Transport Scotland and operates within a well-established governance and accountability framework that ensures robust oversight of its performance, delivery and use of public funds.

This includes compliance with its Framework Document, regular sponsorship meetings and Ministerial engagement, scrutiny of corporate and business plans, monitoring of performance data, oversight of financial management and annual accounts in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. Officials also attend Board meetings. In my Ministerial capacity, I also meet with Scottish Canals’ Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board regularly to discuss and review performance.

Together, these arrangements provide continuous assurance over Scottish Canals’ governance, delivery and stewardship of public funds.

Question reference: S6W-43640

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the grant funding that it has provided to Scottish Canals has delivered in each of the last five years, and what it expects funding in 2026-27 will deliver.

Scottish Canals receives annual grant funding from the Scottish Government to support the delivery of its statutory duties, which include the safe operation, maintenance and stewardship of Scotland’s inland waterways and associated heritage assets. Over the last five years, this funding has enabled Scottish Canals to maintain essential canal infrastructure, support navigation and water management, undertake safety-critical repairs, protect historic structures, and contribute to wider regeneration, active travel and placemaking objectives along the canal network.

Scottish Canals sets out its corporate priorities through its annual Business Plan, with the 2026-27 plan to be published in due course.

The funding provided in 2026-27 will support Scottish Canals’ core statutory responsibilities, ensuring the network remains well maintained, navigable and safe for the public. It will protect essential infrastructure, strengthen long-term resilience, and support the thousands of people who use the waterways every day — whether boating, walking, wheeling, cycling or enjoying the surrounding public spaces. This investment will enable priority maintenance and asset management work, and help deliver activity that maximises the public, community and environmental benefits of Scotland’s canal network.

Question reference: S6W-43633

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updates on the (a) progress made and (b) costs associated with the major harbour development projects outlined in its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-26

The Scottish Government remains committed to continued investment in new vessels and supporting infrastructure at our ports and harbours across the ferry network. Full detail on the Scottish Governments ambitious vessel renewal and port upgrade programmes was published in May 2025 as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan – Vessels and Ports Plan.

This includes 13 new vessels across the CalMac fleet. Major infrastructure investment has also been achieved with the Islay enabling works and the Little Minch Infrastructure Programme: Tarbert (Harris), Lochmaddy (South Uist) and Uig (Skye) along with other smaller projects. Work also continues on major projects including Port Ellen Terminal Development, Ardrossan and Gasay works.

The MV Glen Sannox entered service in Jan 2025 and the MV Isle of Islay has been handed over to CalMac and is enroute to Scotland. In addition, CMAL purchased the MV Loch Frisa in 2021 and works recently commenced on the Cumbrae Slipway Replacement Project.

Our new four-year Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline which was published in January, contains projects over £5 million and programmes over £20 million which have agreed outline business cases (or equivalent) and agreed funding. These include a number of vessels, ports and harbours inclusions and we will report on the progress of delivering these every six months following the Scottish parliamentary election in May.

Question reference: S6W-43634

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish updates on the (a) progress made and (b) costs associated with the procurement of replacement vessels for the passenger services outlined in its Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-26.