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-00794

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00321 by Jenny Gilruth on 3 June 2026, how much (a) money was raised from the ScotWind leasing round, (b) of this money it used or has profiled to use on other portfolio commitments as well as supporting the Scottish Budget, and (c) remains and whether the entirety of what remains will be used to capitalise the proposed Scotwind Wealth Fund.

The ScotWind leasing round has secured £755m for the public purse.

Information about how ScotWind income has been drawn down or re-profiled can be found in the Budget, Autumn Budget Revision, Spring Budget Revision and Provisional Outturn publications for each financial year. The planned deployment of ScotWind funding over the Spending Review period is set out in Annex A of the Portfolio Chapters and Annex Tables Amended at Stage 2 Budget Supporting Document Supporting documents - Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 - gov.scot.

Decisions on further allocations of ScotWind funding and the establishment of a ScotWind Wealth Fund will be taken at future fiscal events.

Question reference: S7W-01023

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers by Stephen Gethins to questions S7W-00644 and S7W-00793 on 3 and 11 June 2026 respectively, for what reason it has not provided the information that was requested regarding whether it supports the introduction of zonal pricing in the electricity market, and what specific evidence it has relied upon in forming its position; whether it will now do so, and whether it considers that the responses provided met the commitment set out in paragraph 1.7(d) of the Scottish Ministerial Code 2025 edition, which states that “Ministers should be as open as possible with the Parliament and the public, reflecting the aspirations set out in the Report of the Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament”, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S7W-00743

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the eight Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units, which can been used for wildfire management and cost nearly £1 million, are all operational as of 3 June 2026, in light of them being unavailable during Scotland’s worst wildfire season on record in 2025.

The procurement and safe deployment of assets is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). It is important to note that the eight Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units are replacing legacy fire appliances. These are not dedicated wildfire appliances, but they can be called upon to provide support at a wildfire incident if required. These units are not the same appliances as the ten Ford Ranger Wildfire Units which SFRS has previously confirmed are operational for dedicated wildfire management.

As of 3 June 2026, these vehicles are not operational, however, SFRS has confirmed that operational capability at the fire stations which will be receiving these appliances has not been impacted. SFRS notes that installation of the latest pumping and communication systems in these units is complete and envisages training and delivery of all units by the end of this summer.

Question reference: S7W-00791

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 12 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage private investment in geothermal energy infrastructure.

The Scottish Government works closely with its partners to promote awareness of the tools, sub-surface data and funding available to stakeholders to support exploration of Scotland’s geothermal energy potential. Examples of this work are set out in the answer to S6W-44106 on 17 March 2026

Heat networks will form an important part of Scotland's overall heat decarbonisation programme, supplying clean heat (such as geothermal) to homes and other buildings. Scotland’s Heat Network Fund (SHNF) offers capital grants to businesses and organisations in the public, private and third sectors to develop heat network projects in Scotland. The SHNF requires a minimum 50% contribution from the Grantee which helps to leverage private investment in the heat network sector and generate additional economic benefits. An expression of interest for funding can be submitted at any time.

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: S7W-00862

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00615 by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026, which did not address the question posed, whether it will confirm that it has not made an assessment of the impact of the anticipated closure of Torness nuclear power station on energy affordability for consumers in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00793

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00644 by Stephen Gethins on 3 June 2026, which did not address the question posed, and in light of remarks by Alan Brown MSP in the debate, It’s Scotland’s energy, on 28 May 2026, in which he said, "Zonal pricing was an option that could bring down bills, but that was immediately ruled out by Westminster", whether it supports the introduction of zonal pricing in the electricity market, and what specific evidence it has relied upon in forming its position.

Question reference: S7W-00617

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 11 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the price per MWh of electricity generated (a) for Hunterston B prior to its closure and (b) is for Torness nuclear power station.

Question reference: S7O-00064

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 June 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will honour, in full, commitments made by previous Ministers for Transport to upgrade road infrastructure in the North East of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-00323

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it will begin allocating the £40 million that was committed in the Scottish National Party manifesto to “match funding from the Wood Foundation to support opportunities and the transition [to a low-carbon economy] in the North East”; how organisations can apply for the funding, including who will be eligible, and what outcomes it hopes to achieve with this.

Question reference: S7W-00352

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 8 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken since January 2025 to make Stracathro Hospital near Brechin and the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline into “centres of excellence” in certain procedures, such as cataracts or orthopaedics, including by providing transport support to patients.

The Scottish Government wants all patients, regardless of location to receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place. The Centre for Sustainable Delivery supports clinical improvements across Scotland, including for cataracts and orthopaedics through Specialty Delivery Groups.

The NTCs are currently delivering one cataract every 30 minutes as endorsed by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. This is patient centred, particularly where patients are travelling longer distances for treatment.

Out of area transport is covered by Health Boards’ own standard travel policies.

NHS Grampian & NHS Tayside have a joint intention to develop high volume, single procedure lists at Stracathro, however these are not in place currently.

Queen Margaret Hospital has a strong, well-established reputation, both nationally & internationally, for their Ophthalmology & Urology services. The responsibility for the Queen Margaret Hospital is with NHS Fife, who continue to look at opportunities to further enhance their current services.

The Stracathro Regional Treatment Centre & the Queen Margaret Hospital provide crucial cold site (ie protected) elective capacity, and we are committed to working with Boards to continue to maximise the efficiency and use of the sites.