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-02506

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to adopting approaches used in Wales to apply Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) mapping to wildfire prevention and planning, and whether it will consider developing a comprehensive LiDAR-based wildfire risk map for Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02505

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what use it currently makes of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to map vegetation, assess fuel loads and identify areas at heightened risk of wildfire.

Question reference: S7W-02507

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission research comparing vegetation and fuel loads across Scotland during the drought and wildfires of 2026 with those recorded during the drought of 1976, including through the use of LiDAR data, satellite imagery and historic land-management records.

Question reference: S7W-02508

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture has provided advice on the use of LiDAR technology to assess wildfire risk and, if so, whether it will publish any such advice.

Question reference: S7W-02299

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the 2026 Scottish National Party manifesto to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what its response is to the comments reportedly made by the Scottish Retail Consortium and published in The Herald on 3 August 2026 that such a policy would not address the root cause of food price inflation and could lead to a wider range of products, and indeed sectors, being similarly targeted.

Question reference: S7W-01808

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what analysis it has conducted of the potential impact on customer demand and stocking of products in grocery stores that are located close to the border with England.

The Scottish Government is working toward a consultation on the price cap on essential food items within 100 days of the start of this parliamentary session. This work has been informed by early engagement with key stakeholders and consideration of policy implications.

The consultation will be an opportunity for interested parties to inform the further development of policy and any future legislative proposals. Any proposals brought forward would be subject to detailed consideration of potential economic, competition, consumer and business impacts and be informed by appropriate evidence and impact assessments.

Question reference: S7W-01811

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what its response is to reported concerns that the policy could encourage customers to travel further to purchase goods that would otherwise be bought in a convenience store closer to them and therefore increase transport-related emissions.

Question reference: S7W-01809

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what its analysis is of the potential impact on product substitution and imports should the policy compel retailers to consider sourcing cheaper products from abroad.

Question reference: S7W-01810

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, whether it is engaging with representatives of the retail sector and food producers to address the root causes of higher food prices.

Question reference: S7W-01812

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 22 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to enact a statutory price cap on essential food items, what assessment has been carried out of the potential impact of this policy on convenience stores and newsagents.