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-41833

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Scottish Budget 2026–27 recommendations paper that the business rate is at a 26-year high.

Question reference: S6W-41835

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Scottish Budget 2026–27 recommendations paper that the business rate levied on shops liable for the higher property rate has resulted in them collectively paying £93 million more in rates over the past decade than their counterparts in similar sized stores in England.

Question reference: S6W-41836

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Scottish Budget 2026–27 recommendations paper that the business rate levied on shops liable for the higher property rate makes it more expensive for them to operate and trade profitably on high streets in Scotland than for similar sized stores in England.

Question reference: S6W-41834

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 27 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Retail Consortium’s suggestion in its Scottish Budget 2026–27 recommendations paper that the business rate levied on the 2,400 shops liable for the higher property rate results in them collectively paying £9 million more each year in rates than counterparts in similar sized stores in England.

Question reference: S6W-41384

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide information on the number of veterans it has helped secure accommodation since November 2018, broken down by financial year.

Information on the number of veterans assisted to secure accommodation is not held by Scottish Government. Local authorities have the legal duty to provide housing assistance to veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and this includes offering temporary or permanent accommodation.

The Scottish Government collects statistics from local authorities on homelessness applications and assessments and outcomes, including information on veterans. The most recent annual homelessness statistics on veterans’ homelessness were published on 24 September 2025 and can be found on the Scottish Government website using the following link: Homelessness in Scotland: veteran homelessness - gov.scot.

Statistical analysis of accommodation outcomes in 2024-25 show that 75% of homeless veteran households secured settled accommodation in 2024-25. Achieving a settled outcome has been consistently between 75% and 79% over the last seven years.

Question reference: S6O-05172

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what legislative action it plans taking in the remainder of this parliamentary session to protect farmers from the threat of rural crime.

Question reference: S6F-04455

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2025

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will maintain its manifesto commitment to freeze income tax rates and bands.

Question reference: S6W-41380

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 5 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the £901,000 veterans budget is being spent in 2025-26.

The veterans budget for this year will cover:

The Scottish Veterans Fund, covering 12 projects which support the Armed Forces and Veterans community.
The Unforgotten Forces Consortium, to support their work connecting older veterans to services, help and advice.
Veterans Scotland for their role in coordinating support for veterans across Scotland.
The National Education and Transitions Officer, which is a role jointly funded with the Scottish Government’s Additional Support for Learning team which aims to improve policy and practice affecting service children and veterans children in Scotland.
Legion Scotland’s national commemorative event in Scotland to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Miscellaneous spend throughout the financial year, including wreaths, medal replacements and various publications of Scottish Government documents.

It is worth noting that while this budget represents the dedicated spend of the Scottish Government's Veterans Unit, there is other funding to support veterans across different areas, such as the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway.

Question reference: S6W-41447

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the publication by the UK Government on 17 October 2025 of its summary of the responses to the call for evidence regarding the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, and what implications these might have on responding to rural crime in Scotland.

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 began as a private members bill which received Government and cross-party support in England and Wales.

The legislation seeks to prevent and deter criminals from targeting items of plant and machinery, the theft of which can have a major financial and personal impact on owners and rural communities.

While the legislation only applies to England and Wales, the Scottish Government will continue to monitor its implementation and impact, working closely with Police Scotland, industry partners and rural stakeholders to assess any implications for Scotland’s approach to tackling rural crime. The Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) will also consider any learning from the Act that could help inform prevention and enforcement activity here.

Question reference: S6W-41382

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an estimate of the number veterans who are currently unemployed.

The 2022 Census represents the most current comprehensive snapshot we have of the veterans population in Scotland. It estimated there were 2,700 unemployed veterans at that point in time. This equated to 3.6% of economically active veterans, which compared favourably to economically active non-veterans at 4.4%.

However, it should be noted that caution is needed when making comparisons between veterans and the rest of the population. For example, Scotland’s Census showed that the structure of the veteran population differed substantially to the non-veteran population in relation to age and sex, with the veteran population being older and predominantly male.