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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-44352

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what oversight it has of commercial partnerships between local authorities and technology providers in schools, including any safeguards to ensure that educational priorities and pupil wellbeing are protected.

Question reference: S6W-44350

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued any guidance to local authorities on appropriate levels of screen use for primary school pupils in classroom settings.

Question reference: S6W-44358

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that lessons have been learned from concerns raised by families regarding prescribing practices for immunosuppressant patients in paediatric services at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-44353

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what requirements exist for obtaining parental consent where pupils are required to use digital learning platforms that involve the processing or sharing of personal data.

Question reference: S6W-44338

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its Rural Support Plan as required by the Agricultural and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024.

Question reference: S6W-44336

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any action it has taken under section 33 of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 to prepare and publish a food security statement.

Question reference: S6W-44245

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how its revised Code of Practice for constables when exercising the power of stop and search, which is currently being consulted on, will ensure the safety of biological women, in light of proposals that could allow a biological male to request that a biological female constable searches them.

Question reference: S6W-43825

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding applications for energy consents, whether it will (a) monitor the number of Public Local Inquiries held following implementation of the new process for considering these and (b) publish data on how frequently inquiries are granted following planning authority objections.

The Scottish Government will continue to monitor the number of Public Local Inquiries as part of our on going administration of the applications for energy consent process.

Information on energy consent applications and Public Local Inquiries will continue to be publicly accessible through the portals of the Energy Consents Unit and the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) respectively, ensuring continued transparency.

Question reference: S6W-43826

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding applications for energy consents, what consultation it has undertaken with (a) planning authorities and (b) local communities regarding the removal of the automatic Public Local Inquiry trigger.

Changes to the automatic Public Local Inquiry trigger for energy consent applications were consulted on by the UK Government in October and November 2024 as part of preparations for the then Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Details of the consultation outcome can be viewed at: Electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland - GOV.UK.

This included engagement with planning authorities and opportunities for input from local communities through formal public consultation processes.

The Scottish Government intends to consult later this year on additional measures enabled by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 which are intended to further improve the efficiency of application processing.

Question reference: S6W-43822

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 26 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on community participation and transparency of the removal of the automatic requirement for a Public Local Inquiry when a planning authority objects to an application under sections 36 or 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

While the Scottish Government has not made a formal assessment, it is our expectation that community participation and transparency will not be reduced as a result of the removal of the automatic requirement for a Public Local Inquiry when a planning authority objects to an application under sections 36 or 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

When a relevant planning authority objects to a section 36 or 37 application, the Scottish Ministers will appoint a reporter who can select the most appropriate examination procedure (written submissions, hearings, site inspections, or full inquiries) based on the specific circumstances of each case.

This follows the approach already in place under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and which is provided for in the Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. By matching the examination method to the complexity of objections, legitimate concerns of communities will be fully evaluated in the most appropriate format, while helping to significantly reduce the end-to-end timelines of applications for energy consent.