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-04230

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it will take to support and encourage local food production, including in the South of Scotland, in light of findings by the Scottish Human Rights Commission in its recent report, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the South of Scotland.

Scotland’s agricultural sector is at the heart of our economy and our rural communities, and is key for accessing local food. We will continue to support active farming and sustainable food production in Scotland through direct payments. Scottish Ministers have committed to a period of certainty until 2030, delivering direct support to provide the industry with reassurance and boost confidence in long-term investment. Scotland’s Vision for Agriculture sets a clear direction for a future farming system that, amongst other things, supports high-quality activity in food production.

The Small Producers Pilot Fund strengthens local food and drink production, improves energy efficiency, and sustains rural jobs through continuing to test funding options to support small producers. The SPPF is providing up to £1m resource and up to £1.5m capital this year, including to explore solutions to challenges surrounding abattoirs and small producers’ access to private kill services, so that communities can access meat produced locally.

The £6 million Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland is making vital capital funding available to food and drink processing businesses across Scotland to support projects which can increase production, improve supply chain efficiency and deliver economic benefits within the food and drink sector. This includes two significant investment projects in the South of Scotland, with Wolds Produce Ltd and Rowan Glen both receiving awards from the scheme at the maximum value of £400,000.

The Scottish Government has established the Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce, to help increase the use of locally produced food and drink across Scotland's public sector, including schools, hospitals and workplaces. It's part of our commitment to supporting Scotland's food and drink sector and strengthening local food supply chains. The Taskforce will provide recommendations to Ministers by the end of March 2027. This work supports the ambitions of our Local Food Strategy, “Local Food for Everyone: Our Journey”.

The Scottish Government continues to work with enterprise agencies, including South of Scotland Enterprise, to support businesses in the region, including in the food and drink sector.

Question reference: S7W-04269

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has given any further consideration to providing compensation to farmers affected by bluetongue virus movement restrictions.

The Scottish Government supports farmers with practical guidance and implementation and maintenance of control measures such as the cost of testing of suspect animals and for surveillance and veterinary investigations. The movement restrictions were put in place to protect Scotland’s animals from Bluetongue for as long as possible and were done so in broad agreement with industry stakeholders. Industry have provided a continual appraisal of the impacts of those controls to ensure a balance was found between protecting animals whilst permitting an acceptable level of routine trade.

Question reference: S7W-04267

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 29 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost of leading a national vaccination programme for bluetongue virus ahead of the 2027 midge season.

Question reference: S7W-03992

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to increase the number of police officers in rural Scotland, including road traffic officers.

Decisions regarding the allocations of resources, recruitment and deployment of police officers, including road policing officers, are operational matters for Police Scotland under the direction of the Chief Constable, who is responsible and accountable to the Scottish Police Authority.

Police Scotland works closely with local communities and local authority partners across Scotland, and lead the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), a multi-agency partnership aiming to prevent, reduce and tackle rural crime.

The Scottish Government has allocated record funding of more than £1.7 billion to policing in 2026-27, which the Chief Constable has confirmed will enable Police Scotland to maintain officer numbers at around 16,500 while continuing to prioritise front-line services. Scotland continues to have more police officers per head of population than England and Wales, with around 30 officers per 10,000 population compared with around 24 in England and Wales.

Question reference: S7W-04505

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on Community Engagement Obligations and draft large land holdings guidance under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, how it anticipates that the expected update to the code of practice on deer management will affect the landowner obligations under consideration in that consultation.

Question reference: S7W-04506

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the total cost to landowners of the proposals set out in its consultation on Community Engagement Obligations and draft large land holdings guidance under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.

Question reference: S7W-04497

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to undertake a specific rural and islands impact assessment in relation to its proposed food price cap plans.

Question reference: S7W-04222

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 23 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the June 2026 Agricultural Census, which shows a decline in the number of people working in agriculture, and what renewed action it will take to reverse this trend.

The June 2026 Agricultural Census shows a small decrease in the overall agricultural workforce, from 66,773 in 2025 to 66,116 in 2026. A year-on-year change of around 1% does not point to a significant shift in overall workforce levels, particularly given increases in both regular employees and seasonal workers. However, the reduction in working occupiers and increase in non-working occupiers reinforces the importance of succession, skills development and support for new entrants into farming and crofting.

Growing Scotland’s economy is a key priority of the First Minister’s and a strong and vibrant agricultural sector is a key contributor to this. Supporting the next generation of farmers and crofters is therefore receiving the priority attention it deserves. This year alone we are investing over £1.2 million through the Land-based Pre-Apprenticeship Programme, the Next Generation Practical Training Fund, the Scottish Land Matching Service and support for the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs Big Build Campaign to attract, develop and retain future talent.

Since 2015, we have also invested more than £28 million through the National Reserve, New Entrants and Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Schemes to help these priority groups establish and grow farming and crofting businesses.

Alongside this, through the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants Group, which has helped make almost 9,000 hectares of public land available for new entrant opportunities, and through Scotland's wider Agricultural Reform Programme, we are supporting succession, creating more pathways into the sector and securing the skilled workforce needed for a thriving rural economy.

Question reference: S7W-04234

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund, (a) how much has been spent, (b) how many homes have been provided for key workers, and (c) in which local authorities homes have been provided, since 2023, and (d) whether the Fund will be continued beyond 2028.

Since the fund's launch in April 2023 to October 2026, a total of £4.613million has been spent through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund. The Fund is demand-led, with expenditure dependent on project progress and delivery milestones.

As of October 2026, 32 homes have been completed through the Fund in the following local authority areas:

Orkney Islands: 10 homes
Moray: 3 homes
Highland: 14 homes
North Ayrshire: 5 homes

A further 12 homes have been approved for funding, which will raise the total committed SG funding to £9.045 million.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with local authorities to encourage applications to the Fund and help address local housing needs for key workers. In addition, affordable homes in rural areas are also supported through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The future of the Fund remains under consideration.

Question reference: S7W-04233

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund, (a) how much of the total fund has been spent, (b) how many homes have been provided, and (c) in which local authorities homes have been provided, (i) in 2025-26 and (ii) since April 2026.

The Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund is a demand-led fund that supports the delivery of affordable homes for key workers in rural and island communities. Application can be made by eligible organisations, including local authorities and registered social landlords.

In 2025-26, £1.555 million was spent through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund. Over the same period, 16 affordable homes were delivered in the following local authority areas:

Orkney Islands: 7 homes

Moray: 2 homes

Highland: 4 homes

North Ayrshire: 3 homes

Since April 2026 (to October 2026), £0.470 million has been spent through the Fund. Over the same period, 2 affordable homes were delivered in Highland Council area.

The level of expenditure is not directly linked to the number of homes completed in a given period. Scottish Government grant funding is drawn down by projects on receipt of evidenced payment claims and is recorded as expenditure at that point. As a result, expenditure and completions may occur in different reporting periods.