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-04280

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many licences for (a) hydraulic dredge and (b) fyke net have been issued to Scottish-registered vessels in each year since 2021, and of those, how many vessels actively fished in each year.

Question reference: S7W-04268

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the resources that it would require to support an advertising campaign for a national vaccination programme for bluetongue virus ahead of the 2027 midge season.

Question reference: S7W-04228

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the South of Scotland, which found that there were "clear human rights failures" across the South of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-04229

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it will take in response to the recent report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the South of Scotland, which found "clear human rights failures" in the region.

Question reference: S7W-04189

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 6 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase (a) the number of nursing posts available and (b) the number of nurses employed in (i) Dumfries and Galloway and (ii) other rural areas of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03803

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider investment in food production as an alternative to its proposed food price caps.

A strong domestic food production sector is essential for Scotland's food security, economic growth and life in our rural communities. That is why the 2026-27 Scottish Budget provided over £660 million in support to Scottish farmers, crofters, land managers and rural communities, including maintaining direct payments and investment in transforming farming and food production. At the same time, we are exploring whether statutory price caps on selected essential food items could help households facing cost of living pressures. Future proposals will be informed by the ongoing engagement with producers, processors, retailers and consumers, and the public consultation.

Question reference: S7W-03804

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that proposed statutory food price caps do not lead to food shortages and reliance on cheaper imports.

Question reference: S7W-03735

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7W-00155 by Tom Arthur on 3 June 2026, by what date it will complete the rollout of its R100 programme.

The Scottish Government’s investment in the R100 programme has brought faster, more reliable broadband to over 100,000 premises to date. The R100 Central and South contracts are now nearing completion, having extended coverage to more premises than originally planned; and having provided the vast majority with gigabit-capable full fibre, which exceeds the programme’s original superfast target.

The R100 North contract was due to complete in 2028. However, we have decided to align delivery of the remaining R100 North build with that of Project Gigabit in order to drive efficiencies and accelerate the deployment of whole area solutions. This consolidated approach to Openreach’s gigabit deployment will deliver better value, minimise disruption to communities and help maximise coverage across some of Scotland's most rural and challenging areas. To enable these benefits to be realised in full, deployment timelines have also been aligned around the current Project Gigabit completion date of 2030.

Question reference: S7W-04100

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of its Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy on rural communities.

Question reference: S7W-04101

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 October 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline how it is supporting the expansion of walk-in mental health hubs across Scotland, particularly in rural, remote and island communities.