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-36950

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken, or is carrying out, on the current recruitment and retention levels of retained firefighters in the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-36962

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what requests it has had from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for new, more modern, equipment to deal with wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-36948

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has carried out with local authorities in the Highlands and Islands in the last year regarding wildfire preparedness.

Question reference: S6W-36958

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average response time was to wildfire incidents by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-36949

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on public safety awareness campaigns on preventing wildfires in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-36957

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) vacancies and (b) understaffed hours were reported by each fire station in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-36961

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average time spent by each fire station was in each of the last 10 years in engaging with stakeholders on reducing the risk of wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-36946

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the (a) funding, (b) personnel and (c) equipment available to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is adequate to deal with wildfires.

Question reference: S6W-35917

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 2 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the reliability and frequency of public transport in Highland communities, in light of reported concerns regarding issues such as cancellations and long waiting times.

We want all local transport authorities to be able to improve all of the bus services within their areas. That is why, through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, we have given local authorities powers on partnership working, franchising and the ability to run their own bus services. This provides the opportunity for services that are reliable, frequent and tailored to local demand.

The Scottish Government provided £1.7 million of funding to extend platforms on the West Highland Line. This now allows ScotRail to run longer trains which will reduce overcrowding and lead to increased capacity for residents, tourists and cyclists with their bikes.

ScotRail has a programme of works which are being delivered specifically to improve the reliability of the diesel train fleet which operate on the Highland routes and these improvements are expected to be completed later this year.

ScotRail is considering options to recast the Inverness to Central Belt and Inverness to Aberdeen timetable. ScotRail will consult with passengers prior to any changes being determined.

The Scottish Government have committed to investing around £700m in ports and vessels. This includes 6 new major vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service (CHFS) fleet before the end of this Parliament session, and the delivery of a further seven electric vessels as part of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme by 2029, while work to deliver two new Freight Flex vessels for the Northern Isles Ferry Service is progressing.

Question reference: S6W-35912

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 1 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support is being provided to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that it is adequately resourced to handle any increase in incidents arising from the presence of battery energy storage systems.

The Scottish Government has allocated the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service £412.2 million for 2025-26 to ensure it is properly resourced to keep Scotland safe and provide all of its statutory functions. The budget for 2025-26 is £18.8m higher than 2024-25 and while clearly decisions on how its budget is spent are a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Fire Officer, SFRS continue to respond to every emergency incident with the appropriate level of resources.

SFRS continually review and develop its operational response to any new and emerging technology or site to keep communities safe and ensure the highest level of preparedness.