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-01131

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S7O-00051 by Angela Constance on 11 June 2026, what time period it references when it refers to a reduction in the number of people waiting for gynaecology services.

Question reference: S7W-01423

Asked by: Kristopher Leask, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 July 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to uphold the commitments of the 2023 Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal, including the 12-month and 24-month determination targets, and how many applications have (a) met and (b) missed these targets since the sector deal was agreed.

Question reference: S7W-01178

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms ensure compliance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code in cases of alleged land damage, and which body is responsible for investigating or taking enforcement action in cases of repeated breaches.

Local authorities and National Park Authorities (“access authorities”) take the lead role in managing access to the countryside. Cases of irresponsible behaviour by those purporting to exercise access rights may be raised with the access authority. They may be able to assist, for example by putting up signage informing access takers of their responsibilities, installation of other infrastructure such as litter bins or toilets, or promoting suitable routes around or across a property, for example away from livestock or farmyards or around a field margin.

If a problem persists, the matter may be raised with the local access forum. Consisting of land manager and recreation interests, local access forums have been established by all access authorities for the purpose of assisting with problems or disputes. Where there are persistent breaches of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, an interdict against that person may be sought through the legal system. If a person’s behaviour is criminal, it should be reported to Police Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-01215

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Reform UK
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 30 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what the role, remit, and governance and oversight structure for the NHS National Pharmaceutical Agency, which is listed as a responsibility of the Minister for Community Care, are or will be.

Question reference: S7W-01224

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 June 2026

Housing stock by tenure estimates are published on an annual basis. The latest data published is up to 2024 and can be found in the Stock by Tenure Excel tables which are linked to here: Housing Statistics 2025: Key Trends Summary - gov.scot. Please note the relevant caveats for 2020 data, as estimates were affected by reduced data collection during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data for 2025 will be released later this year and an announcement on the exact publication date will be found on the Official statistics: forthcoming publications calendar when finalised.

Question reference: S7W-01155

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Edinburgh Central, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 29 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Registers of Scotland missing its 2024 target to have 100% of land registered and the reported impacts of an incomplete land register on the delivery of public services, including delays to progress on housing and infrastructure projects, increased legal and administrative costs, difficulty in progressing community ownership schemes and data quality issues affecting policy and planning, whether it considers that completing the register as soon as possible would reduce costs and improve service delivery.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

In May 2014, Ministers invited the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland to take forward completion of the Land Register by 2024. With activity in the property market, targeted use of Keeper Induced Registration, a discounted Voluntary Registration fee and innovative use of data from the General Register of Sasines, the position, as of May 2026, is

Coverage	At May 2026
Land Register (completed)	61.0%
Land Register (pending)	3.6%
Indicative Sasines	31.5%
Total Land Coverage	96.1%

Full completion of the Land Register remains an important objective requiring the input of the Registers of Scotland and, critically, those who own land which is still in the General Register of Sasines. The Scottish Government will continue to support that work as well as taking forward work in other areas which contribute to the points raised.

Question reference: S7W-01153

Asked by: Jamie Langan, MSP for South Scotland, Reform UK
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 26 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons have been learned from the issues arising during the 2025 iteration of the Future Farm Investment Scheme (FFIS), ahead of FFIS 2026.

The First Minister announced that the Scottish Government has allocated £14.25 million to a second round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme for the 2026-27 financial year. This builds on the £21.4m delivered through the first round of FFIS. The Scottish Government undertook an internal review of the 2025 scheme which focused on lessons learned from the operation of the scheme and was shared with the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/rural-affairs-and-islands-committee/correspondence/2026/future-farming-investment-scheme-23-march.pdf).

Stakeholder engagement is ongoing which has provided some very useful feedback while refinements are made to the scheme for 2026. It has been made clear that FFIS represented welcome investment in the sector and details of any changes to the scheme will be outlined once the stakeholder engagement has been completed.

Question reference: S7W-01022

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 26 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the Play Park Renewal Programme, and how much has been allocated to Dumfries and Galloway Council through this programme since 2021.

The Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal programme provided £60 million to Local Authority partners between September 2021 and March 2026. The funding was to accelerate the Local Authorities’ plans and improve play opportunities for children across Scotland. By March 2026 the programme had supported the renewal of 1,960 play parks, including 54 across Dumfries and Galloway. There are no plans to extend this programme in the current parliament.

The funding allocation for Dumfries and Galloway was:

Local Authority	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	Total
Dumfries and Galloway Council	£140,000	£146,000	£291,000	£437,000	£728,000	£1,742,000

Question reference: S7W-00958

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what indicators it will use to assess the success of its public health approach to smartphone use among children and young people.

We are adopting a public health approach to online harm as an overarching approach to protecting children and young people from the risk of a spectrum of harm linked to the online world.

We understand the spectrum of harm can range from, among others, loss of concentration and wasted childhood time at one end, through disruption to education and the absorption of harmful often sexualised, misogynistic or violent content in the centre, to online bullying, incitement to self-harm and grooming at the extreme end. A public health approach allows us to respond appropriately to each of these risks and to adapt as the technology advances.

Ministers confirmation that we will introduce legislation to create phone free learning environments is an early policy and legal response to the spectrum of harms.

Ministers discussed this approach with members of our Online Safety Taskforce on 23 June and developments will be considered as this work progresses.

Another will be the development of a Public Health campaign which will develop the advice we have already published on our Parent Club website that recommends no screen time for babies and infants under 2 years, apart from communication (face time) with known adults. This is in line with World Health Organisation guidelines. The guidance also recommends that children aged 2-4 years should have no more than one hour of screen time per day.

To support our Screen use guidance we have also updated the Baby Box booklet to include information on the importance of early child development, speech, language and communication development, information supporting parental confidence to play and screen use advice. New information has been added to Parent Club providing guidance on managing screen use and also providing advice on how parents can also reduce their screen time.

Building on the comprehensive content currently included on Parent Club we will engage directly with parents and children and young people on what advice they need or want to support their positive digital behaviours. We will also undertake a review of research on the impact of digital media (including screen time and screen use i.e. content) on children and young people’s wellbeing to further inform the Scottish Governments position on children and young people’s positive digital behaviour.

Question reference: S7W-00966

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 June 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 25 June 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when the review of the College Sector of the Future Programme will (a) commence and (b) be published.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44232 on 12 March 2026, work on the Colleges Sector of the Future workstream is underway and will continue over the coming months. The workstream consists of three interconnected pillars: development of the evidence base, regional and national workshops, and co-creation of a set of sustainable and flexible options. As these pillars inform one another, evidence and related outputs will be developed and published in tranches as the work progresses. I will continue to keep Parliament updated. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers