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

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 43237 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-03459

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to support businesses to address reported declining retail sales.

Question reference: S6O-03461

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes ethical procurement processes across the public sector, to embed principles such as fair work and sustainability, including in the college and university sector.

Question reference: S6O-03463

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to consult on the introduction of a carbon emissions land tax for large landowners.

Question reference: S6O-03464

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the reduction in Scotland’s capital budget as a result of changes to Scotland’s block grant.

Question reference: S6O-03475

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve facilities at railway stations operated by ScotRail.

Question reference: S6O-03460

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the impact of the updated fiscal framework.

Question reference: S6W-27279

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of any impact on bridge infrastructure of the increased weight payload of electric vehicles, in light of the forthcoming 2030 deadline for prohibiting the sale of new combustion engine cars.

Question reference: S6W-27028

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26975 by Richard Lochhead on 24 April 2024, and in light of the UK Government’s publication, Project Gigabit progress update - April 2024, whether it expects Project Gigabit procurement covering Fife to launch throughout 2024.

The Scottish Government and Building Digital UK (BDUK) have worked together to develop a number of potential Type A (local) and Type B (regional) Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland. The Scottish Government will lead delivery of these procurements, so that Project Gigabit and our own Reaching 100% (R100) programme can work together in Scotland.

A potential procurement in the Fife, Perth and Kinross areas has been identified as part of this process. It is expected that this procurement will launch later in 2024, so long as the Scottish Government is confident that there is the continued supplier interest necessary for it to succeed.

Question reference: S6W-27294

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remove the ban on wood burning stoves in new build homes, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Although there is no blanket ban on wood burning stoves, the Scottish Government has been listening to the concerns raised over the past weeks about the reliance on biomass and wood burning stoves in rural and remote areas, and is taking these fully on board.

The New Build Heat Standard, as it currently stands, applies only to new buildings and certain types of conversions applying for a building warrant from 1 April 2024. Wood burning stoves or other ‘direct emission heating systems’ can under this current standard still be installed to provide ‘emergency heating’.

However, we acknowledge that the way in which technical guidance is currently drafted on what constitutes emergency heating can be difficult to reconcile with the nature of wood burning stoves which are often installed for more frequent use, rather than solely as emergency systems, particularly in rural homes. We are currently considering the guidance and will work with concerned parties, developers, and Local Authorities to ensure any updates to the existing technical guidance address these concerns.

Question reference: S6W-27249

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will report on the timeframe for the creation of a Just Transition Plan for the Mossmorran industrial site developed in partnership with the operators of the plant, workforce and the local community.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a Just Transition Plan for the Mossmorran industrial complex, work will commence in early 2025. This will allow for a thorough evaluation of the approach taken at Grangemouth to maximise learning and outputs. We will follow the principles of co-design and include a wide range of appropriate stakeholders from the community, industry, workforce and public sector. The Scottish Government intends to publish the plan by the end of the parliament.