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-01981

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to meet its duties under section 2 of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, and what assessment it has made of whether these duties are being fully met.

Scottish Ministers meet their duties under section 2 of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, principally through approval of River Basin Management Plans to protect and improve the water environment in Scotland. Other actions include supporting the delivery of Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan, for example through the Water Environment Fund. Scottish Ministers are meeting their statutory duties under section 2.

Question reference: S7W-02156

Asked by: David Linden, MSP for Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters have been seized by Police Scotland in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

The following table shows a breakdown of e-bikes and e-scooters seized by Police Scotland in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Information is available by local policing division, not by local authority.

Police Division	2023		2024		2025
	e-bikes	e-scooters	e-bikes	e-scooters	e-bikes	e-scooters
A - North East	8	6	19	6	86	46
C - Forth Valley	1	2	5	15	6	21
D - Tayside	2	5	15	12	21	22
E - Edinburgh	17	13	48	25	87	40
G - Greater Glasgow	46	12	192	28	221	60
J - Lothian and Borders	7	1	9	18	29	17
K - Renfrewshire and Inverclyde	0	0	9	1	6	7
L - Argyll and West Dunbartonshire	4	0	16	3	13	2
N - Highlands	1	0	3	3	7	2
P - Fife	5	1	4	0	11	4
Q - Lanarkshire	5	3	6	4	35	12
U - Ayrshire	4	0	3	6	23	7
V - Dumfries and Galloway	0	0	1	0	2	4

Question reference: S7W-02006

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to (a) prepare and (b) support local authorities on the delivery of local Good Food Nation plans.

The Scottish Government is supporting local authorities to develop and deliver local Good Food Nation plans through ongoing engagement and guidance. This includes dedicated workshops, regular engagement to provide tailored support, attendance at local Good Food Nation steering groups and workshops, producing policy guidance notes and presentations at relevant events with a focus on Good Food Nation. An online collaboration space for local authorities to share good practice has also been established by the Good Food Nation Team.

Question reference: S7W-01954

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings the minister with responsibility for energy has had with representatives of Crown Estate Scotland since 2024, on what dates, and what was discussed.

The Scottish minister with responsibility for energy has met Crown Estate Scotland twice since 2024.

The Minister for Energy and the Environment met the Chair and Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 16 January 2024 to discuss Energy
The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy met the Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 20 November 2025 to discuss Offshore Wind

All ministerial engagements are published on The Scottish Government website at - www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/

Question reference: S7W-02298

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards establishing a publicly owned national energy company, as first announced in 2017, and whether it remains committed to creating such a company.

Public investment in Scotland has previously been explored in the context of a publicly owned energy retail company supplying energy to households. Initial exploration of the retail company proposal, including the outline business case, highlighted key barriers to the Scottish Government advancing public investment, particularly around devolved and reserved responsibilities.

The Scottish Government is committed to maximising the public benefits of the energy transition and continues to explore opportunities to invest in energy-related projects, technology and infrastructure within devolved competence.

Question reference: S7W-02067

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the land area that would be required to accommodate 5.4GW of ground-mounted solar capacity by 2035, based on an illustrative scenario in which 60% of Solar Energy Scotland’s 9GW ambition is delivered through ground-mounted solar, and, if so, what (a) land area, in hectares, and (b) percentage of Scotland’s total land area this would represent.

Question reference: S7W-02083

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, should be retained as a cultural asset, and what steps it is taking to ensure this.

My clear preference, communicated to Creative Scotland, is for the former Centre for Contemporary Arts building to re-open as an important asset for Glasgow and Scotland’s culture and creative sector, and that as soon as possible.

Creative Scotland’s call for expressions of interest in operating the building closed on 12 August, with priority consideration being given to those which best align with the aim of ensuring the building continues to operate as a key asset in Scotland’s culture sector.

I am assured by Creative Scotland that the ongoing cultural value of the building is the key consideration in its consideration and I continue to closely monitor the situation.

Question reference: S7W-02349

Asked by: Michelle Campbell, MSP for Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Hannah Mary Goodlad on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, for each local authority, (a) how many businesses received non-domestic rates relief and (b) the total value of relief awarded, in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

The requested information can be found in Table 4 of both the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2024 and the Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2025.

The figures in these publication are based on Billing System Snapshots, an annual property-level data return provided to the Scottish Government by councils. Values of reliefs are estimates based on the reliefs in place on the snapshot date. The values of reliefs reported are the total values of reliefs, funded by both the Scottish Government and by councils.

Outturn values of reliefs, including a breakdown by council area, are published in Non-domestic rates income statistics.

Question reference: S7W-01940

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Flynn on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions, correspondence or exchanges of information it has had in the last five years with (a) the UK Government, (b) the Met Office, (c) the Civil Aviation Authority, (d) academic institutions and (e) other organisations regarding cloud seeding, geoengineering, solar radiation management or the deliberate atmospheric release of substances from aircraft over Scotland.

Of the organisations mentioned, the Scottish Government has engaged with the UK Government’s Advanced Research and Innovation Agency (ARIA) on the issues noted. The engagement, in May 2025 and January 2026, focussed on geo-engineering practices following media coverage highlighting ARIA’s launch of outdoor geoengineering experiments as part of a UK government-funded programme. ARIA confirmed that no projects or outdoor experiments were planned to take place in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-02189

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 July 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 19 August 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation will be offered to businesses that had retained firefighters on-call during the wildfire at Cairngorms National Park, which started in July 2026.

The Scottish Government recognises and greatly values the commitment of on-call firefighters and the flexibility of their primary employers in allowing them time off to provide the essential fire and rescue cover across Scotland. On-call firefighters are expected to obtain their employer's agreement to be released, where appropriate, for operational duties. On-call firefighters have contracts of employment with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and receive an annual retainer fee together with additional payments for incident attendance, training and other approved activities. These payments are made directly to the firefighter rather than to their primary employer. Businesses which employ on-call firefighters do not receive compensation when employees are released from their primary employment to respond to operational incidents.