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: S6W-39781

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote financial literacy to young people in schools.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Financial Education in equipping learners with key life skills. Financial literacy is embedded in the curriculum in Scotland through numeracy and maths, business studies and personal and social education classes. Financial Education is a key feature of Curriculum for Excellence “Experiences and Outcomes” for Numeracy and Mathematics, assisting learners in understanding the benefits and risks of bank cards, effectively managing money, making appropriate use of technology and appreciating the importance of budgeting.

Education Scotland provides professional learning resources enabling educators to reflect on their own understanding and knowledge and to support future learning and teaching about money. Guidance is available for primary and secondary schools highlighting the links between financial education and Curriculum for Excellence. In addition, a wide range of teaching resources are provided by the private and Third Sector. These include Barclays LifeSkills, financial education guidance from the Money & Pension Service and the work of the charity, Money Ready.

Education Scotland are currently reviewing the curriculum in line with the Curriculum Improvement Cycle programme. As part of this review, work is taking place to review the place of financial education within the curriculum. Education Scotland are engaging with a wide range of practitioners and stakeholders, including children and young people, to review current Financial Education teaching and practice and plan how it can most effectively be integrated into the curriculum, ensuring an equitable approach.

Question reference: S6W-39823

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 08 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has conducted on the issue of the cancellation of police officers’ rest days, which has reportedly had a detrimental impact on officers’ mental health.

The deployment and management of Police Officers are matters for the Chief Constable. However, I am aware that the cancellation of rest days can be due to a number of reasons, including attendance at court and the policing of events.

The Scottish Government is supporting its justice partners in achieving the outcomes described in the Vision for Justice in Scotland by taking forward a programme to drive key areas of reform, including criminal justice efficiency.

One element of this is the Summary Case Management currently being rolled out across Scotland. This initiative aims to improve the management of summary criminal cases in Scotland and reduce the number of unnecessary hearings. A pilot evaluation report published in September shows a significant reduction in the volume of witness citations being issued, this relates to police officers, victims and witnesses. The impact on police witnesses has been positive with a reduction of citations for domestic cases by up to 34% in all pilot courts. This equates to around 5000 citations not being served on operational officers in pilot areas.

Police Scotland are also progressing work to reduce the impact policing of events on officers such as the Force Mobilisation Model.

Question reference: S6W-39810

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13680 by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2023, what information it holds on how much water production has been lost as a result of leakages in the Scottish Water supply area covering Argyll Islands, Argyll Mainland, Caithness, Fort William, Orkney, Ness, Shetland, Skye, and West Coast and Western Isles, in each month since January 2021.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked them to respond. Scottish Water have provided estimates for the average total daily leakage levels in each month since January 2021 from water mains in the area requested (covering Argyll Islands, Argyll Mainland, Caithness, Fort William, Orkney, Ness, Shetland, Skye, West Coast, and Western Islands) in the following table. Figures are given in megalitres per day.

Year/ Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2021	53.0	58.7	49.0	44.1	43.1	44.3	46.2	45.3	44.8	43.9	45.2	45.9
2022	46.2	46.4	45.6	39.3	39.7	39.3	41.5	41.9	40.3	41.8	42.0	47.4
2023	48.0	46.3	44.8	40.6	38.9	43.9	42.1	43.2	41.8	43.0	43.5	48.1
2024	49.6	45.8	42.4	40.3	39.0	40.6	41.1	39.6	39.7	39.8	40.1	41.4
2025	46.2	42.9	40.4	39.1	39.4	38.6	40.7	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Question reference: S6W-39877

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many energy consent applications have been lodged with the Energy Consents Unit in each year since 2021 in the (a) Highlands and Islands Region and (b) the rest of Scotland.

Details of applications made to the Energy Consents Unit under Sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act (1989) in the last five years are as follows:

Highlands and Islands planning authorities	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Section 36 applications (electricity generating station)	10	15	16	20	25
Section 37 applications (overhead lines)	21	51	41	33	17

Rest of Scotland planning authorities	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Section 36 applications (electricity generating station)	20	31	39	51	32
Section 37 applications (overhead lines)	34	30	34	29	18

Question reference: S6W-39880

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to discourage energy companies from lodging speculative so-called zombie scheme energy applications.

Question reference: S6W-39915

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to support initiatives that encourage workplace policies and practices that contain the values of Equally Safe.

Under Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, we are progressing a range of activity to eradicate and prevent VAWG through the priorities identified in the Equally Safe Delivery Plan that we published last year. Included within the Delivery Plan is the commitment to develop a streamlined approach to trauma-informed workplace practices that will promote and enhance VAWG knowledge, skills and expertise.

The Delivery Plan contains the actions we are taking to achieve this, including that we will support and promote initiatives that exemplify and promote workplace policies and practices that take a gendered analysis of VAWG and embed the principles of Equally Safe, particularly in the public and third sectors.

Under this action we are continuing to support Close the Gap on the Equally Safe at Work employer accreditation programme, which helps employers in local government, the NHS and third sector to develop gender and VAWG sensitive workplace practices.

The Delivery Plan also contains the action to develop and implement a national framework that will inform an approach to trauma-informed VAWG training and workforce development across the public and the third sectors, which we fund Scottish Women’s Aid to lead on. We are working with them and key stakeholders to ready the framework for implementation across the public and third sectors in spring 2026.

There is no place for harassment or abuse in the workplace, and everyone deserves to be respected and to feel safe in their working environment no matter their job or industry. All employers have a duty of care to protect the health, safety and welfare of their workers.

While employment law is reserved to the UK Parliament we continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across Scotland. Fair Work First criteria in procurement and grants is the tool we use to raise employment standards in Scotland and to promote more diverse workforces. Our Fair Work First guidance encourages all employers to have in place robust workplace policies for handling issues such as bullying or harassment and it provides advice and signposting to our Equally Safe strategy and the Equally Safe at Work framework.

On 25 April 2025 we launched our Fair Work Resource Hub for employers where they can find all relevant guidance, advice, case studies, signposting and networking opportunities on removing barriers to Fair Work for many workers, including signposting to guidance on preventing sexual harassment at work.

Question reference: S6W-39881

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with the UK Government on any proposals to reform the grid connection queue in order to remove so-called zombie scheme energy applications, and, if so, whether it will provide details of such engagement.

Question reference: S6W-39694

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the implications of the High Court decision relating to Northumbria Police participating in Pride marches for the impartiality of school teachers in Scotland.

It is a legal requirement for all teachers in Scottish schools to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), the independent regulator for teachers in Scotland.

Registered teachers must adhere to the GTCS Professional Standards and Code of Professionalism and Conduct, which require them to uphold values of integrity, trust, and respect, and to act impartially in their professional practice.

Question reference: S6W-39766

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 3 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to ensure that any statements by its ministers on international law are properly verified.

Question reference: S6W-40294

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 17 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce retention incentives to ensure experienced police officers remain in post.