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-03337

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a dedicated and long-term capital fund to address the growing number of historic church closures across Scotland, and what steps it is taking to ensure that funding for places of worship does not reduce the grant allocations available for other built environment and heritage projects managed by Historic Environment Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03372

Asked by: James Adams, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will respond to the letter from Aberdeen City Region Deal Joint Committee following its meeting on 4 September 2026 regarding unsuccessful attempts to access the Housing Infrastructure Fund portion of the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, and whether it will set out a guarantee that this fund will continue beyond March 2027 and until an eligible project has been approved.

Question reference: S7W-03373

Asked by: James Adams, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is under any legal obligation to deliver planned investment set out in the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding with Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council, including the Aberdeen Housing Infrastructure Funds and other projects it committed to fund as part the Aberdeen City Region Deal, and, if so whether it will incur any costs arising from the failure to deliver under the Memorandum of Understanding.

Question reference: S7W-03338

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the comparative level of funding available to listed places of worship in Scotland through the £1 million Historic Environment Scotland pilot scheme and the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund established in England, and whether any Barnett consequentials arising from that UK scheme will be allocated as additional capital funding for listed places of worship in Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03350

Asked by: Angela Ross, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding NHS dental services for people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), for what reason Type 3 EDS is not currently recognised as meeting the criteria for specialist or priority dental treatment, whether it plans to review the relevant NHS Scotland guidance and eligibility criteria to ensure that people with Type 3 EDS can access appropriate specialist dental care, and, if so, when it expects any changes to be introduced.

Question reference: S7W-03366

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the compatibility of proposals by the University of Aberdeen to create four new executive dean posts with reported annual salaries of £112,000 to £140,000 while proposals to reduce staff numbers by 111 posts are under consideration, and how this aligns with the Scottish Government's statement that senior figures within the college and university sectors should demonstrate restraint in their own pay settlements and that senior pay packages should be in step with the salary, terms and conditions offered to other staff.

Question reference: S7W-02806

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include powers for Compulsory Sales Orders in any bills during the current parliamentary session, in light of the strong support for such powers expressed by local authorities and housing associations responding to its recent consultation.

As set out in S7W-02804 on 16 September 2026, views on compulsory sale orders were supportive in principle, but with valid questions on what additional advantages might be over a reformed compulsory purchase process. We will continue to monitor whether compulsory sale powers could provide any additional benefits beyond a reformed compulsory purchase system.

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.

Question reference: S7W-02907

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many vehicles have been searched or seized using powers introduced under the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 in relation to suspected illegal waste activity, and how many of these cases have led to enforcement action since the introduction of the Act.

Question reference: S7W-02808

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2026
Current Status: Holding Answer by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the proposed operational framework for Compulsory Sales Orders will integrate with existing efforts to streamline Compulsory Purchase Orders to provide a comprehensive toolkit for urban regeneration.

Question reference: S7W-02904

Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is satisfied that the current definition and recording of waste crime adequately capture large-scale illegal waste operations, including sites where waste is deliberately stored or buried over an extended period, rather than being disposed of through fly-tipping.