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-03014

Asked by: David Green, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 September 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to strengthen human rights checks on Scottish Enterprise and other public funding bodies to ensure that funding from Scotland does not support human rights abuses and violations of international law.

Question reference: S7W-02604

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kirsten Oswald on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that lengthy and uncertain waiting times for tribunal hearings have on people bringing appeals, and what steps it is taking, working with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the judiciary, to reduce waiting times and provide appellants with greater certainty about when their cases will be heard.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact waiting times for a tribunal hearing can have on parties.

The scheduling of tribunal hearings is a matter for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service and the Scottish Government continues to engage with them in respect of wait times. There are multiple factors which can impact the timescales for cases to be heard, such as the volume and complexity of legal issues, evidence to be considered, or the availability of tribunals members.

The Scottish Government continues to work with Judicial Office and the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland to ensure the scheduled and planned recruitment of tribunals members. A larger pool of members will enhance overall scheduling capacity and reduce wait times.

Question reference: S7W-02631

Asked by: Andrew Baxter, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued any guidance to NHS boards on the inclusion of service undertaken through NHS staff banks when calculating eligibility for long-service recognition schemes, such as NHS Highland's Valuing Service Award.

Question reference: S7W-02660

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many actions contained in its Offshore Wind Skills Programme (a) have been completed, (b) remain outstanding and (c) have had their delivery date revised.

The Offshore Wind Skills Priorities & Action Plan was developed with industry and key public sector partners and sets out 12 initial actions over the next two years. The plan is jointly owned by partners - public bodies, education providers and sector skills organisations - who have committed to taking these actions forward.

Five actions in the Offshore Wind Skills Priorities & Action Plan have been completed, and seven actions are underway. Six of these actions are on track to be completed by, or ahead of, their respective delivery dates. The Offshore Wind Skills Programme Board approved revisions to the delivery dates of three actions, two of which have been completed, with the third on track for delivery.

The Scottish Government and delivery partners remain committed to implementing the Offshore Wind Skills Priorities & Action Plan in full.

Question reference: S7W-02596

Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of NHS appointments missed, cancelled, or rescheduled by residents of island communities due to ferry cancellations or disruption in the last three years, and if it does not hold this data, what assessment it has made of any impact of ferry disruption on healthcare access.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of appointments missed, cancelled, or rescheduled by residents of island communities due to ferry cancellations or disruption in the last three years. We do however engage regularly with NHS Boards on the issue through our Transport to Health Delivery Plan and associated work. We have provided funding to HI Trans through our National Islands Plan to further develop the partnership work around Health and Transport, including consideration of resilience.

During a disruption, CalMac will undertake a network wide review for a core service to be delivered to all parts of the ferry network they serve. However, it is impossible to completely remove the risk of disruption due to either inclement weather or other reasons. During times of disruption, CalMac will always aim to minimise the impact.

Question reference: S7W-02737

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Simita Kumar on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £400,000 that it committed to Dundee-based charity Kids Operating Room to establish the Gaza HOPES Field Readiness Hub, (a) what proportion of that funding has been provided, and (b) what update it can provide on progress in establishing the hub.

As announced by the First Minister in Parliament on 3 September 2025, the Scottish Government pledged £400,000 to establish the Gaza HOPES Field Readiness Hub.

This money was provided to Kids Operating Room in two payments. £337,680 was provided on 05 December 2025. The remaining £62,320 was paid on 25 February 2026.

The Field Readiness Hub has been built and is fully operational at Kids Operating Room's Global Centre of Operations. It is being used to design, test and refine modular healthcare infrastructure before deployment. The Hub replicates clinical environments, including a consultation room, imaging/isolation space, recovery area, maternity theatre and paediatric theatre.

The Hub's original purpose was to support preparation for a modular hospital in Gaza, however the current situation in Gaza has meant deployment has not been achieved at this point. Kids Operating Room are exploring multiple deployment options and potential sites, while maintaining readiness so it can respond when conditions allow.

Since the Hub was established, Kids Operating Room has secured funding and partner support for related projects in the West Bank, demonstrating the wider value of the initial investment. For example, in August 2026 a new dedicated paediatric operating theatre has officially opened at Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron - the first of an initial three permanent children's surgical theatres that KidsOR will be delivering across the West Bank.

Question reference: S7W-02605

Asked by: Laura Moodie, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it determined that the proposed Rogerhill Solar and Battery Energy Storage System development (ECU00004823) did not require an Environmental Impact Assessment, and what consideration it gave, prior to granting consent, to the Woodland Trust’s continuing objection regarding the potential indirect impacts of the development on nearby ancient woodland.

To help ensure that the integrity and impartiality of the consenting process is maintained, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on or debate the merits of a decision once it has been issued.

The full grounds for the Ministers' decisions are set out in the decision letter which is publicly available online on the Energy Consents Unit portal: Scottish Government - Energy Consents Unit - Application Details

Question reference: S7W-02589

Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact on electricity consumers in Scotland of UK Government financing arrangements for new nuclear power stations elsewhere in Great Britain, including the regulated asset base model.

The regulation of the electricity market, including the financing arrangements for new nuclear power stations, is reserved to the UK Government. Assessment of the impact of the regulated asset base model on consumers is a matter for the UK Government and Ofgem.

The Scottish Government does not support the construction of new nuclear power stations under current technologies. It is not acceptable that consumers in Scotland are being asked to pay towards nuclear power years in advance of any electricity being generated and bear the risks of cost overruns.

Question reference: S7W-02588

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Stephen Gethins on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects any changes to the recommended level of community benefit for solar developments, as proposed in its working paper, Refreshing the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Onshore Renewable Energy, to take effect.

Question reference: S7W-02597

Asked by: Adam Harley, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 August 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions in the last three years the Scottish Ambulance Service has been unable to transfer a patient from an island community by ferry due to a cancellation or disruption, and what alternative means of transfer were used.