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-44005

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that split payments of universal credit will be delivered, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, and what action it has taken in the last six months regarding this work.

Question reference: S6W-44000

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 February 2026
Current Status: Answer expected on 13 March 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many ferry sailings were scheduled in each year on the Lochranza to Claonaig and Claonaig to Lochranza ferry route in each year since 1 April 1999, and how many sailings did not take place due to (a) inclement weather, (b) mechanical breakdown and (c) other reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-43743

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support the Central Scotland "Safe Drive Stay Alive" campaign, in light of reported concerns regarding its future funding.

Road safety is a priority for The Scottish Government and we recognise the important work that delivery partners undertake.

Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030 (the Framework) sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. It sets challenging targets for the years ahead, with a 50 per cent reduction in fatal and serious injuries and a 60 per cent reduction in child fatal and serious injuries by 2030. Mode and user specific targets for key priority groups have been created to focus attention by partners on our priority areas, this includes a target to reduce by 70% the number of 17-25 year olds killed or seriously injured.

To support the framework, The Scottish Government is investing a record £48m in road safety in 2025-26, to reduce casualties and promote local investment.

On 12 January 2026, a national behavioural change campaign launched which targets risky driving behaviours among young drivers. This is supported by a full suite of learning resources for 3-18 year-olds. In addition to this, a stakeholder group, which last met on 12th February 2025, is in place to identify and deliver targeted measures to enhance the safety of young and older road users.

Additionally, the annual Road Safety Framework Fund is underway which allows partners the opportunity to delivery targeted road safety initiatives which help to reduce casualties on Scotland’s roads. Partners can apply for funding through this fund when 2026-27 bids open later this year.

Question reference: S6W-43762

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the second supplementary question to question S6O-05504 by Kate Forbes on 12 February 2026, when she stated that "at least 230 jobs being created and safeguarded" through the Just Transition Fund, what date the fund was first initiated and approximately how many jobs in oil and gas have been lost in the north east since that date.

The Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray’s initial year of funding began in May 2022.

The Scottish Government does not hold statistics on job losses by year in any given sector of the economy. We do, however, monitor a range of sources of evidence around employment in the Scottish energy sector. For example, independent analysis has shown that over the period 2019 to 2022 the numbers of direct and indirect jobs supported by the Scottish offshore oil and gas sector decreased from 57,000 to 53,000.

We recognise that the energy transition will have particular impacts in the NE region. Alongside the JTF for NE and Moray, other examples of support provided by SG include the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund for offshore oil and gas workers and the North East Scotland Investment Zone.

Question reference: S6W-43844

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for foodshare projects.

In 2025-26 we allocated £315,000 to FareShare to redistribute high quality surplus food to community organisations with an emphasis on shared meals and promoting cash-first.

We also allocated a total of almost £200,000 to the four established regional community food networks in Scotland, which are Community Food Initiatives North East, Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership, Edinburgh Community Food and the Glasgow Community Food Network. This funding helps tackle food insecurity, promotes community food and supports improved health and wellbeing.

Through our Investing in Communities Fund, we have provided around £2.8 million of funding each year between 2023-26 to 32 organisations to enable them to provide holistic support services to address poverty and inequality, including activities to directly tackle food insecurity.

Question reference: S6W-43821

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has considered creating guidelines for Scotland relating to the way that Business Improvement District (BID) levies are set and enforced and (b) plans to introduce a public record of the levies being charged by BID companies across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has no plans to produce guidelines on how BID levies should be set or enforced, as this is a matter for individual BIDs operating within the existing framework of the Business Improvement Districts (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

We do, however, provide funding support for Scotland’s Improvement Districts (SIDs), which delivers advice and governance support for BIDs, including best practice and guidance on levy arrangements.

There are no plans to introduce a public record of the levies charged by BIDs. Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally, local authorities are responsible for administering and collecting BID levies.

Question reference: S6W-43846

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Royal Mail in relation to issues around recruitment and retention of staff in Scotland and their impact on postal deliveries.

Royal Mail and postal delivery services are reserved policy areas for the UK Government.

However, the Scottish Government engages regularly with Royal Mail, raising concerns around staffing, service performance, and local delivery issues. We continue to provide constructive challenge to ensure that postal services meet the specific needs of communities across Scotland.

The First Minister visited the Glasgow Mail Centre on 22 December to see operations first-hand and to reinforce the importance of maintaining high service standards for Scotland’s communities.

Question reference: S6W-43769

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an itemised breakdown of the cost of a standard Baby Box.

Question reference: S6W-43739

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.

Question reference: S6W-43735

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2026
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 February 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Transport is ashamed that the written case for Scottish ministers and the Lord Advocate in the judicial review of the Scottish Prison Service policy for the management of transgender people in custody did not include a single mention of women’s rights.