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-35393

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of inshore fisheries and conservation authorities in England as a potential model for inshore fisheries management in Scotland.

Recent work has been undertaken to review different models of inshore fisheries management, including the model in England using Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities. This work, along with wider evidence submitted during our Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement programme call for evidence, will help inform development of policy proposals for a new framework for managing Scotland’s inshore fisheries.

Question reference: S6W-35351

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether Historic Environment Scotland will appoint an accredited pipe organ adviser to ensure that the heritage of the country's pipe organs is properly managed, given the reported growing number that are at risk of being damaged or lost.

Question reference: S6W-35356

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26881 by Jim Fairlie on 5 June 2024, in relation to financing natural capital, how much private finance was (a) arranged under the support of the Natural Investment Partnership and (b) spent on (i) tree planting and (ii) peatland restoration between 1 March 2024 and the last day of February 2025; who the private finance providers involved were; how much was invested, and on which projects.

Question reference: S6W-35365

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Educational Institute of Scotland's MSP Briefing on Instrumental Music Provision, which was published in February 2025.

The most recent Instrumental Music Survey published in January 2025 shows the number of pupils accessing free instrumental music tuition was the highest on record since the survey began in 2012.

Since 2021-22 we have provided dedicated funding to local authorities to support the removal of fees for instrumental music and in 2025-26 we will provide £12m to support this policy.

Local authorities are responsible for delivering education and so it is for individual councils to make choices about levels and means of provision that meet their local circumstances and the needs of pupils. No Council has charged for IMT since 2020-21.

The Scottish Government has been engaging closely with EIS and a range of partners to implement our commitments on instrumental music tuition and will continue to do so.

Question reference: S6T-02395

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people live in safe, warm homes, in light of reports that the number of properties falling below the "tolerable standard" in order to be fit for habitation has increased from an estimated 54,000 in 2018 to 729,000 in 2023.

Question reference: S6T-02407

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of joint calls on the UK Government from business leaders in Scotland for the project to be progressed as a priority, whether it will provide an update on what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding the Acorn carbon capture and storage project and Scotland’s journey to net zero.

Question reference: S6F-03889

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-03900

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on how the Scottish Government is working to improve healthy life expectancy.

Question reference: S6F-03906

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is considering to further support Scotland's universities, in light of reports that the University of the West of Scotland reported a multi-million pound deficit in the last financial year, with other universities across Scotland in a similar financial position.

Question reference: S6F-03892

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 10 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2025

To ask the First Minister, regarding any potential impact on planning legislation in Scotland, what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that the UK Government has proposed giving people living near power infrastructure hundreds of pounds off their bills each year.